The Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) is the
nation's next-generation infrastructure of alert and warning networks.
Falling primarily within the auspices of the Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA, www.fema.gov),
IPAWS will expand upon the existing radio and TV Emergency Alert
System (EAS) by providing one message over more media to more
people before, during and after a disaster. The roll-out of IPAWS
is intertwined with the FCC's efforts to create a next-generation
EAS, and broadcasters can expect to see progress in both areas
in 2010.
An overall block diagram of IPAWS is shown below. Some of the
specific goals for IPAWS include the following:
- Diversify and modernize the EAS;
- Create an interoperability frameword by establishing or adopting
standards such as the Common Alerting Protocol (CAP; see the
March
16, 2009 issue of Radio TechCheck for additional
information on CAP);
- Enable alert and warning to those with disabillties and to
those without an udnerstanding of the English language;
- Provide the President, federal, state, territorial, tribal
and local emergency managers access to more communication pathways
to ensure alerts and warnings reach the maximum number of Americans
over as many pathways as possible;
- Partner with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA, www.noaa.gov) to enable seamless integration of message
transmission through national networks.
Under the FCC's current rules for EAS, there are three important
changes coming which are directly tied to the development of IPAWS
and will impact broadcasters. These changes were established in
the FCC's 2007 Second Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking on Next-Generation EAS (EB Docket 04-296; a copy of
this document is available on the FCC's Web page at http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-07-109A1.pdf).
Two of these changes are tied to FEMA's "adoption" of the CAP
standard which has been developed specifically for IPAWS - 180
days after FEMA adopts CAP, broadcasters will be required to do
the following:
- accept an alert message using a common EAS messaging protocol
(namely, CAP);
- transmit state and local EAS alerts that are originated by
governors or their designees, provided that the state has a
Commission-approved EAS state plan that provides for delivery
of such alerts.
In 2009, FEMA indicated that four specific tasks need to be completed
before CAP will be adopted, and anticipate that such adoption
will occur in the third quarter of 2010:
1) Establish conformance lab and begin testing - this
task involves certifying that the EAS equipment used by broadcasters
conforms to the CAP standard. In September of this year, FEMA
selected Eastern Kentucky University as the facility which will
conduct these tests. A number of EAS equipment manufacturers are
already selling equipment that incorporates CAP features (but
this equipment has not yet been conformance tested) including
SAGE Alerting Systems (SAGE Digital Endec, www.sagealertingsystems.com/products.htm),
Digital Alert Systems (DASDEC,
www.digitalalertsystems.com/DASDEC_intro.htm), and Trilithic
(EasyCast Radio, www.trilithic.com/Emergency%20Alert%20Systems/Products/EASyCAST%20Radio/2011237102.html).
2) Develop CAP-to-EAS translation guide - a standard way
for translating the CAP-formatted altering messages into the Specific
Area Message Encoding (SAME) format currently used for EAS messages
needs to be developed. One reason this is important is to ensure
that CAP messages are rendered using SAME so that duplicate messages
can be detected. This means that for a given CAP message, all
EAS encoders must emit the exact same CFR 47 Part 11 "ZCZC" string.
The EAS-CAP Industry Group (ECIG, www.eas-cap.org),
a coalition of EAS equipment, software and service providers,
developed an "EAS CAP Profile Recommendation" in 2008 which includes
a section on CAP-to-EAS translation (this document is available
online at www.eas-cap.org/Recommendation%20EAS-CAP-0.1.pdf).
There are some CAP-to-EAS converters available (but this equipment
has not yet been conformance tested) from EAS equipment vendors
including TFT, Inc. (EAS 2008 CAP-to-EAS converter, www.tftinc.com/products/datasheets/EAS0613-Model%202008-Data%20Sheet-V1-4%202007-07-12.pdf),
Warning Systems, Inc. (AdaptAlert EAS Activation System, www.warningsystems.com/products_activation_systems.htm),
and Gorman-Redlich (CAP-to-EAS decoder system, www.gorman-redlich.com/CAP%20TO%20EAS%20decoder.htm.
3) Demonstrate delivery of federal message in CAP format to
a PEP station- this is to ensure that prior to adoption of
CAP that a method for delivery of a CAP formatted alert message
to a primary entry point (PEP) station has been tested; and,
4) Propose and start OASIS process on IPAWS CAP security profile
- this security profile task pertains to the authentication and
verification of entities entitled to issue emergency alerts using
IPAWS and CAP-formatted messages.
The third change resulting from the 2007 Second R&O is that EAS
participants must adopt "next-generation EAS delivery systems"
no later than 180 days after FEMA publicly releases standards
for those systems. To date there has been little discussion on
next-generation EAS delivery systems, but in 2010 it is expected
that more details will emerge.
For additional information visit FEMA's IPAWS Web page at www.fema.gov/emergency/ipaws.
