Coming U.S. EAS Exercise Seen Helping CAP, Though Testing Old Standard

The major drawback is that testing EAS without using CAP means the new standard won’t be put through its paces at the same time across the country in a first-time test of the presidential triggering of the alert, some broadcast officials said. They said such a nationwide test using CAP may not happen anytime soon, because it will take a while for pay-TV providers and radio and TV stations to have equipment that’s using the new standard working as it should. Radio and TV stations are ready for a non-CAP EAS test, and some states already do such exercises on a statewide basis, said broadcast and other EAS officials.

"It’s not problematic, but what’s the point,” said Jim Gabb, longtime chairman of California’s emergency communications committee. “It’s kind of silly because we're in such a transition of the system -- why test a system that is being phased out? To me it is not logical.” Broadcasters and pay-TV providers have an FCC deadline to be CAP ready by Sept. 30, after getting a six-month delay from the commission. That means you'll have a non-CAP national test as broadcasters are “trying to figure it out and how it will work,” Gabb said. “We know that works,” he said of the current system, because all users test it monthly. Using the emergency action notification access code in a nationwide exam won’t be a problem, Gabb said.

A FEMA spokeswoman said it and other U.S. agencies and EAS participants will hold a series of technical workshops to “discuss and provide ‘best practices'” to support the alerts. Topics will include planning, monitoring assignments, EAS device installation, configuration and operation, she said. “This test will inform federal test partners and EAS participants of the condition of the EAS to effectively plan improvements,” she said. The national exercise “will establish a strong baseline for this purpose, while educating the general public about the importance of the EAS and other alert and warning systems,” the spokeswoman added. A date hasn’t been set for the first test, she said.

It won’t be “a significant challenge” for radio and TV stations in Hawaii to do the test as envisioned by the commission, said Chris Leonard, chairman of that state broadcast association’s EAS committee and general manager of a group of five stations on the island of Hawaii. “I do think it will be important to run this test again after the CAP issues are settled. In terms of how all that will play out, there are a lot of questions about how that will affect our broadcasters.” It’s time to do a national test, he said: “I understand the concern about CAP. But we can test it after CAP.” NAB supports a nationwide EAS test and will make sure it’s a success, a spokesman said. Spokespeople for the NCTA and DirecTV and Dish Network had no comment.

The order approved by FCC members left much of implementation of the tests up to the Public Safety Bureau, which the agency said was given authority to make decisions such as the time of day when the test will occur, how to help educate the public about the exercise and other issues. “In addition to further determination of operational aspects of the test, much work also remains regarding outreach and coordination,” said the order at http://xrl.us/bihdiu. “We plan to issue joint public notices with FEMA on a regular basis” and that agency is responsible for transmission of a presidential-level alert to the first line of receiving stations, known as primary entry point outlets, the commission said. “We do not believe it is necessary to delay testing until the period for CAP compliance ends. First, FEMA anticipates continuing use of legacy EAS into the foreseeable future” so “we need to be able to continue to assess legacy EAS capabilities,” the FCC said.

An FCC spokesman said the goal of the order is to ensure a national test can occur under FCC rules, which set a framework to allow for one. The regulator has worked closely with the Department of Homeland Security, FEMA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration “throughout this initiative and will continue to do so,” he said. “The FCC, along with its federal partners, will use the test to determine what is working in the EAS and what is not, and work with the EAS community to make improvements to the system as necessary nationwide."

Almost all Pennsylvania radio and TV stations and cable systems are CAP-ready, said Matt Lightner, chief engineer for the Pennsylvania Association of Broadcasters and co-chairman of the state’s emergency communications committee. “If it would happen via CAP, I would say it would be a very successful test in our state. Given it’s going to happen the old way, I would say it’s going to be fairly successful.” The government seems to be “just looking to do a test as soon as they can using the old system, and I think it will be a while before they do a CAP test” because that will require installing servers and perhaps other upgrades, said Lightner, who owns a company that installs broadcast engineering equipment. “This is an interim solution. It’s probably a beneficial test to see where the failures are going to be.”