[BC] Satellite EAS

[Mike McCarthy]

Hmmm....interesting development which I'm sure all the DBS providers 
will fume about being too complex and expensive.

MM


Pols Push Satellite EAS 

 
By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 10/5/2005 3:37:00 PM 


Almost two dozen legislators have written to FCC Chairman Kevin Martin 
to ask that satellite radio be required to deliver emergency 
information to its subscribers.

The FCC has an open proceeding into proposed changes to its Emergency 
Alert System, including applying it to digital TV stations as well as 
analog. Martin is hoping to unveil new EAS proposals this month.

Emergency alerts and emergency communications have been under a 
spotlight in Washington in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. "Recent 
events, such as Hurricane Katrina, have highlighted the critical 
importance of having an effective Emergency Alert System that reaches 
all Americans," the legislators said.

  
The group of congressmen, which included House Commerce Committee 
members Chip Pickering (R-Miss.), John Shimkus (R-Ill.) and Bobby Rush 
(D-Ill.), wrote that "just because a provider is a new competitive 
entrant offering a new service or using a new technology, that should 
not absolve service providers from upholding certain public 
obligations."