Nationwide EAS Test Information Briefing November 3 rd , 2011

1. Nationwide EAS Test Information Briefing November 3rd, 2011

2. About the EAS • EAS was established in 1994 as a replacement for the EBS. • EAS predecessors date to 1951 and the CONELRAD system • The President has never activated the national-level EAS • A nationwide test has never been conducted • EAS’ primary purpose is to enable the President to notify the Nation during a national emergency • EAS is maintained in partnership between FEMA, FCC, NOAA, and private sector communications providers • Per FCC rules, the following communications service providers (EAS Participants) must participate in a nationwide EAS activation: • Broadcast radio and television stations • Cable television systems • Satellite radio and television (e.g., Sirius/XM, DirecTV) • Wireline video service providers (e.g., Verizon FiOS) • FEMA maintains the infrastructure for issuing national emergency alert messages • EAS participants voluntarily transmit State and Local alerts, as well as any initiated by the National Weather Service (NWS) • NOAA maintains interoperability with the National Weather Service systems

3. About the EAS The EAS is the alert and warning backbone • Can reach more people in more places with a single alert message • Can provide detailed emergency information to millions of people in a short period of time • Is in a full state of readiness at all times • Is resilient -- remains operational when other communication pathways fail • Has proven valuable in rural communities and post-disaster response

4. The Evolution of Emergency Alerting Personal Localized Alert Network / PLAN Originally called the “Key Station System,” CONtrol of ELectromagnetic RADiation (CONELRAD) was established in August 1951. Participating stations tuned to 640 & 1240 kHz AM and initiated a special sequence and procedure to warn citizens. 1951 - 1963 1963 - 1997 1997 - 2006 2006 CONELRAD EBS EAS IPAWS EAS, jointly coordinated between FEMA, FCC, and NWS. Designed for the President to speak to the American people within 10 minutes. EAS messages composed of 4 parts: • Digitally encoded header • Attention Signal • Audio Announcement • Digitally encoded end-of-message marker • Integrated with NOAA to distribute weather and local alerts to broadcasters • IPAWS modernizes and integrates the Nation’s alert and warning infrastructure. • Integrates new and existing public alert and warning systems and technologies by adopting new alert information exchange format - the Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) • Gives authorities a broader range of message options and multiple communications pathways EBS was intended to address the nation with audible alerts. Did not allow targeted messaging. Was upgraded in 1976 to provide better and more accurate alert handling. Originally designed to give the President a way to communicate with the American Public. Expanded for peacetime use at the state and local level. Information Source: The Broadcast Archive Maintained by: Barry Mishkind , The Eclectic Engineer

5. The Nationwide EAS Test First Nationwide EAS Test -- November 9, 2011 at 2 p.m. EST Purpose:  To assess how well EAS would perform its primary function – to alert the entire public during national emergencies. Per FCC rules: -- All EAS Participants must participate in nationwide testing -- EAS Participants must submit test result data by December 27, 2011 • The test is diagnostic in nature

6. What will the public hear and see on November 9th? The test will be similar to local EAS tests conducted monthly by individual EAS participants and local officials… …with three key differences: • It will be on all radio and television stations. Local tests are typically on one station at time • It will last approximately 30 seconds. Local tests are typically 1-2 minutes • During the test, the message crawl on television screens will not indicate “Test.” However: • Most broadcast television stations, DIRECTV, DISH Network, AT&T U-Verse, and Verizon FiOS will insert a background image on the screen saying, “This is only a test.” • Cable television systems may not be able to display a similar background image

7. Nationwide EAS test –audio message: • The text that will be announced on all participating channels: “This is a test of the Emergency Alert System.  [PAUSE] This is only a test.  The message you are hearing is part of a nationwide live code Test of Emergency Alert System capabilities.  This test message has been initiated by National Alert and Warning authorities in coordination with Emergency Alert System participants, including broadcast, cable, satellite, and wireline participants in your area.   Had this been an actual emergency, the attention signal you just heard would have been followed by emergency information, news, or instructions.   Remember, this is only a test.  The Emergency Alert System is also used by State, Territorial, Tribal, and Local authorities to alert and warn the public and provide important emergency response information. Remember, this is only a test. … [repeat of above] … This has been a test of the Emergency Alert System”

8. Sample television screen display variations:

9. Test Preparations FEMA and the FCC have been engaged in planning, pre-testing, and outreach activities for the nationwide test since 2009. Public Outreach activities began in June: • FEMA and FCC press releases • FCC website: www.fcc.gov/nationwideeastest • FEMA Blog Posts: http://blog.fema.gov/2011/10/emergency-alert-system-test-one-month.html • FCC Consumer Factsheet and Guide • FCC and FEMA Frequently Asked Questions • Audio and Video Public Service Announcements in English and Spanish with captioning • Working with broadcast and cable networks to air announcements before and/or after the test to tell viewers that this is, in fact, a test

10. Test Preparations, cont. Public Outreach activities, cont: • Webinars, roundtables, and briefings with EAS Participants and government agencies • Newsletter blurbs and other test-related information materials for consumer and community organizations and government agencies, including 911 Call Centers Information documents published: • FEMA EAS Best Practices Guide • FCC Nationwide EAS Test Handbook for EAS Participants • FEMA EAS Test Informational Toolkit

11. Next Generation Alerting – FCC Initiatives • Deploy CMAS/PLAN in New York City by the end of the year, nationwide starting in April 2012. • FCC rulemaking to implement the Common Alerting Protocol (CAP)

12. Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) • The FEMA IPAWS Program is the Department of Homeland Security’s response to Executive Order 13407 • FEMA, in partnership with the FCC, NOAA, and the private sector is implementing “the policy of the United States to have an effective, reliable, integrated, flexible, and comprehensive system to alert and warn the American people...and to ensure under all conditions the President can communicate with the American people.” • IPAWS integrates new and existing public alert and warning systems and technologies to provide local, State, territorial, tribal, and Federal government alert and warning officials access to broader range of message options and communications pathways for the delivery of alert and warning information to the American people before, during, and after a disaster.

13. “Timely Alert And Warning To American Citizens In The Preservation of Life And Property” IPAWS Vision Integration of public alertcommunications systems: • Facilitate single emergency alert message delivery to all available public dissemination channels • Easier to use for alerting authorities EAS CMAS • Improves and Enhancesemergency alerting capability in two critical ways: – increases reliability that affected citizens receive an alert via at least one path – increases likelihood that citizens react to emergency alerts

14. IPAWS ArchitectureStandards based alert message protocols, authenticated alert message senders, shared, trusted access & distribution networks, alerts delivered to more public interface devices Alert Disseminators (public alerting systems) American People Alerting Authorities * Includes NOAA IPAWS compliant CAP Alert Origination Tools Emergency Alert System Local Emergency AM FM Satellite Radio; Digital, Analog, Cable, and Satellite TV State Alert Aggregator/ Gateway Territorial CAP messages Commercial Mobile Alert Service (CMAS) (aka PLAN) Tribal cell phones, pagers Commercial Mobile Networks • IPAWS OPEN Federal* Internet Services web browsers, widgets, web sites, social media CAP messages the Message Router (Open Platform for Emergency Networks) IPAWS compliant CAP Alert Origination Tools NOAA HazCollect NWS State / Local Unique Alerting Systems FM RBDS ETN Siren Digital Signage Future Technologies

15. More Information? Please Visit: FCC’s Nationwide EAS Test website at www.fcc.gov/nationwideeastest FEMA Blog on the Nationwide Test http://blog.fema.gov/2011/10/emergency-alert-system-test-one-month.html IPAWS National EAS test page http://www.fema.gov/emergency/ipaws/eas_info.shtm