First-ever national test of emergency alert system set for Nov. 9

Television service from CC Communications and all broadcast and cable television and radio networks will be interrupted for three minutes beginning at 11 a.m. Pacific Standard Time on Wed., Nov. 9th by the first-ever nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System.

Mandated by the Federal Communications Commission and in conjunction with its Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau, the Federal Emergency Management Administration, and the National Weather Service, the purpose of the test is to access the reliability and effectiveness of the EAS as a public alert mechanism.

Participants currently participate in state-level monthly tests and local-level weekly tests, but no top-down review of the entire system has ever been undertaken. The Commission, along with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, will use the results of this nationwide test to assess the reliability and effectiveness of the EAS as a public alert mechanism, and will work together with EAS stakeholders to make improvements to the system as appropriate.

“The only way we can tell if it works is live over the air,” says Bob Adams, CC Communications General Manager.