[Skywarn] Fwd: FW: Proposed Changes to Wireless Emergency Alerts

[Lloyd Colston]

Wireless Emergency Alerts needs help.

Amateur Radio Operators on the list will understand the Federal
Communications Commission Notice of Proposed Rulemaking effort.

Please help improve WEA.  It is comforting to know that we can send weather
alerts to folks via WEA.  It is disheartening to see WEA recipients get a
"Tornado Warning for your Area.  Take Shelter now" message with no way to
know what to do because they have not had a plan for what to do when they
are in a business without a plan for what they are to do with their
customers.  In other words, emergency managers can do a better job
informing folks about the plan part.

If I can send a link to more information, including the complete warning,
in a 140-character Tweet, WEA can also.  That link, to the full warning,
would include the action statement from the National Weather Service.

Another item to improve, from the emergency management side, is a focused
effort to inform the public on what WEA is and does.  Weather Ready Nation
folks can help with that.

At any rate, join me in your comments to the FCC regarding this issue.  We
can help WEA.

Lloyd


---------- Forwarded message ----------

________________________________________
From: Lucero, Mark [Mark.Lucero at fema.dhs.gov]
Sent: Friday, November 20, 2015 13:50
To: Lucero, Mark
Subject: Proposed Changes to Wireless Emergency Alerts

Greetings,
I am the chief engineer for the FEMA IPAWS system.  You are receiving this
email because I have you listed as a major stakeholder in IPAWS:  An
emergency manager, public safety official, or alerting software company.

I am writing to announce that the FCC (who makes the rules for WEA) has
issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking.  Essentially, they’re listing a
number of proposed changes to WEA and are requesting comments from you on
what you think is a good idea, bad idea, and why.  The document is 64
pages, so I am going to read through it and provide you with the cliff
notes version to save you some time.  Expect this distilled version in the
next few days.

The most important thing you can do is file a comment on these proposed
changes.  If the FCC doesn’t receive any comments saying, “yes, we need a
test code for WEA” then they will not add it.  If the FCC doesn’t receive
any comments saying, “yes, we need more than 90 characters in a WEA
message” then they won’t change it.  There is a finite period for accepting
comments.

Comments must be received before December 19, 2015.

The document is here (
http://transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2015/db1119/FCC-15-154A1.pdf
)
The website to upload your comments is here (
http://apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/proceeding/view?name=15-91)
Click “Submit a Filing in 15-91” and fill out the form
Enter the Proceeding Number, which is “15-91”
Enter your name as Name of Filer
Do not click the “Exparte Presentation” box
The type of filing is “COMMENT”
Enter your business address (not your personal address, as your comment and
information will be publicly available)
Save your comments in a Word document or similar format, and upload the
file to the FCC site by clicking the “Browse” button

Note: You can’t type comments directly into the website, they must be
prepared beforehand and then uploaded

v/r
Mark A. Lucero, CISSP
Chief, IPAWS Engineering
FEMA National Continuity Programs
202-646-1386 (w)
202-257-1364 (bb)
mark.lucero at fema.dhs.gov<mailto:mark.lucero at fema.dhs.gov>
ipaws at fema.dhs.gov<mailto:ipaws at fema.dhs.gov>