PUBLIC NOTICE Federal Communications Commission 445 12th St., S.W. Washington, D.C. 20554 News Media Information 202 / 418-0500 Internet: http://www.fcc.gov TTY: 1-888-835-5322 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: NEWS MEDIA CONTACT: April 21, 2008 Robert Kenny: (202) 418-2668 Email: robert.kenny@fcc.gov FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION ANNOUNCES AGENDA FOR SUMMIT ON THE CURRENT STATE AND FUTURE OF NATION’S EMERGENCY ALERT SYSTEM Washington, D.C. – The Federal Communications Commission’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau (Bureau) today announced the agenda for its upcoming Summit on the nation’s Emergency Alert System (EAS): Promoting an Effective Emergency Alert System on the Road to a Next Generation EAS, to be held on Monday, May 19, 2008, 9:00 a.m. – 12:45 p.m., in the Commission Meeting Room (TW-C305). In line with the Commission’s 2007 Second Report and Order on EAS that was released last July, the panel discussions will focus on the current state of the nation’s EAS and what is needed to transition to a more robust, Next Generation alert and warning system to help ensure that all citizens receive accurate and timely information during emergencies. For additional information please see the attached agenda. The Summit will be open to the public; admittance however will be limited to the seating available. Those individuals who are interested in attending the summit may pre-register on-line at: http://www.fcc.gov/pshs/summits/eas. Those who pre-registered will be asked to provide their name, title, organization affiliation, and contact information. Individuals may also contact Sue Gilgenbach at 202-418-0639 regarding pre-registration. The deadline for pre-registration is Thursday, May 15, 2008. Audio/Video coverage of the meeting will be broadcast live with open captioning over the Internet from the FCC's web page at www.fcc.gov/realaudio. The FCC’s web cast is free to the public and does not require pre-registration. Reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities are available upon request. Please, include a description of the accommodation you will need. Individuals making such request must include their contact information should FCC staff need to contact them for more information. Requests should be made as early as possible. Please send an e-mail to fcc504@fcc.gov or call the Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau: 202-418-0530 (voice), 202-418-0432 (TTY). For additional information about the meeting, please contact Susan McLean at (202) 418-7868 or by email: susan.mclean@fcc.gov. -FCC- News and other information about the Federal Communications Commission is available at www.fcc.gov. 2 SUMMIT ON NATION’S EMERGENCY ALERT SYSTEM Promoting an Effective Emergency Alert System on the Road to a Next Generation EAS Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Commission Meeting Room (TW-C305) 445 12th Street, SW, Washington, DC 20554 Monday, May 19, 2008 9:00 a.m. – Welcome · Derek Poarch, Chief, FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau, PSHSB 9:20 a.m. – Opening Remarks 9:40 a.m. – Panel One: Will examine the current state of the nation’s EAS initiative. Discussions will focus on failure points within the system – breakdowns in the ‘daisy chain’ – as well as ways to improve testing protocols and heighten awareness to the importance of education and training for broadcasters and other EAS participants. Moderator: Tom Beers, Chief of the Policy Division, PSHSB PANELISTS: 1) Ann Arnold, Chair, Texas State Emergency Communications Committee (SECC), Executive Director, Texas Association of Broadcasters 2) Dale Gehman, President Gehman Compliance & Consulting 3) Steve Johnson, Consultant, National Cable & Telecommunications Association 4) Mark Manuelian, Primary Entry Point Advisory Committee Director, Chair Massachusetts SECC 5) C. Patrick Roberts, Chair, Florida SECC, President, Florida Broadcasters Association 11:00 a.m. – Break 11:15 a.m. – Panel Two: Will focus on Next Generation Technologies and explore what policies and protocols should be implemented to ensure compatibility between Federal implementation of the Common Alert Protocol (CAP) architecture and state government operations. Panelists will also discuss funding issues and what states are expected to do to ensure that their state, county and local emergency response systems are fully functional in a new system design. Moderator: William Lane, Chief Engineer, PSHSB 3 PANELISTS: 1) Malena Barzilai, Senior Counsel, Association of Public Television Stations 2) Art Botterell, Manager, Community Warning System, Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office, CA 3) Lance Craver, Program Manager, Integrated Public Alerting and Warning System, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) 4) Clay Freinwald, Chair, Society of Broadcast Engineers’ EAS Committee; Chair, Washington State SECC; and Radio Frequency Systems Engineer, Entercom 5) Suzanne D. Goucher, Chair, Maine SECC, President of the Maine Association of Broadcasters 6) Mark Paese, Director of Operations Division, National Weather Service 12:35 p.m. – Closing Remarks · Chief Derek Poarch 12:45 p.m. – Summit Concludes -FCC-