Commercial Mobile Alert System
Encyclopedia
The Commercial Mobile Alert System (CMAS), also known as the Personal Localized Alerting Network (PLAN), is an alerting network designed to disseminate emergency alerts to mobile devices such as cell phones and pager
s. The Federal Communications Commission
proposed and adopted the network structure, operational procedures and technical requirements in 2007 and 2008 in response to the Warning, Alert, and Response Network (WARN) Act passed by Congress
in 2006, which allocated $106 million to fund the program. CMAS will allow federal agencies to accept and aggregate alerts from the President of the United States
, the National Weather Service
(NWS) and emergency operations centers, and send the alerts to participating wireless providers who may distribute the alerts to their customers via text messages. The government plans to issue three types of alerts through this system: alerts issued by the president, alerts involving imminent threats to safety of life, and Amber Alert
s. The system is a collaborative effort between the Federal Emergency Management Agency
(FEMA), the Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate (DHS S&T), the Alliance of Telecommunications Industry Solutions (ATIS), and the Telecommunications Industry Association
(TIA), although there has been some controversy regarding the willingness of FEMA to participate.
, AT&T
, Sprint Nextel
, and Verizon have announced their willingness to participate in the system. Providers who do not wish to participate must notify their customers.
Customers will be automatically signed up to receive PLAN alerts. If they do not want to participate they may opt to block most PLAN messages, however messages issued by the president cannot be blocked under any circumstances.
Public television stations are also required by the FCC to act as a distribution system for CMAS alerts. Within 18 months of receiving funding from the Department of Commerce
, all public television stations must be able to receive CMAS alerts from FEMA and transmit them to participating wireless service providers.
Pager
A pager is a simple personal telecommunications device for short messages. A one-way numeric pager can only receive a message consisting of a few digits, typically a phone number that the user is then requested to call...
s. The Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
proposed and adopted the network structure, operational procedures and technical requirements in 2007 and 2008 in response to the Warning, Alert, and Response Network (WARN) Act passed by Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
in 2006, which allocated $106 million to fund the program. CMAS will allow federal agencies to accept and aggregate alerts from the President of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
, the National Weather Service
National Weather Service
The National Weather Service , once known as the Weather Bureau, is one of the six scientific agencies that make up the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the United States government...
(NWS) and emergency operations centers, and send the alerts to participating wireless providers who may distribute the alerts to their customers via text messages. The government plans to issue three types of alerts through this system: alerts issued by the president, alerts involving imminent threats to safety of life, and Amber Alert
AMBER Alert
An AMBER Alert or a Child Abduction Emergency is a child abduction alert bulletin in several countries throughout the world, issued upon the suspected abduction of a child, since 1996...
s. The system is a collaborative effort between the Federal Emergency Management Agency
Federal Emergency Management Agency
The Federal Emergency Management Agency is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security, initially created by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1978 and implemented by two Executive Orders...
(FEMA), the Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate (DHS S&T), the Alliance of Telecommunications Industry Solutions (ATIS), and the Telecommunications Industry Association
Telecommunications Industry Association
The Telecommunications Industry Association is accredited by the American National Standards Institute to develop voluntary, consensus-based industry standards for a wide variety of ICT products, and currently represents nearly 400 companies...
(TIA), although there has been some controversy regarding the willingness of FEMA to participate.
Participation
Within ten months of FEMA making the government’s design specifications for this secure interface for message transfer available, wireless service providers choosing to participate in CMAS must begin development and testing of systems which will allow them to receive alerts from alert originators and distribute them to their customers. Systems must be fully deployed within 28 months of the December 2009 adoption of such standards and are expected to be delivering alert messages to the public by 2012. Although not mandatory, several wireless providers, including T-MobileT-Mobile
T-Mobile International AG is a German-based holding company for Deutsche Telekom AG's various mobile communications subsidiaries outside Germany. Based in Bonn, Germany, its subsidiaries operate GSM and UMTS-based cellular networks in Europe, the United States, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands...
, AT&T
AT&T
AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications corporation headquartered in Whitacre Tower, Dallas, Texas, United States. It is the largest provider of mobile telephony and fixed telephony in the United States, and is also a provider of broadband and subscription television services...
, Sprint Nextel
Sprint Nextel
Sprint Nextel Corporation is an American telecommunications company based in Overland Park, Kansas. The company owns and operates Sprint, the third largest wireless telecommunications network in the United States, with 53.4 million customers, behind Verizon Wireless and AT&T Mobility...
, and Verizon have announced their willingness to participate in the system. Providers who do not wish to participate must notify their customers.
Customers will be automatically signed up to receive PLAN alerts. If they do not want to participate they may opt to block most PLAN messages, however messages issued by the president cannot be blocked under any circumstances.
Public television stations are also required by the FCC to act as a distribution system for CMAS alerts. Within 18 months of receiving funding from the Department of Commerce
United States Department of Commerce
The United States Department of Commerce is the Cabinet department of the United States government concerned with promoting economic growth. It was originally created as the United States Department of Commerce and Labor on February 14, 1903...
, all public television stations must be able to receive CMAS alerts from FEMA and transmit them to participating wireless service providers.
See also
- Emergency Alert SystemEmergency Alert SystemThe Emergency Alert System is a national warning system in the United States put into place on January 1, 1997, when it superseded the Emergency Broadcast System , which itself had superseded the CONELRAD System...
- Common Alerting ProtocolCommon Alerting ProtocolThe Common Alerting Protocol is an XML-based data format for exchanging public warnings and emergencies between alerting technologies. CAP allows a warning message to be consistently disseminated simultaneously over many warning systems to many applications...
- NOAA Weather Radio All HazardsNOAA Weather Radio All HazardsNOAA Weather Radio All Hazards is a network of radio stations broadcasting continuous weather information directly from a nearby National Weather Service office. It is operated by the NWS, an agency of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration within the United States Department of...
- National Severe Weather Warning ServiceNational severe weather warning serviceThe National Severe Weather Warning Service is a service produced by the UK Met Office which informs the public of the United Kingdom of severe weather which may damage the country's infrastructure and endanger lives...