Nov. 9 EAS national test change notices
30-second test at Noon in Wyoming on Wednesday, Nov. 9th
by Pinedale Online!
November 8, 2011
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) have announced changes to their planned Emergency Alert System (EAS) national test scheduled for 2:00 PM Eastern Time (12:00 Noon Rocky Mountain Time) on Wednesday, November 9th. It was originally announced in August the planned test was scheduled to last up to three and one-half minutes. On Nov. 3rd, the Department of Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau announced it had determined that a 30-second test was sufficient to assess the reliability of the system.
All participants in the EAS system (radio, broadcast television, cable, satellite TV and radio providers, wireline video providers) are required to participated in the test and allow the federal government to take control of their programming for broadcast of emergency information when an alert is issued as a requirement of their FCC licenses.
The Sublette County Sheriff’s Office forwarded a caution they received from their 9-1-1 emergency communication system provider that there could be an influx of calls from concerned citizens in response to the test. In a cautionary e-mail sent out on Monday, November 7th, APCO Public Safety Communications warned of possible disruption of local 9-1-1 emergency systems due to an increase in calls from the public in response to the test. "9-1-1 communications centers and PSAPs could experience an onslaught of calls when the first-ever national test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) is conducted on Wednesday. During the national EAS test, no matter where citizens tune their radio or television (broadcast, cable or satellite), they will hear the same EAS tones and message. Public overreaction is a distinct possibility."
Below are releases from the FCC, APCO, and the Wyoming Association of Broadcasters about the Nov. 9 EAS nationwide test.
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November 3, 2011 – FCC Update
PUBLIC SAFETY AND HOMELAND SECURITY BUREAU ANNOUNCES
UPDATES TO THE NOVEMBER 9, 2011 NATIONWIDE EAS TEST
http://transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2011/db1103/DA-11-1857A1.pdf
On November 9, 2011, at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time1 (EST), the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will conduct the first-ever nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS). The purpose of the test is to assess the reliability and effectiveness of the EAS as a way to alert the public of national emergencies.
The EAS Third Report and Order, which adopted the rule allowing for nationwide testing of the EAS, delegated authority to the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau (Bureau) to determine, in consultation with FEMA and other EAS stakeholders, as appropriate, various operational procedures for implementing national tests of the EAS, including the duration of the test.
On August 23, 2011, the Bureau released a Public Notice addressing operational procedures for the Nationwide EAS Test, which, among other things, stated that the test would last for "approximately three minutes." On October 26, 2011, the FCC released a Public Notice announcing the availability of a Nationwide EAS Test Handbook (Handbook) providing EAS Participants with operational instructions for the test and which also stated that the test would last for "approximately three minutes." After a careful review of the technical elements of the test, FEMA and the FCC have concluded that a thirty-second test will allow the agencies to effectively assess the reliability and effectiveness of the EAS as a way to alert the public of national emergencies with limited disruption to the public.
Today’s public notice supersedes any prior Public Notice, and announces that a revised Handbook reflecting the new thirty second test length has been posted at www.fcc.gov/nationwideeastest.
All EAS Participants, (e.g., broadcasters, cable operators, satellite radio and television service
providers, and wireline video service providers) should consult and use the updated version of the Handbook. A copy of the Handbook must be located at normal duty positions or EAS equipment locations when an operator is required to be on duty and be immediately available to staff responsible for administering the Nationwide EAS Test. The Handbook supersedes all other EAS Handbooks for the duration of the November 9, 2011 Nationwide EAS Test. A copy of the Handbook is attached to this Public Notice as Appendix A. Copies of the Handbook can also be downloaded from the Bureau’s web site at http://www.fcc.gov/nationwideeastest.
The Bureau will continue to provide additional information about this first Nationwide EAS Test through the release of further public notices, as necessary. Please also visit the Bureau’s web page (http://www.fcc.gov/nationwideeastest) for additional announcements of significant developments affecting the Nationwide EAS Test for both EAS Participants and the general public. Updated information on this test, including recommended "best practices," can also be found on FEMA’s "Emergency Alert System (EAS) Community Information Updates and Test Preparations" web page (http://www.fema.gov/emergency/ipaws/eas_info.shtm).
For further information regarding this test, contact Tom Beers, Chief, Policy Division, Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau, (202) 418-0952; or Gregory Cooke, Associate Chief, Policy Division, Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau, (202) 418-2351.
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APCO International, the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials - the world's largest organization of public safety communications professionals, sent out a notice on Monday, November 7th, that public response concerns to the November 9th EAS system test could cause disruption or overloading of local 9-1-1 systems.
First National Test of the Emergency Alert System to Take Place on Wednesday
APCO Public Safety Communications e-mail alert, furnished by the Sublette County Sheriff’s Office – November 7, 2011
30-Second Test Anticipated
9-1-1 communications centers and PSAPs could experience an onslaught of calls when the first-ever national test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) is conducted on Wednesday. During the national EAS test, no matter where citizens tune their radio or television (broadcast, cable or satellite), they will hear the same EAS tones and message. Public overreaction is a distinct possibility.
The nationwide test will occur on Wednesday, Nov. 9 at 2 p.m. EST. Originally, the FCC anticipated the test would last up to three-and-a-half minutes, but in a Public Notice released on Nov. 3, the FCC revised its expectation, stating:
"After a careful review of the technical elements of the test, FEMA and the FCC have concluded that a thirty-second test will allow the agencies to effectively assess the reliability and effectiveness of the EAS as a way to alert the public of national emergencies with limited disruption to the public. Today’s public notice supersedes any prior Public Notice, and announces that a revised Handbook reflecting the new thirty second test length has been posted at www.fcc.gov/nationwideeastest."
Prepare your telecommunicators for the possible influx of calls by giving them a prepared response statement.
Help prepare your community by publicizing the test: FEMA Toolkit
EAS announcement archive from APCO on the EAS test
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TO: ALL WYOMING NEWSPAPERS
FM: LAURA GROTT, PRESIDENT, WYOMING ASSOCIATION OF BROADCASTERS
For Further Information, please contact: (307) 632-7622
Emergency Alert System National Test
November 9, 2011, 2 p.m. (EST)
The first nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) will take place on November 9, 2011 at Noon (Mountain Standard Time). The test will be conducted by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The test may last up to three and a half minutes.
The purpose of the test is to help government organizations and EAS Participants (radio and TV broadcast stations, cable operators and satellite radio and TV) to determine the reliability of the EAS system
"This national test will give all radio and television stations an opportunity to test their equipment and their capability to receive a national warning message. This test will allow us to identify and correct any problems with reception and relay of a national EAS message", according to Laura Grott, President of the Wyoming Association of Broadcasters.
FEMA and the FCC intend to conduct National EAS Tests on an annual basis (although not always on November 9).
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