EchoStar may need 12-18 months after creation of a Dept. of Homeland Security emergency alert portal to upgrade its network for disseminating local alerts, it told the FCC. In separate meetings, DirecTV predicted a 12-month lag. EchoStar told the FCC set-top boxes now in production could be capable of generating a text pop-up EAS message and an audible tone -- assuming DHS’s portal uses certain technical protocols and message limits. DHS hasn’t defined protocol specifications for a central EAS portal it’s working on, EchoStar said. DHS should perform a coordinated EAS test among multiple platforms before implementing its final system, it said. Sirius and XM are assessing the utility of sending local alerts via their national satellite platforms. Sirius told FCC staff it could send alerts if DHS aggregates and authenticates them at a central portal. State or local alerts would air on one of 11 Sirius traffic and weather channels, it said. Those channels cover 20 U.S. metro areas, Sirius said: “If federal agencies make available consolidated and authenticated information regarding emergencies affecting one of those cities, Sirius has volunteered to broadcast such an alert on the appropriate channel.” Sirius said subscribers could be warned that an emergency alert is being broadcast on another channel much as “game alerts” air on certain Sirius radios. Current receivers wouldn’t be capable of such an alert cue, but that could be technically feasible on future units, Sirius said.
DirecTV and EchoStar told the FCC they're working on delivering local emergency alerts to customers -- but their efforts depend on the Dept. of Homeland Security’s future emergency alert portal. DirecTV and EchoStar have been meeting with DHS staff to discuss plans, they said. Providing local alerts will require “significant” software design and development and possibly infrastructure changes by the DBS operators, and because DBS providers have a nationwide footprint and no presence in local communities, a centralized alert portal is key, the DBS operators said. DHS is planning such a portal -- where all emergency alerts will be aggregated for dissemination through all EAS outlets. EchoStar and DirecTV said they must know DHS’s exact plans before they can act. The DBS providers are contemplating using a pop-up overlay generated by a customer’s set-top box for emergency alerting, they said. DHS staff seem to understand “the technical limitations of providing regional or local messages on a DBS system, and they expressed a willingness to consider these limitations as they continue to work through the development of an aggregated emergency alert system,” DirecTV and EchoStar told the FCC. Once basic issues are resolved, DBS engineers can start to work on software necessary to send alert messages to individual set- top boxes, the firms said. After DHS defines its alert delivery and format parameters, it will probably take a year to develop any local and regional DBS requirements, DirecTV and EchoStar said.
AT&T plans to participate in the emergency alert system (EAS) as an IP video provider, but “technical challenges remain,” company officials told FCC Comr. Tate in an ex parte meeting last week. “IP video is still a nascent technology and technical challenges remain in implementing EAS over this technology,” AT&T Senior Vp Bob Quinn and Vp Thomas Hughes told Tate and legal adviser Aaron Goldberger. “AT&T is working with vendors to develop the appropriate equipment due to the fact that only a limited set of current EAS system receivers provide alert information in IP format,” A report on the Aug. 16 meeting said: “In addition, AT&T’s IP video vendors have not yet developed the proxy server capability to route EAS messages to the appropriate end user.” Due to these technical “challenges,” the FCC should ensure there’s “sufficient time to allow implementation,” AT&T said, suggesting no deadlines earlier than Dec. 31, 2007. AT&T also urged the agency not to “unduly restrict the manner in which IP service providers distribute and display emergency information or that otherwise restrict innovation in this area.”
New technology, or even new uses for old technology like voice mail, could greatly improve communications in disasters such as Hurricane Katrina, several organizations told the FCC in comments this week. “Policy makers and public safety officials alike should be attuned to the value that IP technologies bring to first responder and emergency communications,” said Cisco Systems.
EchoStar can send “pop-up” Emergency Alert System (EAS) text messages to any Dish Network channel, using a set-top box override function. A 255-character overlay message can be sent individual set-top boxes no matter what’s on screen - - real-time, pay-per-view or recorded programming, EchoStar last week told FCC Chmn. Martin’s office in an EAS presentation last week, an ex parte said. But EchoStar itself can’t check for EAS alerts, it said. “A Dept. of Homeland Security clearinghouse is needed that can aggregate all EAS alerts and sort notifications by zip code,” the company said: “EchoStar cannot feasibly monitor each locality for an EAS alert because EchoStar has a national footprint and does not have a local presence in these communities.”
Media activists want public interest rules included in an FCC digital radio order being considered on the 8th floor, they told aides to Comrs. Adelstein and Copps. The FCC should impose yearly reporting requirements, “allow new and diverse voices” and provide emergency alert system services, a July 20 ex parte filing said. Participants included Common Cause, the Benton Foundation, Institute of Public Representation and Media Access Project.
The U.S. emergency alert system (EAS) needs upgrading to reflect new technology and new threats, Rep. Upton (R-Mich.), chmn. of the House Telecom Subcommittee said Thurs. at a hearing on the Warning Alert & Response Network (WARN) Act. The Senate is considering similar legislation.
AT&T’s IPTV service in San Antonio can carry emergency alert system (EAS) messages by “retransmitting the alerts provided by local broadcasters,” according to a summary of its presentation last week to FCC officials. The telco will add EAS capabilities to nationwide channels and VoD, PVR and other content by the end of 2007, AT&T said in an ex parte filing. Verizon’s FiOS fiber TV product follows all EAS rules that apply to cable rivals, the firm said in another FCC filing this year. “This is a public safety issue we take seriously,” a company spokesman told us: “Verizon is compliant with EAS rules.”
The Rural Cellular Assn. warned the FCC in a letter that small carriers can’t readily afford to put in place new handsets that may be needed to meet a possible emergency alert system (EAS) mandate. The FCC is expected to issue an order within the next few months mandating wireless carriers participate in some kind of EAS program. Chmn. Martin didn’t circulate an EAS order in time for the Aug. agenda meeting, but an order is in the works (CD July 17 p4). “Rural carriers do not have the resources to absorb a mandate that require another ‘free’ change-out of wireless phones and another major network upgrade,” the group said: “RCA’s CDMA and iDEN members are still working diligently to meet the 95% penetration level required for E-911 Phase II, and RCA’s GSM members are aggressively working to replace analog and TDMA handsets.” Another mandate without funding would be “financially catastrophic” to small and regional rural wireless carriers, the group said.
Chmn. Martin last week began circulating a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on revised service rules for the 700 MHz auction, readying for a vote at the Aug. 3 FCC meeting. Revised Emergency Alert System (EAS) requirements that have made carriers nervous aren’t on circulation, sources said. Commissioners also are being asked to vote on a broadband over powerlines (BPL) reconsideration item, plus one addressing maritime wireless issues.