 The goal of public warning is to reduce the damage and loss of life caused by a natural or man-made hazard event.
For efficiency and to minimize the confusion that occurs during emergencies, the alerting system should be in routine
use for all hazards, including not only rare events such as earthquakes and tsunami, but for severe weather, fire,
and other threats.
A standards-based, all-media, all-hazards public warning strategy not only makes sense for governments to alert the public,
it makes sense for information technology providers and communications carriers as well. As these providers migrate to
digital technologies, services are being offered that integrate radio and television with cellular and satellite telephone
and with a variety of Internet-based and other network services. A service that supports all-hazard alerts and warnings is
no longer so much a matter of designing specialized communications technology as it is a matter of simply agreeing on
common standards for the content and handling of such alerts. Thus the Common Alerting Protocol or CAP-era.
CAP defines a single message format with the essential features to handle existing and emerging alert systems and sensor
technologies. This standard format can replace a range of single-purpose interfaces among warning sources and disseminations
channels. CAP addresses the concerns about compatibility and operational complexity that have been stifling development.
CAP is a breakthrough standard that opens the door to new alerting systems and technical innovation.
CAP converters are part of the Part 11 specified in the FCC's most recent Futher Notice of Propsed Rulemaking that would
ensure every certified product, independent of the vendor, can communicate with other products with that spec. Washington
attorney David Oxenford, likened it to the DTV transition, noting there’s a deadline in place but rules are still being crafted.
In addition, CAP converters will not install inline with old EAS equipment. They will required additional audio inputs:
You will need to have an audio output out of the box, and an Internet connection into the box. Everything else is
feature-driven by the manufacturer. EAS-CAP converters run about $2K, and do not include the internet connection. Full-
featured new systems can run upwards of $5k.
A list of manufacturers who provide FEMA-certified equipment can be found on the FCC's EAS website. The NMBA has recently contacted some of these
vendors for pricing information.That information will be distributed as soon as we have heard back from all the manufacturers
we contacted.
|
The EAS is designed to provide the federal government with a means to address the American people in the event of a national emergency, and in 1963, the President permitted state and local emergency information to be transmitted using the system. Since then, local emergency management personnel have used the EAS to relay local emergency messages via broadcast stations, cable, and wireless cable systems. While participation in national EAS alerts is mandatory in most cases, state and local EAS participation is completely voluntary.
Officials from the Department of Public Safety/Missing Persons Clearinghouse, and the NM State Police are the only authorized entities that can initiate a Missing Persons Advisory. A person is considered missing if their absence is reported by a reliable immediate family member and is imminent danger to themselves or others.
There is no age consideration or time frame restriction.
The AMBER Alert System began in 1996 when Dallas-Fort Worth broadcasters teamed with local police to develop an early warning system to help find abducted children. AMBER stands for America's Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response and was created as a legacy to 9-year-old Amber Hagerman, who was kidnapped while riding her bicycle in Arlington, Texas, and then brutally murdered. New Mexico soon set up an AMBER plan that works within the same framework as the advisory systems outlined above.