For some people it may seem like yesterday that we replaced the Emergency Broadcast System (EBS) [a term that people still use] with the Emergency Alert System (EAS). What I know about the technical side of EAS, IPAWs, CMAS, etc is minuscule compared to the knowledge that Rick Wimberly and Lorin Bristow bring to the table.
I highly recommend that you follow their blog
Alerts and Notifications at Emergency Management Magazine. There are many changes coming to alerts and warning and you will need to keep up with the "new game in town."
This past week I had a chance to visit in person with Lorin and Rick. Here are a couple of factoids I picked up:
- The President cannot "today" issue a national EAS alert (Zow--that surprised me)
- EAS is not digital. Up to now that is what I thought it was.
- Some emergency managers who they speak to don't think they are responsible for alerts and warnings!! You got to be kidding me!!!!
Anyway, there are technological changes coming in the near term.
IPAWS is something you will need to know about and
CMAS is another term that will become near and dear to your heart. With CMAS we'll be able to reach people on their cell phones without them having to register the device with our commercial warning system provider--at least that is how I think it will work.
FYI, the term "Next Generation EAS" is not one that is being used today. I made it up in order to allow people to better understand that we are talking about another generation of warning systems coming soon.
