[EAS] HD developer proposal for EAS

[Sean Donelan]

The automotive digital dashboard is no longer being driven by radio. 
That's why I keep coming back to the "user experience."

High-end auto infotainment systems already get most of their data using a 
cellular chip or tethered to the user's cell phone. I don't think 
emergency alerting is very high in the auto manufacturer's product 
roadmaps.  What little there is, its more likely the emergency alert will 
come through WEA or the cellular chip in the auto digital dashboard than 
through a HD radio chip.

Are we going to end-up with the "force-tuning" problem between broadcast 
TV stations and cable TV systems.  While the driver is listening to a news 
broadcast about a local disaster, does the auto digital dashboard 
interrupt it with an emergency alert?  What about SiriusXM and Spotify 
listeners in the car? Do they get emergency alerts from the satellite, 
from the infotainment system, from the tethered cell phone?

Yes, that is a problem for people outside of major cellular markets, or 
who can't afford a cell plan for their cars.

In the home, consumers are buying smart speakers, not HD radios.  Even if 
you listen to a radio station on a smart speaker, few radio stations 
include EAS on their web streams.  And I'm not sure an embedded EAS even 
makes sense for out-of-area listeners.

Back to the user experience, not preservation of legacy distribution 
business models.