[EAS] FEMA to do webinar on results of national EAS test

[Ed Czarnecki]

I concur with Jeff.  This EAN event was a "diagnostic," as FCC staff have
stressed numerous times.  A wide range of things have been discovered that
will require examination at many levels - operational, technical, regulatory
....  A nominal portion of the message was relayed, as the message included
both text and audio elements.  

Yes there were a lot of issues, but even the "negatives" can be good things
- they point to places where we can fix the system.  I'd much rather be
where we are now, than be in the dark without such a test. 

Broadcast and cable engineers did a lot of heavy lifting to prepare for this
test.  Equipment manufacturers all managed a very heavy load of support
requests in the ramp up to the event.  The government made a big call by
even doing this test - the potential political risks were not insignificant.

Edward Czarnecki, Ph.D. 
Senior Director – Strategy, Development & Regulatory Affairs  |  Monroe
Electronics Inc.  |  Digital Alert Systems
email ed.czarnecki at monroe-electronics.com | www.monroe-electronics.com
| www.digitalalertsystems.com 

-----Original Message-----
From: eas-bounces at radiolists.net [mailto:eas-bounces at radiolists.net] On
Behalf Of Smith, Jeff

80% is the number that the FCC has been able to pull from all the initial
reports submitted by stations...radio, TV and cable. It is not a number
pulled out of the air.

Yes there were issues with the test and in some places the test did not run.
That was the point of this test. To discover the known and unknown flaws in
a system that has NEVER been tested.

It is real easy to be critics and point out the negatives...but let's look
at the positives here. 

For the first time in the history of CONELRAD, EBS and EAS a National
Activation was tested. It showed what worked and what did not work. It did
exactly what it was supposed to. 
FEMA, FCC, NASBA, SBE and many other agencies and organizations worked very
hard to educated broadcasters and the public about the test. It showed what
needs to be done to beef up the system and what technical limitations are
really out there.

Yes, there were plenty of issues to complain and bitch about....but there is
MUCH more POSITIVE to be taken from this test!

Jeff Smith CSRE CBNT