FEMA, FCC Announce Nationwide Test Of The Emergency Alert System

FEMA, FCC Announce Nationwide Test Of The Emergency Alert System
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2011

Similar to local Emergency Alert System Tests, this Test is Scheduled to Take Place on November 9, 2011

Release Date: June 9, 2011
Release Number: HQ-11-099

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will conduct the first nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS). The nationwide test will occur on Wednesday, November 9 at 2 p.m. eastern standard time and may last up to three and a half minutes.

The EAS is a national alert and warning system established to enable the President of the United States to address the American public during emergencies. NOAA’s National Weather Service, governors and state and local emergency authorities also use parts of the system to issue more localized emergency alerts.

Similar to local EAS tests that are already conducted frequently, the nationwide test will involve broadcast radio and television stations, cable television, satellite radio and television services and wireline video service providers across all states and the territories of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and American Samoa.

can you here the goverment control in there

more......

Did You Know Feds Will Temporarily Cut Off All TV and Radio Broadcasts on Nov. 9?

Posted on October 22, 2011 at 12:07pm by Buck Sexton Buck Sexton
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If you have ever wondered about the government’s ability to control the civilian airwaves, you will have your answer on November 9th.

On that day, federal authorities are going to shut off all television and radio communications simultaneously at 2:00PM EST to complete the first ever test of the national Emergency Alert System (EAS).

This isn’t a wild conspiracy theory. The upcoming test is posted on the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau website.

Only the President has the authority to activate EAS at the national level, and he has delegated that authority to the Director of FEMA. The test will be conducted jointly by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) through FEMA, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Weather Service (NWS).

In essence, the authority to seize control of all television and civilian communication has been asserted by the executive branch and handed to a government agency.

The EAS has been around since 1994. Its precursor, the Emergency Broadcast System (EBS), started back in 1963. Television and radio broadcasters, satellite radio and satellite television providers, cable television and wireline video providers are all involved in the system.

So this begs the question: is the first ever national EAS test really a big deal?

Probably not. At least, not yet.

But there are some troubling factors all coming together right now that could conceivably trigger a real usage of the EAS system in the not too distant future. A European financial collapse could bring down U.S. markets. What is now the “Occupy” movement could lead to widespread civil unrest. And there are ominous signs that radical groups such as Anonymous will attempt something major on November 5th- Guy Fawke’s day.

Now we know in the event of a major crisis, the American people will be told with one voice, at the same time, about an emergency.

All thats left to determine is who will have control of the EAS when that day comes, and what their message will be.

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/did-you-know-feds-will-temporarily-cut-off-all-tv-and-radio-broadcasts-on-nov-9/

11-9 is the reverse of 9-11 COINCIDENCE?

And people never stopped to wonder why everything had to go digital and you need a converter to now pick up “Free” television. It was a way for the Government to gain control of the airwaves. HAM radio operators will be the only ones on the air when things finally come to a head

Here's an article that you should read as well, too long to post:

http://dont-tread-on.me/when-the-poop-hits-the-oscillator/

Emergency broadcast test to air nationally Wednesday

By Erika Engle

POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Nov 07, 2011


Smack in the middle of APEC week, all broadcast radio and television, cable and satellite companies and Hawaiian Telcom's Internet protocol TV service are going to carry a long-planned, nationwide Emergency Alert System test.

It will occur at 9 a.m. Wednesday when Honolulu is full of more than the usual number of visiting foreign-language speakers — many of very high-rank — as well as all the foreign-language speakers who live here.

"We're trying to do as much as we can, (including) calling hotels" to alert them to notify their guests, "and notifying customers," said Norman Santos, vice president of operations for Oceanic Time Warner Cable.

Designed to give the U.S. president the ability to address the entire nation when it was established as the Emergency Broadcast System in 1963, that capacity has never been tested. The test is being coordinated by an alphabet soup of government agencies including the Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Local broadcasters have aired public service announcements to alert listeners and viewers to the impending test, some of them in foreign languages and some of them in cooperation with Hawaii State Civil Defense. The agency has a memorandum of understanding with foreign-language stations including KNDI-AM 1270, KZOO-AM 1210 and KREA-AM 1540 developed after an earlier disaster in which communication breakdowns occurred.

KNDI has aired the PSA in Tagalog because the national test will air during Fil­i­pino-language programming on the station, said President and General Manager Leona Jona.

Japanese-language KZOO has aired the PSA in English and Japanese, said Vice President Robyn Furuya.

The Hawaii Association of Broadcasters has disseminated a torrent of pertinent information from the National Association of Broadcasters to member stations, said HAB President Susii Hearst.

"It's a national test, and every station is going to be airing this," she said, so stations also are airing the PSAs "just so the people know it is not an emergency, it is a test of the emergency system." Hearst is also general sales manager at KHON-TV.

Getting the word out to the dignitaries is a real challenge, she said, but she was hopeful that APEC coordinators would alert them.

All the stations' websites should have relevant information, she said.

The test will last from 30 seconds to one minute but originally was planned to be as long as three minutes.

While the audio portion would state the familiar "this is a test," phrase, "there was going to be a problem" with systems that are unable to display a crawl of text bearing the reassuring words, said Lauren Kravetz, acting media liaison for the FCC's Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau.

The lengthy duration was intended in part to ensure that media outlets' equipment would not time-out after two minutes and to ensure the ability to collect data, she said.

Concerns that such a long test could raise a nationwide panic were raised to government officials by trade organizations including the National Cable and Telecommunications Association. The concerns were wisely heeded, and Thursday, FEMA announced a plan for a shorter test that would still be long enough for the collection of needed data.

They are up to something...I can smell it. FEMA is no good for anyone

come on nov 8th 2012