WGBH-TV would like to invite you to see a demo of a pilot project WGBH is participating in to test the use of mobile DTV as the next-generation technology for alerting the public during natural and other emergencies.
The Mobile Emergency Alert System (M-EAS) is being developed with PBS, LG Electronics and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), to combine the immediacy and reach of broadcasting with personal mobile devices. We are one of just three states testing the service, and working to develop a template for a national system for all broadcasters, public and commercial.
Mobile EAS is designed to provide vital emergency information – whether for a national emergency, storm warning, or missing children — by delivering video, audio, maps, photos and text directly to any individual’s mobile device, phone, tablet or laptop using a mobile digital TV broadcast. M-EAS will work with existing alert systems as well as new text-based systems planned by mobile carriers. But it enhances these systems by providing rich-media content, such as video, instantly, and it avoids the congestion that cellular networks experience in emergencies.
WGBH-TV will demonstrate the pilot project on Tuesday, March 6 at 10:30am at the WGBH studios at One Guest Street in Brighton, MA.
Please share this invitation with your engineers or others at your station who may be interested in attending. RSVP to jeanne_hopkins@wgbh.org by March 2.
And a note – WGBH will be demonstrating the technology for city and state emergency folks on Monday, March 5, and your news departments will be invited to cover that. Jon Abbott, WGBH President and CEO added, “we hope that our gathering with you on Tuesday, March 6 will allow us to have a deeper discussion from the broadcast perspective.”
