Sprint Nextel Thurs. debuted a child-locating wireless service, as part of an effort to expand its “family market” presence. Sprint Family Locator by WaveMarket is available for $9.99 per month on 17 cellphone models served by the wireless carrier. Several carriers have jumped into marketing their handsets for children -- or their parents -- as the market searches for new ways to keep additions coming.
Public TV’s digital emergency alert system (DEAS) is poised for a national rollout, with the “success” of the 2nd phase of a joint pilot by the Assn. of Public TV Stations and the Dept. of Homeland Security (DHS), officials said. After first-phase testing of a national EAS, the pilot is testing how public TV stations can provide “support and enhancement to state and local activations of the alert and warning system,” APTS said. APTS has provided DHS with a national rollout plan that includes cost and schedule estimates and technical options for implementation, an APTS spokeswoman said.
Fixed Satellite Service (FSS) giants Intelsat, PanAmSat and SES Americom lobbied FCC officials from 3 bureaus last week in an effort to keep Emergency Alerts out of FSS hands and in their direct-to-home video customers’ domain. The fixed satellite services operators are questioning 2 of several new Emergency Alert System (EAS) requirements in last year’s FCC EAS expansion, saying: (1) The operators want the FCC to apply EAS obligations “directly” to programming distributors -- FSS’s customers -- rather than “indirectly” to satellite operators. (2) The operators want the FCC to exclude from EAS rules FSS services directed outside the U.S., so as to prevent foreign programming from being interrupted by U.S. warnings. Limiting EAS obligations directly to direct-to-home programming distributors in the U.S. would be the “most logical approach” to emergency alert dissemination, the operators argued. “Putting FSS operators in the role of ‘enforcer’ undermines EAS and harms FSS, with no upside benefit,” they claimed. Intelsat, PanAmSat and SES Americom said they have no way to force direct-to-home programmers like DirecTV and EchoStar to comply with the EAS rules. What’s more, the end result would be a “bizarre and confusing patchwork” of alerts, they said. FSS operators would be responsible for alerts on some DBS channels and DBS programmers would be responsible for others going to the same customer, the FSS firms said. If the Commission decides not to relieve FSS operators of EAS obligations, then the operators want the FCC at least to grandfather existing contracts.
Emergency Alert System announcements will appear on the web browsers of certain WOW! Internet and Cable subscribers, just as on TV, according to PerfTech, a firm that makes software for delivering Internet EAS alerts. The alerts are displayed on geographically targeted web browsers, no matter what site is being viewed, the company said. Alerts won’t interfere with web browsing, the company said.
Three senators introduced a bill targeting local content on satellite radio. The NAB-backed legislation, coupled with a companion bill in the House, is intended to hold XM and Sirius “accountable” to the national nature of their FCC licenses, the NAB said. The move is the latest salvo in old arguments between satellite radio and the NAB. The SDARS licenses were originally auctioned with national rights only, and the sides have long been at odds over how much satellite can localize its service.
FCC Chmn. Martin reassured Gulf Coast residents Mon. the FCC remains committed to improving public safety communications in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, which devastated the region in a storm that hit last Aug. Martin opened a meeting of the Independent Panel Reviewing the Impact of Hurricane Katrina on Communications Networks in Jackson, Miss. Martin, along with Comr. Tate, was also scheduled to tour the Jackson Police Dept.’s PSAP. The hearing continues today (Tues.)
The FCC extended an emergency alert system rule waiver for some small cable systems until June 30 so it can continue reviewing information. The action affects operators including Cequel, Charter and Northland.
CTIA called for a technical summit including wireless carriers, the FCC, FEMA, NOAA and the National Communications System to discuss such emergency alert system (EAS) issues as the type and format of EAS messages and the timeframe for delivery of EAS. CTIA made the call in reply comments on an EAS docket. “If EAS is to be a seamless experience, these questions must be considered for each of the existing U.S. air interfaces, including CDMA, GSM, and iDEN, as each of those systems may have unique implementation issues with particular EAS requirements,” CTIA said. 3G Americas called for the creation of an advisory committee to resolve wireless industry EAS questions. “Mobile wireless technologies are fundamentally different than the broadcast technologies that now carry EAS notifications,” the group said. “These differences mean that many significant technical and policy issues must be resolved before mobile wireless networks can be effectively integrated into an expanded EAS.”
The proposed Homeland Security Dept. 2007 budget includes $5 million for a satellite upgrade of FEMA’s Emergency Alert System (EAS). The funds would go for national 2-way satellite capacity linking federal, state and U.S. Territory emergency operations centers, DHS said. A satellite link would improve EAS coverage and reliability “when other national communications resources have been damaged or compromised,” DHS said.
Traveni Digital unveiled its SkyScraper Emergency Services Network for disaster alert distribution and emergency responder communication. Traveni Digital officials said SkyScraper ESN can deliver EAS information over any broadcast or multicast medium, and is well suited for satellite, cable and digital terrestrial transmission systems. SkyScraper ESN can be configured to suit federal public safety agencies, as well as state, local and regional safety squads, they said.