Summary The worldwide Consumer Electronics Association, which includes more than 2000 worldwide electronic companies, created a standard for alerting consumers to all-hazard emergencies, including earthquakes, tsunamis, tornados, terrorist attacks, chemical spills, etc. CEA Government and Legal Affairs, the legislative voice for consumer electronics, is committed to advising, lobbying and reporting on federal, state and international CE policy on behalf of our members and industry. Background What is required is the participation of both U.S. Department of Homeland Security and FEMA executives and technical staffs apart from solely DHS and FEMA outside consultants, some of whom have taken what was provided by PATA members under "public domain" information and showcased it as their own consultant materials with applied fees.  There has also been a question at times of misrepresenting technical standards adopted on behalf of the public under partnerships between PATA and other federal agencies (i.e. U.S. Department of Commerce/NOAA), or actually claiming such open public standards were not complete or developed by a standard setting organization.  CEA is fully recognized as a global standard setting organization. Description At any time many Public Alert Technology Alliance members are prepared to work together with DHS and FEMA again to establish consumer and commercial emergency communication, imaging, and network adoptions to further improve both U.S. and international technical standards. Those processes may be both with CEA and outside CEA existing standards as no member can speak for the entire body and the DHS and FEMA should contact CEA directly for contact among members.   Newer and more broad-based digital Emergency Alert System event codes and CAP digital multi-language processing (including those used in consumer and commercial communication devices) were established under CEA technical standards and in working groups from 2004-2010. Requirements for Success Successful partnerships with the Consumer Electronic Association's 'Public Alert Technology Alliance' are not been dependent upon federal funding or specialized staffs as the costs and staffs incurred are offset by global private business and research companies supporting public security internationally and also through private sector grants and/or under internal non-profit business segments. Contact Information Dave Wilson Senior Manager, Technology & Standards Consumer Electronic Association 1919 S. Eads St. Arlington, VA 22202 dwilson@ce.org 703-907-7634 x 7421   John Merrell Public Alert Technology Alliance liaison to the International Association of Emergency Managers and also ISCRAM (International members of the Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management), and 2003-2009 chair of the Public Alert Technology Alliance. 13512 79th Ave SE Snohomish, WA. 98296 Home: 360-668-1525 John@Merrellav.com DISCLAIMER FEMA’s Private Sector Division of the Office of External Affairs facilitates information sharing and good practices for developing effective public-private partnerships. This Web site and its contents are provided for informational purposes only, without warranty or guarantee of any kind, and do not represent the official positions of the US Department of Homeland Security. For more information on the Private Sector Division, please email FEMA-private-sector@dhs.gov or visit www.FEMA.gov/privatesector International Partnership-Consumer Electronics-Public Alert Technology Alliance