Below is an official comment submitted to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) by Nebraska SECC on March 20, 2012.  It is in reference to FCC Proceeding 04-296
Additional comments can be viewed at the FCC website.

The Nebraska State Emergency Communications Committee (SECC) in cooperation with the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) is presently engaged in seeking the best way for Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) emergency messages to be generated in the State. Initially such messages will originate from National Weather Service Offices. In the near future we hope to install technology that could allow state and local law enforcement and emergency personnel to generate CAP messages to broadcast and cable. It is also expected that the CAP technology will be useful to generate alerts to wireless devices, road signs and other public media.
Click here to read the full commemnt.

The National Weather Service and  the Nebraska Emergency Management  Agency  will conduct  Severe Weather Awareness Week to promote severe weather safety to the citizens of  Nebraska.   The week is March 19-23, 2012.

During Severe Weather Awareness Week, the National Weather Service will promote weather-safety by issuing informative daily Public Information Statements.  Topics will include:
·        Monday...Severe Weather Terminology
·        Tuesday...Severe Thunderstorms
·        Wednesday...Tornadoes (Drill between 10 and 11 AM)
·        Thursday...Lightning and Flooding
·        Friday...Social Media
 
The TORNADO DRILL DAY is Wednesday, March 21st.
(In case of severe weather, the drill will be postponed to Thursday March 22nd)
                             
This is the timeline for the drill:
·        1000 AM CDT - Drill sequence begins.
·        1010 AM CDT - Weather Forecast Office (WFO) in Omaha issues TEST (Tornado Warning for our area, valid for 20 minutes)
·        1020 AM CDT - WFO Omaha issues a Severe Weather Statement (SVS)as follow-ups to  the Tornado Warning
·        1030 AM CDT - WFO Omaha issue a SVS to expire the Tornado Warning
·        1100 AM CDT - Drill sequence ends

The following Iowa Counties will also be participating in the drill....Fremont, Harrison, Mills, Monona, Montgomery, Page, Pottawattamie, and Shelby.

All Severe Weather Awareness Week Information plus links to national preparedness material will be available on the Omaha/Valley National Weather Service site at www.weather.gov/omaha.   The FCC is requesting that daily newspapers publish the drill information and the fact that the real TOR EAS code will be used.  The media is encouraged to call our office (402-359-5166) to arrange an interview regarding severe weather safety.

**Update: Real TOR code used for test this Wednesday March 21 at 10:10 AM

It is recommended by Nebraska SECC for all Broadcast and Cable to broadcast Tornado Warnings, especially LP-1 stations. Engineers should check and make sure EAS and other weather warning equipment is working properly and ready for the storm season. The test Wednesday is intended as a reminder for everybody to be aware and prepared.

Everyone interested may go to www.SBE74.org and look at a draft of the State EAS Plan as it is about to be submitted for approval to State and Federal officials. There will be one or two more LP-1 stations added to fill in some areas better. Your comments are welcome, send to JSkinner@kxvo.com .

March 2012 was supposed to be the first EAS Required Monthly Test (RMT) from National Weather Service (NWS) in Nebraska. They had to cancel this time while working out the logistics and dealing with some new equipment being installed at the Weather Service. NWS plans to try again on July 11, 2012. The SP/SR network is sending the RMT in March as has been the norm.

Jim Skinner SECC Chair is traveling to Washington DC in March to represent Nebraska at a National EAS meeting. There are issues to resolve before CAP alerting can proceed in Nebraska and elsewhere. We hope to have some progress as a result of this meeting.

We are pleased to announce that the Nebraska State Patrol has agreed to participate in the Nebraska SECC. NSP is hosting the Next SECC meeting in Lincoln.

Those with Monroe CAP/EAS decoders have been able to receive Required Weekly Tests (RWT) from Washington, via the internet. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) Aggregator delivers the tests to Nebraska every Monday at 11:00 AM Central Time (10 MT). Monroe makes the DASDEC and R189 One-Net EAS equipment.

Sage CAP ENDECs (blue box) will have an update to make them compatible with the IPAWS messages by the first of March 2012.  Soon all CAP/EAS equipment will be able to "receive and log" the IPAWS/CAP RWT for Nebraska every Monday.  More importantly potentially life-saving emergency alerts will be coming via IPAWS soon as well.

============== General Info ===============

The FCC has set a date of June 30, 2012 for all stations and cable systems to be required to receive Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) Internet Provided (IP) messages from the FEMA IPAWS Aggregator.  A full time internet connection will be required on your CAP/EAS equipment. Contact your manufacturer for details.

The National Weather Service in Nebraska is presently installing their IPAWS CAP equipment and will be sending weather alerts via IPAWS well before June 30.  Other Nebraska emergency agencies are making plans to generate CAP messages through the IPAWS system, perhaps even this year.

Separate but parallel to EAS is WEA.  Most if not all wireless phone companies are gearing up to disseminate and sell phones that respond to Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) messages.  The system is also known as CMAS or PLAN.  It broadcasts emergency messages to all WEA capable phones by region at no charge.  It will NOT use SMS for individual texts to separate devices.  WEA is also triggered by a CAP message from the FEMA IPAWS Aggregator, the same as CAP/EAS.  Look for the WEA logo on new phones.

The IPAWS system should be in full operation this summer. Be ready, CAP is your friend.  It is a step in the right direction to send relevant and meaningful emergency messages to your audience.  This is especially valuable for automated stations and cable systems that do not have 24/7 staff to broadcast local emergency messages.  

Please contact Jim Skinner (jskinner@kxvo.com) with comments or questions about CAP EAS in Nebraska