- Commercial Mobile Alert System
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The Commercial Mobile Alert System (CMAS), also known as the Personal Localized Alerting Network (PLAN), is an alerting network designed to disseminate emergency alerts to mobile devices such as cell phones and pagers. The Federal Communications Commission proposed and adopted the network structure, operational procedures and technical requirements in 2007 and 2008 in response to the Warning, Alert, and Response Network (WARN) Act passed by Congress in 2006, which allocated $106 million to fund the program.[1] CMAS will allow federal agencies to accept and aggregate alerts from the President of the United States, the National Weather Service (NWS) and emergency operations centers, and send the alerts to participating wireless providers who may distribute the alerts to their customers via text messages.[2] The government plans to issue three types of alerts through this system: alerts issued by the president, alerts involving imminent threats to safety of life, and Amber Alerts.[3] The system is a collaborative effort between the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate (DHS S&T), the Alliance of Telecommunications Industry Solutions (ATIS), and the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA),[4] although there has been some controversy regarding the willingness of FEMA to participate.[5][6]
Contents
Participation
Within ten months of FEMA making the government’s design specifications for this secure interface for message transfer available, wireless service providers choosing to participate in CMAS must begin development and testing of systems which will allow them to receive alerts from alert originators and distribute them to their customers.[2] Systems must be fully deployed within 28 months of the December 2009 adoption of such standards and are expected to be delivering alert messages to the public by 2012.[4] Although not mandatory, several wireless providers, including T-Mobile, AT&T, Sprint Nextel, and Verizon have announced their willingness to participate in the system.[1] Providers who do not wish to participate must notify their customers.
Customers will be automatically signed up to receive PLAN alerts. If they do not want to participate they may opt to block most PLAN messages, however messages issued by the president cannot be blocked under any circumstances.[3]
Public television stations are also required by the FCC to act as a distribution system for CMAS alerts. Within 18 months of receiving funding from the Department of Commerce, all public television stations must be able to receive CMAS alerts from FEMA and transmit them to participating wireless service providers.[2]
See also
- Emergency Alert System
- Common Alerting Protocol
- NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards
- National Severe Weather Warning Service
References
- ^ a b Emergency alerts coming to your cellphone via cell broadcast
- ^ a b c FCC Consumer Facts, New Commercial Mobile Alert System .
- ^ a b [1], Personal Localized Alerting Network (PLAN)
- ^ a b FEMA News Release HQ-09-148, FEMA And The FCC Announce Adoption Of Standards For Wireless Carriers To Receive And Deliver Emergency Alerts Via Mobile Devices .
- ^ Under pressure, FEMA reverses position on mobile emergency alert system.
- ^ FEMA Statement On Commercial Mobile Alert System
External links
Categories:- Disaster preparedness in the United States
- Emergency Alert System
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