[EAS] Blue Alerts Are Back

[Botterell, Arthur@CalOES]

CAP actually allows an otherwise complete alert message to be specified as a test.  In principle that avoids the need to do "live code" testing.  Of course that benefit is lost as soon as the CAP is down-converted to a lower-resolution format such as SAME.

In any event, the cellular industry standards body ATIS is now... at some prompting... backing away from use of SAME event codes in WEA.  As Sean points out, the SAME codes aren't really relevant to WEA, and inserting them into the conversation just creates confusion.

Unfortunately, so many implementers have been uncritically schooled that SAME codes are "the way it's done."  In reality there were no graven tablets, SAME "just growed" like Topsy.

-----Original Message-----
From: EAS [mailto:eas-bounces at radiolists.net] On Behalf Of Sean Donelan

[snip...]

The difference between how WEA and EAS processes the parameters has caused confusion multiple times.  For example, Fort Hood recently sent a "test" 
message as a "Local Area Emergency" alert Immediate/Severe/Observed, with the predictable results.