Wireless Emergency Alerts will be longer, more specific, sent to more places

By Williams Pelegrin September 30, 2016

wireless emergency alert augmentation smartphone user — Tatsiana Yuralaits/123RF

Used for Amber alerts, natural disasters, and every other critical warning in between, the Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) system has gotten a nice shot in the arm from the Federal Communications Commission that looks to strengthen its capabilities in the face of new technologies.

Since WEA’s launch in 2012, messages were restricted to 90 characters. That can be a good number in certain cases, but the limitation was put in the spotlight earlier in September when New York City issued its first WEA message related to a wanted suspect. In that case, the WEA was on the lookout for one Ahmad Rahami, an identified suspect in the Chelsea neighborhood bombing. Even though the message included his name and age, it did not include other specific details, such as an image.

According to the new rules, the maximum length will be increased to 360 characters for 4G LTE and future networks. However, the wording implies that those on 2G and 3G networks will still receive WEAs with 90 characters. Digital Trends reached out to the FCC for clarification on the matter and will update accordingly.

The government agency also brought into the fold Public Safety Messages, a new type of alert that will list essential and recommended actions for folks in affected areas in order to keep themselves or their property free from harm. Other additions include sending WEA messages to “more granular geographic areas,” with participating carriers required to embed phone numbers and URLs in every WEA message. This allows people to click to see a photo of a suspect or missing child, as well as call the authorities from the message.

The new rules also mandate supporting carriers to be able to send out Spanish-language alerts. Finally, the rules promise to make it easier for state and local authorities to test out the WEA system, train personnel, and better educate the public about the system.

It is unknown when the updates WEA rules will go into effect, but seeing how the FCC already approved them, it should just be a matter of time until they are formally instituted.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Williams Pelegrin

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Williams is an avid New York Yankees fan, speaks Spanish, resides in Colorado, and has an affinity for Frosted Flakes. Send…

Audio / Video

At $100 more than the AirPods Pro, B&O’s new wireless buds may be a tough sell

Bang & Olufsen Beoplay E8 3rd generation

Almost one year to the date, Danish audio icon Bang & Olufsen is back with the latest version of its Beoplay E8 true wireless earbuds. Now in their third generation, the elegant wireless buds are 17% smaller than the previous version for a more comfortable fit. But perhaps more significantly, battery life has doubled. In 2020, that was nearly an imperative given the state of the market (and their previous 3.5-hour playback time).

What hasn't changed for the E8 is the price: The buds still command a whopping $350, which is likely to give pause to all but the most ardent (and affluent) audio fans.

Audio / Video

1More’s true wireless ANC earbuds are a preview of what’s coming to CES 2020

1more true wireless anc in ear headphones ces 2020 tws

CES 2020 is still a few weeks away, but we're already getting a preview of what's in store for us when we arrive. 1More's new True Wireless ANC In-Ear Headphones are a great example. It's the company's first true wireless earbuds to offer active noise cancellation (ANC), a feature that is rapidly becoming a must-have option for products that want to compete with the best the category has to offer.

But the True Wireless ANC In-Ear Headphones go beyond mere ANC. They're also the first true wireless earbuds to combine ANC with a multi-driver architecture, according to the company. That setup uses one dynamic driver and one balanced armature to produce sound that is good enough to be considered for THX Certification.

News

One day you might get emergency alerts through Netflix and Spotify

Hawaii

A bipartisan bill was recently reintroduced in the Senate to require audio and video streaming services to display emergency alerts like those for hurricanes and tornadoes while you’re watching or listening to them.
The bill, which was introduced by U.S. senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) and John Thune (R-S.D.), was originally introduced by the senators last year after a false missile alert text was inadvertently sent out in Hawaii.
Called the Reliable Emergency Alert Distribution Improvement (READI) Act, the legislation’s goal is to ensure that more people are able to receive emergency alerts.
“When a missile alert went out across Hawaii last year, some people never got the message on their phones, while others missed it on their TVs and radios. Even though it was a false alarm, the missile alert exposed real flaws in the way people receive emergency alerts,” Schatz, the lead Democrat on the Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, Innovation, and the Internet, said in a prepared statement. “Our bill fixes a number of important problems with the system responsible for delivering emergency alerts. In a real emergency, these alerts can save lives so we have to do everything we can to get it right.”
According to a blog post on Schatz’s site, the READI Act would ultimately:
•Ensure more people receive emergency alerts by eliminating the option to opt-out of receiving certain federal alerts, including missile alerts, on mobile phones;
•Require active alerts issued by the President or FEMA to be repeated. Currently, alerts on TV or radio may only be played once;
•Explore establishing a system to offer emergency alerts to audio and video online streaming services, such as Netflix and Spotify;
•Encourage State Emergency Communications Committees to periodically review and update their State Emergency Alert System Plans, which are often out of date;
•Compel FEMA to create best practices for state, tribal, and local governments to use for issuing alerts, avoiding false alerts, and retracting false alerts if they occur, as well as for alert origination training and plans for officials to contact each other and federal officials during emergencies; and
•Establish a reporting system for false alerts so the FCC can track when they occur and examine their causes.
In addition to the Senate bill, companion legislation has been introduced in the House of Representatives by U.S. Representatives Jerry McNerney (D-Calif.), Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawai‘i), Pete Olson (R-Texas), and Gus Bilirakis (R-Fla.). The READI Act is supported by NCTA -- The Internet and Television Association, the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), the Internet Association, CTIA -- The Wireless Association, and the Wireless Infrastructure Association.