[sbe-eas] From todays RBR

[Adrienne Abbott]

Yes, the question is: how will the FM receiver in my next cell phone act as
an alerting device? Will it beep, quack, ring or make any of the other
noises I've programmed for messages? If not, then that FM receiver isn't an
alerting device, it's simply a source of information about the alert I've
received in a text message that will "beep me". And even in our small market
there's an FM "talker" and a couple of other stations with real people
around 24-7. I just don't see the cell phone companies creating their own
news departments to provide follow up information and details of any EAS
activation. Even in an era of Internet radio and television, "broadcasters"
will still be the "content providers" for the next disaster. 
Adrienne

"Radio burps, it cries, it needs to be fed all the time, it requires
constant attention, but we love it." Jim Aaron WGLN 


-----Original Message-----
From: sbe-eas-bounces at sbe.org [mailto:sbe-eas-bounces at sbe.org] On Behalf Of
Art Botterell
Sent: Monday, April 05, 2010 11:50 AM
To: SBE EAS Exchange - a mail list for discussion about the Emergency
AlertSystem and other emergency communication issues.
Cc: eas-wa
Subject: Re: [sbe-eas] From todays RBR

I'm afraid RBR has missed the point.  FM receivers in cellphones aren't, by
themselves, an alerting system... but they're a powerful way to provide
follow-up details to people who've just gotten CMAS alerts so they don't jam
the cellular networks by calling for more information.

By framing this as broadcast versus cellular I'm afraid RBR actually
undermines the most powerful argument for FM in cellphone, which is that
it's a win-win answer to the cell carriers' anxiety about the "reflected"
calling load that CMAS alerts could trigger.

In any event, the 90-character CMAS is a congressional mandate, so it isn't
going away.  The challenge for broadcasters now is to find ways of
leveraging it to add value to their own more information-rich offerings.

- Art