[EAS] NPT at KKNU

Sun Oct 1 09:35:37 CDT 2017

Mike,

Excellent points and questions.  The easiest part of this is to add 
language selection to dayparts.  Since you mentioned uppercase ENDEC, 
I'll add for Sage that daypart automation that includes dynamic info 
block language selection will part of a software update, you won't 
need to replace your hardware.  You will need to build (and maintain) 
a daypart file, or program your automation to send a "set language" 
message, or have someone click a box on the browser interface - there 
is no way around that.

You point is well taken, however, there is more than just equipment 
cost associated with multi-lingual.

CAP already allows for transport of multiple languages, both text and 
audio (and other multimedia) content.  The task of airing the proper 
audio file pales in comparison to the difficulty of creating the 
audio file in the first place.  Someone (or some thing) must 
translate English to language X, and someone (or some thing) must 
provide audio and text.

You asked "And for FEMA, how many languages total to encode?".  This 
is a valid question in the context of the NPT, as FEMA is the 
originator.  They could encode as many as they like.  The spanish 
info block added about 2500 characters to the XML message, for a 
total of 8709 bytes.  Fifty languages would  make the message around 
150,000 bytes.  FEMA would need to provide audio, the English file 
was 228k, the Spanish was 242k.  That's more storage space, but few 
stations would download more than one file.

Do we want FEMA to provide an NPT in 50 tertiary 
languages?  Broadcasting one would imply that the station/daypart 
would be a source of emergency messages in that language, but, for 
state/local alerts, the local EOC might not provide it, the NWS would 
not provide it, and the station might not have real-time translators, 
or the system might not provide automatic translation - many alerts 
will NOT be in tertiary language X.  And as presently configured, an 
EAN is unlikely to provide it.  It could be better to run the NPT 
alert as most alerts will be run, with the station running a suitable 
PSA before or after in tertiary language X.

Many of the issues have been discussed recently.  For anyone with an 
interest that has not done so, I recommend reading the CSRIC V FCC 
Advisory committee working group 3 report on Multilingual Alerting 
Recommendations.  In also includes pointers to relevant case studies.

The report is here:
https://transition.fcc.gov/bureaus/pshs/advisory/csric5/WG3_MultiAlert_091416.docx

The general overview of CSRIC V is
https://www.fcc.gov/about-fcc/advisory-committees/communications-security-reliability-and-interoperability

Several regulars on this list were part of that 14 member subcommittee.

Our task in that subcommittee was in part to recommend best practices 
for the delivery of multilingual EAS and emergency information.

One of the subcommittee conclusions was that "it is premature to 
promulgate a set of Best Practices".    The primary recommendation 
was that "the Commission refrain from creating additional regulations 
pertaining to multilingual alerting".

Other recommendations included "The use of non-English (or 
multi-lingual) alerting should remain voluntary for EAS Originators 
and EAS Participants" and that the "Commission remains 
technologically neutral and continues to allow, but not require, 
experimentation and development by EAS stakeholders on all types of 
multilingual functionality with collaborative leadership determined 
by local communities."

The subcommittee also recommended that the "FCC should allow, but not 
require, CAP devices to immediately survey IPAWS upon receipt of a 
broadcast EAS message, in order to determine whether a matching CAP 
message exists with ESL content, and use that CAP message instead."

The full CSRIC approved the recommendations of the subcommittee in 
September 2016.  See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5R14Qb53y_Q 
between 1:52:20 and 2:06:45.

My person view is that multi-lingual content creation and delivery is 
something EAS Participants will continue to whittle away at, there is 
no one grand solution - and if most emergencies are 
local,  multi-lingual emergencies are even more so.

I'm not saying that multi-lingual is impossible, there have been, and 
are, various projects with various scopes to provide various types of 
solutions, from fully automated, to pre-translated templates, to 
human in the loop.  Hopefully, these systems and others will be able 
to find their niche without early regulation affecting innovation.

Harold

At 07:27 AM 10/1/2017, Mike McCarthy wrote:
>As a cluster of stations which offers programs in as many as 50 languages
>on 5 of those stations, including two which offer straight Polish 14 hours
>a day intended for first generation immigrants, this multi-lingual issue
>has our attention. While Spanish is the secondary language of interest in
>DC, the most major of markets each has over a million, if not two,
>speaking a variety of tertiary languages not of Spanish...or English.
>
>There is a "me too" movement from these language interests pressing for
>their language to be included in what ever rules changes there will be on
>multi-lingual EAS.
>
>Groups like ours which carry programming aimed at non-English ***and***
>non-Spanish speaking listeners are in a very awkward position. How
>would/do we daypart our EAS boxes? It's not a simple matter by any stretch
>of the imagination.  What would such a box and effort cost us if we need
>to replace 5 ENDEC's.  Then cost in labor to support programming them
>initially and then on an ongoing basis when programs in various languages
>change time slots or leave the air? Could operations people effect the
>change or would engineering need to be constantly involved.
>
>And for FEMA, how many languages total to encode? The distribution
>challenges increases by at least an order of magnitude.
>
>While the Spanish special interests thinks this is a slam dunk matter, it
>isn't.  And before any rules changes occur, "me-too" backlash/outrage will
>need to be carefully considered from the collective of those tertiary
>languages.
>
>MM
>
>On Sat, September 30, 2017 10:12 pm, Gary Glaenzer wrote:
> >
> > UNDER CURRENT RULES............
>
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