Public Broadcasting stations, mainly in the Gulf and Atlantic seaboard states, this month are installing the new Digital Emergency Alert System (DEAS) designed to enhance the delivery service of Presidential alerts and warnings.

APTS working through a grant provided by the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), is leading the rollout of the first phase of a national deployment of DEAS. The first phase will focus on coastal states in the eastern United States, and the first 20 Public Television stations will be integrated into the DEAS network by the end of May. By the end of 2007, all Public Television stations will be equipped to receive and retransmit the digital emergency signal.

Overall, the new warning system is expected to cost $4.5 million to test and deploy nationally, and $1 million annually to maintain. Public Television’s transition to digital technologies has created an opportunity for public broadcasting to use its broadcast infrastructure to distribute emergency notifications to citizens nationwide.

The need to upgrade the existing EAS system became apparent after the 2001 terrorists attacks and Hurricane Katrina that ripped through the Gulf Coast states, when communications problems hampered government response and notification efforts.