[EAS] Muddy the waters a bit more

[Richard Rudman]

Along with my BWWG colleagues, I have sat in at least three meetings with and written many pages to FEMA and the FCC to let them know about lessons learned as they apply to CAP-EAS. Let me pick five:

1. The fragility of the public internet, especially during emergencies
2. Emergency management and broadcast entry points never received a mandate when EAS was launched to form basic stakeholder partnerships essential to making EAS work.
3. Wireless spectrum does not exist for the emergency management community to build local relay networks (LRN's) to reach broadcast entry points during emergencies.
4. The so-called daisy chain distribution method that EAS was supposed to eliminate was actually perpetuated in the EAS LP model.
5. EAS is an unfunded mandate that, for many in broadcast and cable management, represents a compliance liability, not a public service.

Washington State is an example that can point the way. They show that a state can build LRN's to reinforce EAS, and lead in implementing CAP-EAS. They have an excellent partnership in place between broadcast, cable and emergency management. 

Some (but not nearly enough) states and local areas have built their own workable solutions for various EAS deficiencies. However, I do not think we can break out of the flawed box that EAS was built in until we fix EAS flaws that will apparently be carried through to CAP-EAS.

The BWWG will try to bring issues we know about and those developed as this list outlines them to our fellow EAS stakeholders. Together we will try to affect the outcome at the FCC.  

Richard


On Jan 23, 2011, at 12:35 AM, Allen Sklar wrote:

> Hello All,
>  
> I think Mr Zeigler has made a wonderful point....
> And I have thought the same thing ten years ago.
> What triggered it was my station, the LP-1 for 8 counties
> was really never able to get a clean signal from the
> local PEP station, the LP-2 was having the same problem.
> I lost my Internet for the day just this past week due to
> backhoe fade. I just don't trust the Internet for much of
> anything. You have 100's of providers in the landscape
> with various levels of service. Also keep in mind groups
> like Wikileaks can really jam things up. How do you say
> "DNS server attack". I was hands on with the first roll
> out of EAS in 1997. Looking back to 1997 all the way
> up to today, I don't think CAP-EAS has been well
> thought out at all, I don't think much if anything has
> been taken from "Lessons Learned" from the past.
> When the time comes and I am at the station level,
> The equipment will be installed, but my level of faith
> in the system will be very low. I am also speaking as
> a private citizen only...
> 
>  
> 
> Allen Sklar
> Tempe AZ USA
>  
>  
> -------- Original Message --------
> Subject: [EAS] Muddy the waters a bit more
> From: "R.V.Zeigler" <rzeigler at krvn.com>
> Date: Sun, January 23, 2011 12:35 am
> To: eas at radiolists.net
>  
> Snip Snip---------
> 
> As a private citizen only, and not speaking for any boards or committees 
> I may serve on, I would like to suggest the following idea for critique: 
> Have CAP information transmitted on DBS channels such as Dish Network, 
> Direct TV, and the like. Have economical receivers available for 
> broadcasters, cable, cellular, sign companies and any other responsible 
> entities to only receive this information, and make it available to 
> in-house ENDEC('s) by their internal computer networks or direct 
> connection via RJ-45. Have any "back-haul" confirmation of received 
> messages returned via the internet. It is more important to receive the 
> info, than it is to send confirmation that it has been received. State 
> and Federal agencies could send their up-linked information to the 
> national clearing house for dissemination by whatever means necessary or 
> whatever means they currently have in place.
> 
> I am sure the above idea has a number of specific situations where it 
> would not work, but overall I think it would cover most of CONUS, and 
> some of OCONUS. I also think it could be one of the less expensive 
> alternatives to get the final EAS/CAP product to the end user.
> 
> Rod
> 
> -- 
> R. V. Zeigler, Dir. of Eng.
> Nebraska Rural Radio Assn.
> KRVN-KTIC-KNEB
> Newsletter: http://tinyurl.com/RRNnews
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