Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS)
What is IPAWS?
During an emergency, the President, federal, state, territorial, tribal, and local officials and emergency managers must provide the public with life-saving information quickly.
The Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) is the nation’s next-generation infrastructure of alert and warning networks expanding upon the traditional audio-only radio and television Emergency Alert System (EAS) by providing one message over more media to more people before, during, and after a disaster.
The vision of IPAWS builds and maintains an effective, reliable, integrated, flexible and comprehensive system that enables the American people to receive alert and warning information through as many means as possible. IPAWS ensures the President can alert and warn the public under all conditions. IPAWS will provide federal, state, territorial, tribal, and local warning authorities the capabilities to alert and warn their respective communities of all hazards impacting public safety and well-being via multiple communications pathways.
IPAWS Background
Since 2004, FEMA has served as the Federal Executive Branch lead agency for developing IPAWS. In June 2006, the President signed the Public Alert and Warning System Executive Order to drive the creation of a more “effective, reliable, integrated, flexible, and comprehensive system that enables the American people to receive alert and warning information through as many means as possible.” In response, FEMA established the IPAWS Program Management Office (PMO) in April 2007.
IPAWS is designed to improve public safety through the rapid dissemination of emergency messages to as many people as possible over as many communications devices as possible. To do this, IPAWS is planning to expand the traditional EAS to include more modern technologies. At the same time, FEMA is upgrading the alert and warning infrastructure so that no matter what the crisis, the public will receive life-saving information.
Why IPAWS in Today's Electronic Media Environment?
The advent of new media has brought a dramatic shift in the way the public consumes information. IPAWS, as the next generation emergency alert and warning system, capitalizes on multiple electronic media outlets to ensure that the public receives life-saving information during a time of national emergency.
Historically, the public depended exclusively on radio and television to receive alerts, but current research shows that the reach of radio and TV is less than 40% of the populace during the work day. While less than 12% of the population is watching TV in the middle of the night, an even smaller number is tuned into the radio, at 5% of the populace. Television and radio will continue to be valuable sources of public information, but their reach is decreasing. Further, these information sources can only target a state or regional sized area and do not encompass alerting for people who do not speak English or those with disabilities, including the 29 million suffering from hearing impairment.
Today, the internet, including video and email, and cellular and residential phones are increasingly popular and therefore, valuable, sources of information. One study showed that the Internet has a 62% usage rate, averaging at 108 minutes a day. While television remains the most popular source for information, the Internet ranked either first or second at both work and home. Recognizing the importance of using the forms of media that will reach the greatest audience, the IPAWS program conducted a 2007 pilot program in Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi. The test sent alerts to 60,000 residential phones in ten minutes and transmitted Spanish and Vietnamese translations. The program also provided individual alerts to people who signed up via the Internet, giving the option to receive emergency messages in email or cell phone formats. To address the hard of hearing community, the vendor posted videos on the Internet and distributed video links to email and compatible cell phones.
The pilots proved that adding new media-internet and cell phone as well as non-English language alerts-can successfully augment traditional audio-only alerts sent over television and radio. The adding of these complementary distribution channels responds to the American public's current information consuming preferences as well as the need for instant and reliable information.
What IPAWS Will Do
IPAWS will ensure that the President is able to address the American people in situations of war, terrorist attack, natural disaster, or other hazards.
IPAWS will provide federal, state, territorial, tribal, and local alert and warning authorities integrated services and capabilities enabling them to alert and warn their respective communities, via multiple communications pathways for all hazards impacting public safety and well-being.
IPAWS will:
- Diversify and modernize the EAS
- Create an interoperability framework by establishing or adopting standards such as the Common Alerting Protocol (CAP)
- Enable alert and warning to those with disabilities and to those without an understanding of the English language
- Provide the President, federal, state, territorial, tribal, and local emergency managers access to more communication pathways to ensure alerts and warnings reach the maximum number of Americans over as many pathways as possible
- Partner with NOAA to enable seamless integration of message transmission through national networks
Last Modified: Monday, 29-Jun-2009 15:05:36 EDT