The SBE has filed comments related to the FCC's EAS Further Notice of Proposed Rule Making.
Among the recommendations for changes and improvement to the EAS, the society called for the creation of point-multipoint distribution systems for the distribution of EAS messages from their sources to those systems that transmit emergency messages to the public, and for the elimination of the EBS-era daisy-chain system. Because of the critical need to provide text messages to existing television-based systems and a growing array of non-broadcast EAS participants, the SBE also called for the adoption of the Common Alerting Protocol as the vehicle for the distribution of emergency messages from their sources.
In addition, the filing calls on the FCC to create EAS performance standards, to eliminate broadcasters as an EAS origination source, to provide federal funding and training for a national system, and to mandate consumer electronic devices to have warning capabilities.
SBE has been involved in the EAS as well as the predecessor EBS at the national, state and local levels, and across the United States for many years. The society has historically recommended and assisted in the understanding and implementation of these public warning systems.
The complete text of the SBE's response is available at www.sbe.org under Regulator/Gov't Relations.
