WASHINGTON – September 10, 2018 – America’s Public Television Stations (APTS), with the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the Public Broadcasting Service, filed comments today with the Federal Communications Commission regarding the wireless emergency alert (WEA) system. APTS president and CEO Patrick Butler issued the following statement:
“America’s Public Television Stations commend the Commission’s recent actions to improve the public emergency alerting process. In today’s filing, we urge the Commission to continue to improve the effectiveness and reliability of WEA delivery. We encourage the Commission to establish rules that (1) require use of the resilient and secure PBS WARN system as a redundant alternative delivery mechanism by all commercial mobile service providers, (2) reduce emissions from unlicensed devices and other sources that affect delivery, and (3) expand training and education opportunities across the alerting system.
“Reaching nearly 97 percent of the American people, public television is uniquely qualified to support and enhance the current emergency alert system. We are proud of the public safety services local public television stations provide for the American people, and we look forward to continuing to work with the Commission to make improvements to the emergency alerting system to keep all Americans safe.”
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About APTS
America’s Public Television Stations (APTS) is a nonprofit membership organization ensuring a strong and financially sound public television system and helping member stations provide essential public services in education, public safety and civic leadership to the American people. For more information, visit www.apts.org.
Contact:
Kate Riley
202-654-4206
kriley@apts.org