Skip to content

History of IPAWS

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 which states, “It is the policy of the United States to have an effective, reliable, integrated, flexible, and comprehensive system to alert and warn the American people…establish or adopt, as appropriate, common alerting and warning protocols, standards, terminology, and operating procedures for the public alert and warning system to enable interoperability and the secure delivery of coordinated messages to the American people through as many communication pathways as practicable…administer the Emergency Alert System (EAS) as a critical component…ensure that under all conditions the President of the United States can alert and warn the American people.” 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 is 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.

History

This is a test of the Emergency Alert System.In 2004, DHS and FEMA began a program in partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and public/private stakeholders to research how to use emerging communications technologies to improve public alerts and warnings to achieve a near instantaneous transmission.

On June 26, 2006, President Bush signed Executive Order 13407, directing the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security to create a comprehensive Public Alert and Warning System for the United States. This presidential mandate called for an integrated alert and warning system to reach as many people as possible through as many forms of communication as possible.

Emergency Broadcast System Emergency Broadcast System

The Evolution of Emergency Broadcasting (PDF 167KB, TXT 2KB)

Last Modified: Friday, 29-Jul-2011 15:29:37 EDT