Public TV stations nationwide will form the “last mile delivery system” for federal emergency alerts, according to a Wed. announcement of a phased rollout of a digital emergency alert system (DEAS). Aided by the Dept. of Homeland Security (DHS), the Assn. of Public TV Stations recently completed 2 successful DEAS pilots using stations’ digital infrastructure. The rollout will cover 9 Gulf and Atlantic coast states in 2006 and the rest of the U.S. by Dec. 31, 2007, said APTS and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) officials.
Cable companies and TV stations spend fortunes on gear mandated by FCC emergency alert system (EAS) rules whose use is limited by poor communication between broadcasters and the govt., EAS officials said. One-year EAS waivers granted by the Enforcement Bureau to almost 40 companies last week (CD July 6 p10) will cut their costs, cable companies said. But exemptions won’t improve industry-govt. coordination near term, said 2 state emergency communications committee chmn. we spoke with.
The FCC granted one-year emergency alert system (EAS) waivers to almost 40 cable operators, including Charter, Classic and Suddenlink. The exempt systems, each with less than 10,000 subscribers, need not follow EAS rules until June 30, 2007, said an Enforcement Bureau notice. It said the extensions were granted because the systems proved “compliance with our rules would impose [a] significant financial burden.”
Paging leader USA Mobility sees paging, which received several mentions in the Independent Panel on Hurricane Katrina, as poised for a breakthrough as an aid in emergency communications, as the FCC contemplates an EAS order later this year. USA Mobility sees emergency use as a possible growth engine for what has been a shrinking market. “Paging is excellent for emergency alerting,” USA Mobility Gen. Counsel Scott Tollefsen said in an interview. “It’s an excellent technology for backup communications because it is so inexpensive and so easy to use.”
An FCC order on Emergency Alert Systems (EAS) may be off the table for the summer after President Bush signed an executive order last week instructing the Dept. of Homeland Security to submit a plan for reorganizing EAS to the White House within 90 days. Meanwhile, telecom and satellite interests continue outreach at the FCC on EAS, based on ex parte filings made at the Commission in recent days.
The FCC wants satellite broadcasters to take a stab at drafting rules for the “reverse DBS band” -- spectrum at 17 GHz typically allocated for satellite uplinking but which now may be used for downlinking. Reverse use of the band, long eyed by industry and regulators, could open much spectrum for DBS use, we're told. The Commission Wed. adopted an NPRM seeking comment on licensing and service rules for U.S. satellite broadcasting service in the 17 and 24 GHz bands.
Comments reaching beyond discussions by its blue ribbon panel on Hurricane Katrina are being sought by the FCC. The window opened in a notice of proposed rulemaking asking follow up questions on a report by the Independent Panel Reviewing the Impact of Hurricane Katrina on Communications Networks (CD June 20 Special Report). While easy to miss, the sentence involved 8th floor negotiations and could be significant, sources said Tues. The sentence reads:
Public TV digital programs will get carriage on Verizon’s FiOS network under an agreement announced Fri. The deal is the 2nd of its kind. Last Jan., the Assn. of Public TV Stations (APTS) and NCTA made a voluntary carriage pact under which MSOs will carry up to 4 multicast channels of public TV stations. The Verizon deal resembles the NCTA agreement, said APTS Pres. John Lawson.
The House Appropriations Committee Tues. restored $20 million of $115 million in public broadcasting funding cut last week by the Labor-HSS Subcommittee. While restoring CPB 2007 funding levels to $400 million, it didn’t provide advance CPB appropriation for FY 2009, or FY 2007 funding for public TV and radio digital conversion. It also eliminated funding for Ready to Learn. CPB Pres. Pat Harrison said public broadcasters’ funding request marks “both a strong commitment to fiscal restraint and a firm understanding of the value and service that public broadcasting offers.” Public broadcasters understand the “difficult choices” House appropriators face, but they are “nonetheless committed to funding levels in our original request,” she said. “It’s a shame that a majority of the House Appropriations Committee has decided to put Congress through another fight over funding for public broadcasting,” said APTS Pres. John Lawson. Many members decry indecency on TV but voted to kill funding for noncommercial educational kids’ programming, he said: “They call for improving education and teacher quality, but zero out funding that uses technology to bring professional development to teachers.” The appropriators voted against funding public TV’s satellite interconnection system while colleagues introduced a bill that would make it the backbone of a new national emergency alert system, he said. They also cut funds for digital broadcasting when Congress mandated an end to analog broadcasting, he said: “This action seems to be [in] willful disregard [of] what public broadcasting means to America.”
Public broadcasters braced for a new Capitol Hill funding fight as the House Labor-Hill Appropriations Committee Wed. voted to cut $115 million in federal funds. “It’s familiar but distressing territory,” NPR Vp-Govt. Relations Mike Riksen said. The cuts would especially hurt public radio because stations are in the midst of transitioning to digital, he said. Last year it took a massive grass-roots campaign that included stations using on- air appeals to get the House to reverse more than $100 million in funding cuts.