We (BROACASTERS AND THE FCC) are so caught up in multiples, demographics, formats, deals, and wardrobe malfunctions, et al…..we have somehow forgotten we’re the only medium to ever exist and operate as a successful public-private partnership, whereby we fund the greatest mass communications network ever created, including the printing press.
As our relevancy is at stake, if we don’t start reminding people that while we pay the bills with advertising and entertainment; we support, maintain, and operate the only wireless “point to multipoint communications” network directly connected to law enforcement, public safety, disaster recovery, and emergency management with 20X+ redundancy, coast to coast, as a profit center to the tax payer.
As the only “RED PHONE” system to the President, let any other industry try to evacuate a million people or so over cell phones that don’t work or any other medium for that matter. Our industry, self included, has griped about EAS and drug its feet against this MISSON from Conelrad, EBS, EAS, CAPS, to IPAWS.
If instead, Broadcasters & FCC embrace our MISSION, jointly were positioned to exercise our relevancy as the DOG and not the Tail to every other portable, IP and wireless device now, in the present, and well into the future.
Richard Lee [FCC Associate Bureau Chief, Public Safety and Homeland Security] was spot on at the NAB convention this year when he spoke to the fact broadcasters have to reposition themselves not as an entertainment & advertising medium, but as the only established network/connector for communications between all public safety agencies and the public.
We serve this role everyday without any formal recognition.
If our sons or daughters have a tornado over their heads and are wired into an iPod, cell, PC, DVD, or even reading from a wireless Kindle, they’re very likely oblivious to any form of emergency notification. As we all appreciate, if the device is Broadcast TV or Radio, they would and should be interrupted and at least have the opportunity to receive a warning.
Radio chips with PREEMTIVE EAS TAKEOVER would serve the same mission for which EAS was created for in the first place. Without it, there are giant holes in any public safety agency communications ability to the public that did not exist, just a short time ago.
This mission was not lost by the FCC at our inception. Nor would it ever have been allowed to exist when broadcasting was the ONLY INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY medium available.
This will only get worse as broadcasting fragments from the competition of new information technologies; unless the Commission again makes this critical connection.
— Arthur “Bo” Hoover
Technical Services Group, Inc.
Baton Rouge, LA 70809
225-751-9800
WWW.TSGCOM.COM
