[EAS] NPRM Frustrations

Tue Feb 2 21:32:52 CST 2016

I have been very quiet on this but trying to work with Cal OES to create a seamless alert system in California. As technology has changed and somebody who has owned a lot of radio stations and a TV the reality is broadcast can no longer be the "door bell:" to an alert. In my life I never thought as a previous owner I would ever pay for radio but guess what: I have SiriusXm in my car, at home I have Direct TV. If we had a local alert I would not get it! Kids today do not even know what a traditional radio is...they have Pandora, etc. What the country needs is a system where electronic devices such as wireless phones, internet,etc is the door bell telling the public we have an alert and tune to...XYZ. The daisy chain just will not work. In the Loma Prieta earthquake we had generator failures on almost all TV's. Our TV station was one of 2 that stayed on the air and we had the only FM on for an hour or so while generators were fixed, etc. The Bay Areas  LP-2 lost a tower, my AM lost a tower, our LP-1 Spanish lost circuit breakers and the authorities would not let them get to the transmitter. There is no reason with today's technology that all stations could be LP-1's. It is so logical but somehow nobody gets it! We need a seamless super parallel system from the white House to the small city!
Today it is really simple but the FCC has broadcast, Fema has IPAWS, etc. As a past member of PPW we proposed a seamless system a long time ago. The problem was we were critical of DHS and the FCC  after 9/11 and when we presented our findings and recommendations the government did not want to hear what we had to say so we went into the circular file. A few years later they have adopted so many of what we had proposed but today we are caught between 2 Federal Agencies fighting for turf! In conclusion the State of Washington gets it!

Jim Gabbert  
SECC Chair California (almost since Conelrad)

In a message dated 2/2/2016 6:26:54 P.M. Pacific Standard Time, nevadaeas at charter.net writes:
>Is it just me or is the FCC over-reaching on this NPRM? What Congressional
>pressures are they receiving to push EAS into more corners of the broadcast
>universe? It seems like the FCC doesn't understand that an EAS Plan is not a
>substitute for a state or local emergency communications plan. EAS is one of
>the tools available to an emergency manager or public safety official for
>communication information to the community. Not all emergency information is
>an EAS activation and not all state or local officials want to issue EAS
>activations. Some actually dislike EAS...

>As I've read through the NPRM this afternoon multiple warning messages have
>been issued here in Nevada. Caltrans wants travelers to know that the there
>are two major traffic accidents on the major trans-Sierra highway west of
>Reno, that a portion of the highway around Lake Tahoe has been closed by a
>washout/rock slide and there are chain controls over the open highways.
>Nevada Highway Patrol is warning that icy roads and ground fog will be a
>problem for drivers again this evening. The Washoe District Health
>Department wants people to know about the dangers of the Zika virus and
>local hospitals say an expected surge of over-partied Super Bowl fans will
>fill emergency rooms this weekend and possibly cause delays in medical care.
>Speaking of wildlife, the Nevada Division of Wildlife is warning Carson City
>residents that bobcats roaming the edges of town could be a threat to
>domestic cats and dogs, Las Vegas authorities have two people in custody for
>yesterday's homicide and they're investigating a string of mailbox
>burglaries. Oh, and they are having problems with their 9-1-1 and 3-1-1
>services so calls are being routed to Henderson and North Las Vegas  All
>this information is flowing to the public from a variety of sources,
>including radio and television, the Internet and Social Media. Although some
>of these cases are possibly life-threatening, no one seems to think they
>warrant an EAS activation.

>Many communities, even entire states, operate without using EAS and their
>officials don't see the need for activations. Is it the role of the FCC to
>force states and local governments into using EAS? Does the FCC have that
>authority? Does it seem to anyone else that the FCC is blaming SECC's where
>state and local governments lack a commitment to EAS? Why is there so much
>emphasis on broadcasters and so little on cable operators and IPTV
>providers? 

>So much frustration, so few solutions...

>Adrienne      

>Adrienne Abbott

>Nevada EAS Chair

>NVBA  ABIP  Inspector

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