EchoStar Says It Can’t Provide Local Emergency Alerts
EchoStar said it can’t receive, process and relay emergency alerts to the 550 Emergency Alert System (EAS) local areas. “The difficulties of obtaining this capability are likely insurmountable,” EchoStar said in reply comments on the FCC’s review of EAS. The company wouldn’t specify the costs of such a system, an EchoStar spokesman said, saying only that the price in resources and bandwidth would be “nearly inestimable.”
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EchoStar disputed suggestions by NCTA that direct broadcast satellite (DBS) operators can distribute localized warnings through addressable set-top boxes. For several reasons, individual addressability for one purpose doesn’t translate into an ability to address a larger set of subscribers simultaneously for a different purpose, EchoStar said. Substantial bandwidth would need to be dedicated to emergency alerts because they require rapid dissemination. A messaging system, such as text messages, isn’t part of EchoStar’s current addressability system. EchoStar’s system is designed only to transmit and respond to bits of data directing the box to turn channels on or off. The Satellite Bcstg. & Communications Assn. (SBCA) said in its comments that, at a minimum, complex software- level changes would be needed for an emergency text messaging system. “Legacy set-top boxes that are unable to respond to such text messages means extraordinary costs and logistical problems,” EchoStar wrote. It also said mandatory participation of satellite carriers in state and local EAS would impose the burden of creating an entirely new infrastructure.
CEA and other reply commenters said the FCC should focus on National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration Weather Radio (NWR) when considering EAS improvements. CEA said NWR and EAS are complementary delivery transmission networks. NWR consists of more than 900 govt.-owned transmitters continuously on the air providing national coverage of all hazards. NWR is the main source for emergency alert information used by EAS participants, so there should be closer integration of EAS and NWR, commenters said.
The Society of Bcst. Engineers (SBE) agreed the best method for distributing pubic warnings is over point-to- multipoint wireless systems such as NWR, radio and TV. “These methods, using antiquated technology, have the ability to notify millions in seconds, something no telephony-based system can ever hope to achieve,” SBE said. Wireless telephony systems are unavailable for considerable periods during some emergencies, SBE said. Telephony-based warnings should be considered just another tool in the emergency manager’s toolbox.
Meanwhile, CTIA said it hoped to meet with the FCC as soon as its investigation into the benefits and drawbacks of several proposed delivery mechanisms, such as cell broadcast, were complete. CTIA continued to reject a mandatory wireless emergency alert system (CD Nov 2 p6) until wireless delivery options have been better understood.