House Bills Target Broader Emergency Communications TelecomWeb The U.S. House of Representatives is examining two bills that would establish new national emergency and disaster communications-alert systems aimed at sending such special messages via a variety of media, including broadcast channels as well as wireline and wireless telecommunications infrastructure.
The proposed Warning, Alert, and Response Network Act (H.R. 5785) and the 21st Century Emergency Communications Act (H.R. 5852) are being authored in the House Energy and Commerce and the House Homeland Security committees, respectively, but both envision an expanding emergency-alert system that recruits, on a voluntary basis, not only the traditional TV and radio networks, but also service providers of Internet e-mail and instant messaging, wireless voice and text messages, BlackBerry server systems and cable communications. The two comparable bills are being considered at a time when the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Association of Public Television Stations (APTS) as well as members of the wireline, wireless and cable communities are testing multi-media alert technologies that leverage common attributes of digital television (DTV), digital paging and Internet Protocol network transmissions. "With nearly 200 million Americans carrying cellphones and other wireless devices, it seems only natural to also look to the wireless industry to help communicate in times of emergencies," remarked Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet. H.R. 5785 was introduced by Reps. John Shimkus (R-Ill.) and Albert Wynn (D-Md.) and has at least 12 bipartisan sponsors while H.R. 5852 was introduced by Rep David G. Reichert (R-Wash.) and has at least 10 bipartisan co-sponsors. Energy and Commerce is looking at both proposals. One motive for the legislation appears to be Hurricane Katrina's exposure of flaws in public alert communications capabilities last year. "Right now, some communities have sirens to warn of tornados, coastal communities may use loud speakers on police cars to warn of a hurricane, and television stations superimpose weather alerts, but that hardly covers even a majority of the population in the areas affected," Shimkus said recently. "This bill would link every type of media being used, no matter where the person is or what type of device they are using." Both bills envision key roles for the Federal Communications Commission, but they take different views on government standards-setting. Shimkus maintains the H.R. 5785 legislation encourages use of all technology available and won't hinder any development by selecting or dictating communications-alert media. Among other things, H.R. 5852 would facilitate development of standards for interoperable emergency communications and would prohibit homeland security funding from being spent on equipment that doesn't comply with standards and statewide interoperable communications plans. H.R. 5785l would devote $106 million to expand the alert network and to help coordinate a variety of government efforts to improve the systems, building in part on work already underway at the federal agencies. Several Democratic members of the Homeland Security Committee also lauded H.R. 5852. Reps. Bennie G. Thompson (D-Miss.), ranking member, as well as Bill Pascrell Jr. (D-N.J.) and Nita M. Lowey (D-N.Y.) pointed to that measure's upgrade and interoperability plans for first-responder communications facilities, although dollar amounts weren't yet specified. H.R. 5852 also would elevate the DHS interoperability focus by establishing a new Office of Emergency Communications, headed by an assistant secretary. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Duane Whittingham (N9SSN) - Producer Tom and Darryl Radio Shows & Saturday Morning Confusion Heard on C-Band Analog Satellite (W0KIE) - Telstar 6 Ch 1 - 6.2/6.8 WTND-LP Macomb 106.3, WQNA FM, WBCQ 7415 kHz & the Internet. Heard Fridays 9pm ET, Sundays 12am ET and Tuesdays 2am ET (Folk) An Independent Freeform Eclectic Radio Show. http://www.tomanddarryl.org http://www.wtnd.us Reply with a "Thank you" if you liked this post. _____________________________ MEDIANEWS mailing list [email protected] To unsubscribe send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
