`
FEMA Integrated Public Alert
and Warning System (IPAWS) 2018 Performance Report
May 31, 2019
Federal Emergency Management Agency
i
Message from the Administrator
May 31, 2019
I am pleased to present the Integrated Public Alert and Warning
System (IPAWS) Performance Report for 2018 to Congress prepared
by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA).
This report is being submitted to Congress in response to a requirement
set forth in the IPAWS Modernization Act of 2015 (Public Law 114-143),
which directs that the Administrator shall make a performance report
available on the public website of the Agency.1 The performance report
should establish and evaluate performance goals for the implementation
of the public alert and warning system by the Agency, describe the
performance of the public alert and warning system, and identify
significant challenges and areas of improvement.
Pursuant to Congressional requirements, this report is being provided to
the following Members of Congress:
The Honorable Ronald H. Johnson
Chairman, Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
The Honorable Gary C. Peters
Ranking Member, Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
The Honorable Roger F. Wicker
Chairman, Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
The Honorable Maria Cantwell
Ranking Member, Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
The Honorable Peter DeFazio
Chairman, House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
The Honorable Sam Graves
Ranking Member, House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
The Honorable Bennie G. Thompson
Chairman, House Committee on Homeland Security
The Honorable Mike Rogers
Ranking Member, House Committee on Homeland Security
1 https://www.congress.gov/114/plaws/publ143/PLAW-114publ143.pdf
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Inquiries relating to this report may be directed to FEMA’s Office of Congressional and
Intergovernmental Affairs at (202) 646-4500.
Sincerely,
Pete Gaynor
Acting Administrator
Federal Emergency Management Agency
Executive Summary
The IPAWS vision, mission, goals, and objectives directly support “Mission 5: Strengthen
National Preparedness and Resilience” of the Department of Homeland Security Fiscal Years
2014-2018 Strategic Plan and Strategic Goal 1: “Build a Culture of Preparedness” of the FEMA
2018-2022 Strategic Plan. As required by the IPAWS Modernization Act of 2015, the
Performance Report covers performance goals and steps taken to meet them, significant
challenges to its operation, and areas of improvement.
The IPAWS Program Management Office (PMO) integrates new and existing public alert and
warning systems and technologies to provide federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial local alert
and warning authorities a range of capabilities and dissemination channels. Originally
established by Executive Order (E.O.) 13407, IPAWS provides the capability to notify the
American people of impending natural and man-made disasters, or other hazards to public safety
and well-being.2 In the event of a national emergency, the President may use IPAWS to
communicate with the public quickly, easily, and simultaneously via multiple communications
pathways with only 10 minutes notice. The IPAWS may be used by state, local, tribal, and
territorial agencies when not in use by the President. IPAWS delivers timely, geographically
targeted messages during a crisis to both save lives and protect property through a federated
system of systems consisting of: Primary Entry Point (PEP) stations, the National Public
Warning System (NPWS), the Emergency Alert System (EAS), Wireless Emergency Alerts
(WEA), and the IPAWS Open Platform for Emergency Networks (OPEN). As of September
2018, all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and 4 tribal
governments have adopted IPAWS-OPEN. There are currently 1,137 alerting authorities –
organizations who have a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with FEMA IPAWS to distribute
alerts through IPAWS-OPEN. The IPAWS mission is to provide integrated services and
capabilities to federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial authorities that enable them to alert and
warn their respective communities via multiple communications methods.
Over the past four years, the IPAWS PMO has undertaken dramatic steps to improve access to
and effectiveness of public alerts and warnings. This multi-faceted approach includes adopting
improved standards to make alerts and warnings more effective and accessible to all users;
working with the IPAWS Subcommittee to incorporate emerging trends and best practices from
communications and emergency management practitioners; increasing training and stakeholder
engagement with state, local, tribal, and territorial communities; and raising public awareness of
the importance of alerts and warnings. These efforts have resulted in numerous lives saved
during emergencies around the country, including during the 2017 and 2018 wildfires in
California and during hurricane season which impacted multiple states and territories.
Additionally, thousands of civil emergency messages have been issued by local alerting
authorities, and 54 children have been rescued in direct response to America’s Missing:
Broadcast Emergency Response (AMBER) Alerts from the National Center for Missing and
Exploited Children (NCMEC). The IPAWS PMO community engagement efforts have yielded a
78 percent growth in the number of alert originators using IPAWS since 2015. As of September
2018, more than 3,000,000 messages WEAs were processed through the IPAWS program.3 The
2 Executive Order 13407—Public Alert and Warning System, June 26, 2006 3 Alert Originators hold a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with FEMA IPAWS and are approved by the appropriate state, territorial, or tribal authority to send alerts to the public in their jurisdiction via IPAWS. Alert
activities reported here, and those planned, exemplify FEMA’s mission: “Helping people before,
during, and after disasters”.4 Further IPAWS efforts are designed to enhance the ability of
federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial authorities to deliver timely and actionable alerts in
response to threats to public safety.
Originators are typically state, local, tribal, and territorial agencies with public safety responsibilities such as emergency management or law enforcement agencies. 4 FEMA’s Mission Statement: https://www.fema.gov/about-agency
FEMA IPAWS Performance Report
2018 Report to Congress
Table of Contents
Executive Summary ..................................................................................................... 1
Legislative Requirement ................................................................................... 1
Background on the Evolution of Alerting ........................................................ 2
IPAWS Performance ......................................................................................... 4
Current Challenges .......................................................................................... 20
Appendix: Acronyms ...................................................................................... 24
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Legislative Requirement
This document responds to the reporting requirement set forth in. section 526(e)(1) of the
Homeland Security Act of 2002, as amended by the IPAWS Modernization Act of 2015 (Public
Law 114-143), also known as the IPAWS Modernization Act, which directs the following:
(e) PERFORMANCE REPORTS. —
(1) IN GENERAL. —Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of the Integrated Public
Alert and Warning System Modernization Act of 2015, and annually thereafter through
2018, the Administrator shall make available on the public website of the Agency a
performance report, which shall—
(A) establish performance goals for the implementation of the public alert and warning system
by the Agency;
(B) describe the performance of the public alert and warning system, including—
(i) the type of technology used for alerts and warnings issued under the system;
(ii) the measures taken to alert, warn, and provide equivalent information to individuals
with disabilities, individuals with access and function needs, and individuals with limited-
English proficiency; and
(iii) the training, tests, and exercises performed, and the outcomes obtained by the Agency;
(C) identify significant challenges to the effective operation of the public alert and warning
system and any plans to address these challenges;
(D) identify other necessary improvements to the system; and
(E) provide an analysis comparing the performance of the public alert and warning system with
the performance goals established under subparagraph (A).
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Background on the Evolution of Alerting
The modern EAS alerting system was built on a structure originally conceived in the 1950’s, when
over-the-air broadcasting was the best available technology for widely disseminating emergency
alerts. EAS has been upgraded numerous times since then, including in 2005 to include digital
broadcast television as well as satellite radio and satellite television. EAS was further expanded to
include Internet protocol-based television in 2007.
FEMA, in partnership with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), is responsible for operating and maintaining EAS at the
federal level. NOAA’s National Weather Service (NWS) and state and local alerting authorities, in
conjunction with local radio and television stations, can also use EAS to disseminate emergency
messages. These messages include: weather warnings, AMBER Alerts, and other public emergency
communications, targeted to specific regional and local areas and are independent from a
presidential alert. Presidential EAS alerts, also known as national-level alerts, use a hierarchical
broadcast-based distribution system to relay emergency messages. As the entry point for national-
level EAS messages, FEMA is responsible for distributing such alerts to National Primary stations,
which include PEP stations.
In 2004, FEMA initiated IPAWS to integrate EAS and other public alerting systems into a larger,
more comprehensive public alerting system. In June 2006, the President issued E.O. No. 13407,
entitled the Public Alert and Warning System, which created the policy that the U.S. must have a
comprehensive, integrated alerting system. The order directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to
“ensure an orderly and effective transition” from current capabilities to a more coordinated and
integrated system and details the responsibilities of the Secretary in meeting the President’s
directive.
In addition, in 2006, the Warning, Alert, and Response Network Act (WARN Act) was enacted,
which required the FCC to adopt relevant technical standards, protocols, procedures, and other
technical requirements to enable commercial mobile service providers (e.g., wireless providers) to
issue emergency alerts. The act required the FCC to establish an advisory panel called the
Commercial Mobile Service Alert Advisory Committee to recommend technical specifications and
protocols to govern wireless service providers’ participation in emergency alerting. In 2008,
following public notice and opportunity for public comment as required by the Administrative
Procedure Act, the FCC adopted requirements based on the committee’s recommendations for
wireless providers to transmit alerts and began developing the Commercial Mobile Alert System
(CMAS), in conjunction with the IPAWS PMO.
In 2010, IPAWS implemented a federal alert aggregator called IPAWS-OPEN, which has increased
alerting capabilities for authorities at the federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial level. IPAWS-
OPEN is capable of receiving and authenticating alerts from public alerting authorities and routing
them to various public alerting systems. As of September 2018, 1,137 public alerting authorities, in
all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and 4 tribal governments
have gone through the necessary authentication steps with FEMA to use IPAWS. Authorized public
alerting authorities may use IPAWS-compatible software to compose and transmit alerts via the
Internet to the alert aggregator using a common standard, called the Common Alerting Protocol
(CAP). CAP can be used as a single input to activate multiple warning systems and is capable of
geographic targeting and multilingual messaging.
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On November 9, 2011, FEMA conducted the first nationwide test of the national-level EAS. The
IPAWS PMO conducted the test in conjunction with the FCC. In conducting the test, IPAWS
initiated a national-level alert to be distributed through the EAS chain to EAS participants, which
included approximately 26,000 broadcasters, cable operators, and other EAS participants.
Additional national EAS tests using IPAWS-OPEN CAP distribution were conducted in September
2016, September 2017, and October 2018, and the first WEA national test was successfully held in
October 2018. Figure 1 shows the timeline of alerting updates since FY 2009.
Figure 1: The Evolution of Alerting
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IPAWS Performance
A summary of the report requirements is below as required by Section 526(e)(1) of the IPAWS
Act:5
• The type of technology used for alerts and warnings issued under the system;
• The measures taken to alert, warn, and provide equivalent information to individuals with
disabilities, individuals with access and functional needs, and individuals with limited-
English proficiency; and
• The training, tests, and exercises performed, and the outcomes obtained by the Agency.
This section of the IPAWS Performance Report examines five IPAWS performance goals. Later, it
explains efforts undertaken for each of the three elements specified in the law and highlights
alerting authority successes in issuing time-sensitive, critical alerts.
Performance Goals
As required by Section 526(e)(1) of the IPAWS Act, FEMA established five performance goals for
the implementation of the public alert and warning system:
• Goal 1: Create, maintain, and evolve an integrated interoperable environment for alert and
warning;
• Goal 2: Make alert and warning more effective;
• Goal 3: Strengthen the resilience of IPAWS infrastructure;
• Goal 4: Enhance the means for monitoring and measuring success; and
• Goal 5: Develop an IPAWS PMO workforce that is well-trained and satisfied.
Goal 1: Create, maintain, and evolve an integrated interoperable environment for alert and
warning
IPAWS is capitalizing on advances in data and technology by designing a responsive architecture
to address future alerting needs. Capitalizing on advances in data and communications technology
provides a more robust alert and warning system that allows for effective communication to reach
impacted peoples at all times. For example, IPAWS is harnessing the technology of mobile devices
to send WEA alerts in a timely manner. These alerts do not depend on standard mobile voice and
texting services that are subject to congestion during periods of high demand, ensuring that critical
alerts are received by the public in a timely manner. In addition to capitalizing on the advances in
existing technology, IPAWS designed a responsive architecture to address future alerting needs
and capabilities. IPAWS-OPEN integrates the FCC’s rule changes to allow alert originators to
embed URLs and telephone numbers in WEAs.6 Further, IPAWS alerts can provide messages to
internet applications and websites that currently exist or may be developed in the future.
5 Full text of the performance report requirements can be found in the “Legislative Summary” section of this
document 6 Wireless Emergency Alerts; Amendments to Part 11 of the Commission’s Rules Regarding the Emergency Alert
System, PS Docket No. 15-94. Second Report and Order and Second Order on Reconsideration. Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) (January 2018) https://www.fcc.gov/commission-releases-order-improving-wea-
accuracy-and-requiring-preservation-alerts.
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The IPAWS PMO is also conducting comprehensive stakeholder engagement activities to create,
maintain, and evolve an integrated interoperable environment for alert and warning. To create this
environment, IPAWS is providing training opportunities to alerting authorities through the IPAWS
Lab and through the provision of two online courses at FEMA’s Emergency Management Institute
(EMI) (IS-247a and IS-251). In addition, IPAWS is hosting—in conjunction with FEMA’s Office
of Disability Integration and Coordination (ODIC)—roundtables highlighting issues of importance
to people with disabilities or access and functional needs. In doing so, IPAWS creates an alerting
environment informed by and designed to ensure effective communication with persons with
disabilities and others with access and functional needs.
To maintain an integrated, interoperable environment for alert and warning, IPAWS engages in
multiple promotional initiatives. These awareness campaigns include the dissemination of lessons
learned from the IPAWS National Tests (INTs) to broadcasters for proper configuration of EAS
devices for effective alerting.
Lastly, IPAWS is evolving the integrated interoperable environment for alert and warning, in large
part by providing forums through which new ideas can be created, and later, implemented. IPAWS
has provided continuing support to FEMA’s National Advisory Council (NAC) IPAWS
Subcommittee, pursuant to the IPAWS Act, which provides recommendations to the NAC.7
IPAWS also facilitates discussion with alerting origination software providers (AOSP) to assess
interoperability with IPAWS-OPEN and provide a forum for alerting authorities to learn about the
various vendor offerings and their specific features.
Goal 2: Make alert and warning more effective
Just as IPAWS has made great strides to create, maintain, and evolve an integrated interoperable
environment for alert and warning, so too has it made alert and warning more effective nationwide.
These efforts range from initiatives focused on user reception of alerts, to those focused on alerting
authorities, vendors, and industry partners. Firstly, by focusing on user reception of alerts, IPAWS
makes alert and warning more effective by increasing the number of individuals who receive and
understand messages. For example, IPAWS-OPEN permits embedded URLs and phone numbers
in WEAs as required by the FCC and allows alerting authorities to provide more actionable
information to elicit desired public responses. Subsequent IPAWS-OPEN updates will implement
additional FCC requirements to further improve WEA alerts, such as increasing the number of
available characters from 90 to 360 on 4G LTE and future networks,8 creating a new class of alerts
(Public Safety Messages),9 facilitating State/Local WEA Tests to the public,10 and enabling
wireless providers to deliver alerts to more granular geographic areas.11
IPAWS’ current capability of providing alerting authorities with the capacity to issue alerts in
Spanish and any other languages that may be expressed using the Latin character set. make alerts
7 See IPAWS Subcommittee https://www.fema.gov/ipaws-subcommittee 8 47 CFR § 10.430. 9 47 CFR § 10.400(d). 10 47 CFR § 10.350(c). 11 Wireless Emergency Alerts; Amendments to Part 11 of the Commission’s Rules Regarding the Emergency Alert
System, PS Docket No. 15-94. Second Report and Order and Second Order on Reconsideration. Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) (January 2018) https://www.fcc.gov/commission-releases-order-improving-wea-
accuracy-and-requiring-preservation-alerts.
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more effective. This language capability allows emergency managers to tailor messages to diverse
communities. This capability is in line with the 2016 FCC rules that require participating wireless
providers to support the transmission of Spanish-language alerts.12 The IPAWS PMO also assists
alerting authorities through the IPAWS Message Viewer, which allows alerting authorities to test
from their respective offices and sends the results of the test to their desktop. This assistance
enables authorized alerting officials to test, exercise, and maintain proficiency on their vendor
software tools and improves the quality of messages by allowing alerting authorities to practice
writing actionable and accurate alerts. The IPAWS PMO also leverages the IPAWS Lab to engage
industry partners and communities of interest through demonstrations that evaluate the capabilities
of IPAWS in a safe environment.
Goal 3: Strengthen the resilience of IPAWS infrastructure
To strengthen resiliency, IPAWS is in the process of conducting numerous upgrades to the system.
Firstly, FEMA will migrate IPAWS-OPEN to a commercial cloud service provider (CSP) which is
expected to increase the alerting system’s resiliency and availability to provide lifesaving alerts.
Secondly, IPAWS is upgrading all legacy PEP stations with all-hazards capabilities to enhance the
resiliency of the NPWS and the ability of the president to issue an alert under all conditions (as of
September 2018, 31 of 77 PEP stations require modernization to all-hazards capability).
Thirdly, the IPAWS PMO is conducting national tests to validate the speed, effectiveness, and
efficiency of alerting capabilities—and test the adequacy of policies, plans, procedures, and
protocols. The first national test was held in November 2011, and the second and third in
September 2016 and September 2017, respectively. The first joint EAS/WEA national test was
held in October 2018. Such tests have helped the PMO to verify that it has met the NPWS
performance goal of providing coverage to 90 percent of the U.S. population.13 The extensive
reach of IPAWS coverage enables the president to deliver an emergency alert to the majority of the
public.
To improve qualitative effectiveness, the IPAWS PMO has conducted interviews with selected
alerting authorities to understand their needs and concerns, and to capture where they believe
IPAWS alerts are of the most benefit for their communities. In addition, the IPAWS PMO
conducted numerous after-action reviews following events with significant IPAWS usage,
including the 2017 California wildfires, the 2017 hurricane season, and the 2018 false ballistic
missile alert in Hawaii.
Goal 4: Enhance the means for monitoring and measuring success
There is an increasing number of IPAWS alerting authorities across federal, state, local, tribal, and
territorial jurisdictions. As of September 2018, there are 1,137 public alerting authorities including
2 federal non-military authorities (NOAA and NCMEC), 19 military facilities, 68 state agencies in
50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands, 3 tribal agencies, and
12 Wireless Emergency Alerts; Amendments to Part 11 of the Commission’s Rules Regarding the Emergency Alert
System, PS Docket Nos. 15-91, 15-94, Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, 31 Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) Rcd 11112 (2016) (WEA R&O and WEA FNPRM). 13 Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) Strategic Plan: Fiscal Year 2014-2018, p. 8
https://www.fema.gov/media-library-data/1401983070609-
479ca97bdfbf9e12bf94a060faa93b94/IPAWS_Strategic_Plan_FY14-FY18_FINAL-Signed_(06022014)_KAS.pdf
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1,042 local alerting authorities. The above alerting authorities are playing a significant role in
driving IPAWS’ success. IPAWS provides coverage to 90 percent of the population through the
NPWS PEP broadcast system and meets the threshold Key Performance Parameter (KPP) for
national-level (Priority One) EAS activation to occur within 10 minutes, and the KPP objective of
activation within five minutes.14 In addition to these thresholds, metrics provide further insight
into dissemination timeframes. During the November 9, 2011 test, dissemination of the EAS test
message via the legacy PEP Station system took 40 seconds, and during the September 28, 2016
IPAWS National Test (INT), the EAS test message via IPAWS-OPEN took an average of 43
seconds.15 EAS test message dissemination times for the 2017 and 2018 INTs are not available for
inclusion in this report.
Lastly, enhancements with regards to monitoring and measuring success helps the PMO analyze
how successfully IPAWS disseminates messages that influence individuals’ decisions to take
proactive and protective action in case of emergency. As of September 2018, 54 children have
been recovered as a direct result of AMBER Alert WEAs issued by NCMEC.16 In addition,
IPAWS metrics have captured the number of messages issued as of September 2018, which
indicate that there have been 41,664 total WEAs sent, with 39,079 sent by NWS, 1,307 sent by
NCMEC, and 1,365 sent by state/local public safety officials.
Goal 5: Develop an IPAWS PMO workforce that is well-trained and satisfied
While IPAWS has dedicated significant time and effort to developing and implementing a
comprehensive alerting system for the U.S. public, it has also looked internally to develop its own
workforce—ensuring that it is well-trained and satisfied. In October 2017, the IPAWS PMO held a
two-day offsite for federal staff and contractors to strengthen coordination and communication
with the team. IPAWS leadership articulated the path towards successfully implementing IPAWS
vision, mission, and goals. Secondly, in December 2017, the IPAWS PMO completed a multi-year
strategic vision outlining the steps to improve coordination and synchronization across the
program and meet the KPPs for IPAWS projects.
These five goals all serve to support the core of the IPAWS strategy, embodied in the mission
statement: “Provide integrated services and capabilities to federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial
authorities that enable them to alert and warn their respective communities via multiple
communications methods”.
Type of Technology Used
The IPAWS PMO maintains two major information technology (IT) systems to address the intents
and requirements of Public Law 114-143, which directs FEMA to implement a public alert and
warning system to disseminate timely and effective warnings. The two systems, IPAWS-OPEN and
NPWS, illustrated in Figure 2, together address alert and warning needs of federal, state, local,
tribal, and territorial authorities for warning the public of threats from any and all-hazards scenarios.
14 KPPs are defined in the program’s Operational Requirements Document (ORD) as the critical elements of the
system’s performance 15 2016 National IPAWS EAS Test Report, https://www.fema.gov/media-library-data/1497968299990-
4223793cbcd1a43b8f94525c5e3ca6c4/2016_IPAWS_EAS_National_Test_Report_For_Public_Release_Final_2.pdf 16 National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC).
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National Public Warning System
NPWS is comprised of 77 PEP broadcast and program distribution partners throughout the U.S..
The PEP system covers 90 percent of the American public. NPWS enables the President of the
U.S. to communicate to the public under all conditions as directed in E.O. 13407. For national
emergencies, the FEMA Operations Center (FOC) and FEMA Alternate Operations Center
(FAOC) activate the EAS with origination of an Emergency Action Notification (EAN) to the
PEP Network via the Public Switched Telephone Network or Satellite Communications Network.
NPWS EAS alerts carry audio only.
IPAWS-OPEN
IPAWS-OPEN, in contrast to NPWS, is activated by internet communications and can deliver
audio messages in different languages and text for EAS alerts. IPAWS-OPEN provides federal,
state, local, tribal, and territorial public safety officials with an effective way to alert and warn the
public about serious emergencies using the EAS, WEA, NOAA Weather Radio, and other public
alerting systems through a single interface. IPAWS-OPEN receives and authenticates messages
transmitted by federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial alerting authorities and routes them to
IPAWS-compliant public alerting systems. Its web services-based design allows for the addition of
future alert and warning systems. IPAWS-OPEN also enables interoperable sharing of incident-
related data among different standards-compliant incident management systems. As of September
30, 2018, there are 26,000 radio and TV cable providers that monitor the IPAWS EAS feed; 63
cellular carriers that distribute WEA alerts to millions of handsets, and 82 internet applications
vendors that have access to the All Hazards Alert and Information Feed.17
The interfaces to IPAWS-OPEN conform to open messaging standards as defined by the
Emergency Management Technical Committee, sponsored by the Organization for the
Advancement of Structured Information Standards and through the National Information Exchange
Model. IPAWS-OPEN also provides a test bed to facilitate the development of open-based
standards to support interoperable information sharing for the emergency responder community.
IPAWS uses the following messaging interfaces:
• CAP Version 1.2 Alert Aggregator and outbound dissemination channel for EAS, All
Hazards EAS/public information feed, NWS HazCollect Non-Weather Emergency
Messages and CMAS for WEAs;
• Emergency Data Exchange Language - Distribution Element Version 1.0; and
• Interface for CAP EAS and Public Alert Retrieval.
17 The All Hazards Alert and Information Feed is an IPAWS channel that displays alerts on connected RSS Fields on
websites. This is different from the “all hazards” protection that PEP stations are required to be equipped with per EO
13407. “All hazards” protection means that PEP stations are protected from any threat including Electro-Magnetic
Pulse.
9
Figure 2: NPWS and IPAWS-OPEN Architecture
IPAWS-OPEN Developers
Software and hardware developers create IPAWS-OPEN-compatible alert origination and
dissemination tools for federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial emergency management officials.
Vendors provide the software for alerting authorities to develop and issue an IPAWS alert. Several
private sector manufacturers of EAS encoder/decoder equipment provide products capable of
receiving alerts from IPAWS-OPEN. Existing state or locally-owned and operated warning
systems – such as sirens, highway signs, and emergency telephone notification systems – can be
configured to receive alerts from IPAWS-OPEN.
Accessing IPAWS-OPEN
Access to IPAWS-OPEN is structured around Collaborative Operating Groups (COGs). A COG is
a term used by FEMA to designate an organization that has been granted access to IPAWS-OPEN.
COGs must be sponsored by an eligible federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial governmental
organization of the U.S. IPAWS-OPEN receives and authenticates messages transmitted by
authorized alerting authorities and public officials and routes the messages to IPAWS-compliant
public alerting systems. Figure 3 shows the number of alerting authorities with access to IPAWS
as of September 2018, broken down by type of alerting authority.
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Figure 3: IPAWS Alerting Authorities
Cross-Border Agreements
In response to U.S.–Canada Beyond the Border (BTB): A Shared Vision for Perimeter Security
and Economic Competitiveness, dated February 4, 2011, and BTB Action Plan, a Memorandum of
Understanding was negotiated in June 2012 between IPAWS and the Centre for Security Science,
Government of Canada. This agreement allows interoperability between IPAWS-OPEN and the
Multi-Agency Situational Awareness System – Canada (MASAS) so that MASAS and IPAWS-
OPEN can exchange alert, warning, and incident information to improve response coordination
during binational disasters. The connection between IPAWS-OPEN and MASAS was made
official on June 9, 2014, and information is exchanged on 15-second intervals. This agreement
allows U.S. and Canadian alert originators to send alerts that affect cross-border regions.
Quarterly QHSR/GPRA Performance Report
In response to the Government Performance and Results Act of 2010 (GPRA), the IPAWS PMO
identified two critical performance measures to report quarterly through the DHS Quadrennial
Homeland Security Report (QHSR) reporting requirement.
Performance Measure As of FY 2018 Target
Percent of the U.S. population directly covered by
FEMA-connected radio transmission stations
90.2% 90%
Percent of the time IPAWS infrastructure is operating
and available for use by federal, state, local, tribal, and
territorial officials for the dissemination of emergency
alerts
99.82% 99.9%
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Social Media Monitoring
The IPAWS PMO uses traditional and social media to engage and inform the public about IPAWS
as the program, and especially WEAs, gain traction in the public’s awareness and interest. The
IPAWS PMO has used the Mention application since 2015 to monitor social media activity, noting
positive or negative mentions of IPAWS, to develop a data-driven assessment of the public
perception of the program.
The Mention application allows the PMO to monitor national and international mentions of
relevant key phrases, specifically IPAWS and WEA, in traditional news outlets, blogs, forums,
Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, all through one platform. Analytical reports are produced
monthly and aid in reporting significant events and public sentiment. Frequent reporting has
provided a useful metric for the PMO as it seeks to identify more effective ways to reach
stakeholders. These reports help the IPAWS PMO better communicate with partners by identifying
mediums and opportunities to reach key audiences, continually gauging results, and when needed,
tailoring the IPAWS message for improved communication.
Beginning in 2015, IPAWS shifted its focus from adoption to implementation, and began to
effectively gather public reactions, practices, and questions. The PMO regularly monitors media
activity on topics related to IPAWS using a social media tracking tool. In 2016, the application
helped identify alert challenges and proved state and local public safety officials could benefit
from additional outreach support from the PMO. More recently, media findings through Mention
have highlighted a significant increase in public awareness of both IPAWS and WEA in response
to the Hawaii false missile alert. Since January 2018, the PMO has focused on public reaction to
the event, best practices and changes that need to be implemented by emergency managers, as well
as new guidance from the FCC.
Alerting for People with Disabilities or Access and Functional Needs
IPAWS has made significant progress in performing outreach to people with disabilities or access
and functional needs, those with limited English proficiency, and organizations representing these
communities.
Technology Identification
The IPAWS PMO works to identify and engage with companies that can help make IPAWS more
effective, inclusive, and resilient for people with disabilities. This includes developing a
comprehensive vendor/stakeholder matrix with over 200 points of contact across Government,
advocacy groups, IPAWS-capable companies, and developers from industry. IPAWS has also
created a vendor guidance document to complement stakeholder engagement efforts.18 The
document guides vendors with products that improve communication with people with disabilities
or access and functional needs through the process of signing up for IPAWS and highlights the
benefits of the system to the American people.
Roundtables
18 Vendor guidance document: https://www.fema.gov/media-library/assets/documents/25916
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In coordination with FEMA’s ODIC, IPAWS hosts roundtables highlighting issues of importance to
people with disabilities or access and functional needs. Most recently, IPAWS hosted a roundtable
on August 11, 2016, with more than 125 participants and presenters from industry, academia, and
the Executive Branch to discuss emerging technologies, challenges, and potential solutions to
improving alerts.
IPAWS also coordinated with the FCC Disability Advisory Council and attended events such as the
“WEA Working Group” and Disability Working Summit.
Symbology
IPAWS supported the development of 16 symbols to provide graphical representation of IPAWS
alerts for individuals with disabilities or access and functional needs. The symbols are designed to
complement text and audio alerts distributed as EAS and WEA, illustrated in Figure 4. IPAWS
continues to socialize the public alert symbol set at various conferences and events. The symbols
were most recently displayed during the 2017 National Association of Broadcasters Show and
International Association of Emergency Managers Conference. IPAWS developed the Symbology
initiative with DHS Science and Technology, the DHS Geospatial Management Office, and the
National Alliance for Public Safety GIS to standardize the symbols to be used by IPAWS.
Figure 4: IPAWS Approved Symbology
Multilingual Capability
As of September 30, 2018, IPAWS-OPEN is capable of handling multilingual EAS messages in
Spanish and other languages that can be expressed using the Latin character set. WEA messages
13
can be sent in English only. Future WEA updates will allow for Spanish language alerts. The
IPAWS PMO continues to explore the capability to relay messages in additional languages. IPAWS
testing efforts in November 2015 marked the first time that IPAWS was used to deliver a single
National Periodic Test (NPT) message to EAS participants that included content in both Spanish
and English. The INTs in September 2016, September 2017, and October 2018 also included both
Spanish and English message content providing EAS participants the option to broadcast a Spanish
language version of the test message. IPAWS also worked with Spanish-speaking advocacy groups
to collect feedback on the INT. National messages distributed by the NPWS PEP stations are only
able to convey the President’s audio message as spoken due to the technical architecture of the
more resilient system. The FCC has adopted rules requiring participating wireless providers to
support transmission of Spanish with English WEA messages beginning in May 2019.19 The
Spanish language support in WEA messages will roll out across the nation as wireless providers
modify their networks and cellular phones to support the new functionality and as alerting
authorities begin to include Spanish language content in their alerts sent via the IPAWS.
Training, Tests, and Exercises Performed and Their Outcomes
IPAWS conducts a variety of tests to evaluate the operational capabilities of the IPAWS-OPEN
alerting system. National, state, and local tests are conducted to evaluate the ability to send alerts in
a timely and clear manner. These end-to-end tests range from periodic INTs to state and local tests
focusing on a specific geographic area.
Training
The EMI provides two online IPAWS training programs (IS 247a and IS 251). These courses were
taken a total of 24,717 times between 2012 and September 2018, broken down by year and course
in Figure 5. Both courses are being combined and updated to reflect current advances in emergency
notification and warning. The new IS 247b will provide introductory information on IPAWS with
the goal of providing alerting authorities increased awareness of the benefits of IPAWS and
instruction for sending more effective public warnings. The material in IS 251 is also being updated
with emphasis on assisting authorized public safety officials in developing the skills to draft more
appropriate, effective, and accessible warning messages; best practices in the effective use of CAP;
and developing the ability to geo-target areas of their communities. This material will be available
directly to the public safety community.
19 Wireless Emergency Alerts; Amendments to Part 11 of the Commission’s Rules Regarding the Emergency Alert
System, PS Docket No. 15-94, Second Report and Order and Second Order on Reconsideration, Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) (January 2018).
14
Figure 5: Online Training Trends
IPAWS has been integrated into FEMA’s Community Specific Integrated Emergency Management
Course (L930), a four-day course delivered at the participating jurisdiction’s emergency operations
center. It was delivered in Yolo County, CA in May 2017. IPAWS has also been integrated into
EMI’s Virtual Table Top Exercise (VTTX) series, a monthly web-based training delivery available
to all federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial entities. The initial IPAWS VTTX was delivered in
March 2018 as part of the lead-up training to the National Level Exercise (NLE) 2018. Questions
pertaining to IPAWS were included in the Earthquake VTTX delivered in September 2018. Eight
additional VTTXs containing IPAWS are being developed. The IPAWS Lab delivered test message
development and delivery training, conducted in-person or virtually, with 197 state, local, tribal,
and territorial agencies in 2017. IPAWS engagement with federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial
alerting authorities from October 2017 through September 2018 is illustrated in Figure 6.
15
Figure 6: IPAWS Outreach Map – Federal, State, Tribal, Territorial, and Local Engagement
with IPAWS 2018
National Tests
In 2011, the PMO conducted the first nationwide EAS test across the U.S. and its territories with
16
activation of an EAN. The purpose of the test was to assess the functionality of the legacy system
for the President of the U.S. to address the public during times of extreme national emergency.
Following the 2011 test, the FCC published the Sixth Report and Order in June 2015, which
provided several rules regarding NPT message handling and test reporting requirements for EAS
participants.20
Following the 2011 test, the IPAWS PMO developed a three-phase testing approach, referred to as
the INT, to conduct the first nationwide EAS test using the NPT code and IPAWS-OPEN:
• Phase I – Controlled test in the IPAWS Lab;
• Phase II – Series of IPAWS Supported State and Regional Tests (ISSRTs) using the NPT
message event code; and
• Phase III – Live end-to-end INT.
After conducting Phase I controlled tests at the IPAWS Lab, the IPAWS PMO began organizing
Phase II testing in 2014, in voluntary coordination with state broadcasting associations and
emergency management agencies, to assess the operational readiness of the alert and warning
system for delivery of a national-level message from origination to reception by the American
public. On September 17, 2014, the IPAWS PMO conducted the first test using NPT and IPAWS-
OPEN with the State of West Virginia, West Virginia Division of Homeland Security and
Emergency Management, West Virginia State Emergency Communications Chair, and the West
Virginia Broadcasters Association. Following the West Virginia test findings, the IPAWS PMO
supported a series of state and regional tests providing an opportunity for broadcast and cable
operators to observe how their EAS equipment would process and broadcast incoming IPAWS alert
messages prior to the nationwide test. Phase II was completed in June 2016 with the successful
execution of nine state/regional tests with a total of 46 states, the District of Columbia, the U.S.
Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico.
Phase III culminated with the second nationwide EAS test on September 28, 2016, the first test
IPAWS conducted using the NPT code and IPAWS-OPEN. The second test on September 27,
2017, was originated from Scottsdale, Arizona during the annual National Emergency Management
Agency (NEMA) conference. The test message was available in English and Spanish, including full
message text and spoken word audio messages. Approximately 95 percent of U.S. broadcast,
satellite, and cable operators received the test message, and approximately 88 percent successfully
relayed the message. Phase III provided a repeatable process for future nationwide testing.
IPAWS successfully conducted a joint EAS/WEA test on October 3, 2018. The test was conducted
in conjunction with participating EAS radio, television, and cable operators and wireless providers
participating in WEA. This was the first nationwide WEA test. The FCC requires EAS participants
to report on reception and broadcast of the national test messages and reports national statistics after
each INT. Wireless providers participating in WEA are not required to report alert test delivery and
performance information.
Support for Local Tests by Alerting Authorities
The IPAWS PMO offers support to alerting authorities who wish to conduct IPAWS-OPEN tests
20 Review of the Emergency Alert System, PS Docket No. 04-296, Sixth Report and Order – Federal Communications
Commission (FCC) (June 2015).
17
within their region. For example, the District of Columbia Homeland Security and Emergency
Management Agency (DC HSEMA) tested their WEA capability in preparation for the Presidential
inauguration on January 20, 2017. The DC HSEMA successfully issued the WEA test message that
read “This is a test of the District of Columbia Emergency Alert System. No action is required.”
The IPAWS PMO also supported the National Capital Region WEA test on April 5, 2018, where
nine alerting authorities (located in Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia) successfully
issued a test WEA message. The test provided alerting authorities with the opportunity to evaluate
their policies and procedures to develop and send an alert using IPAWS and conduct public
education about alerts and warnings in their jurisdiction, and for the IPAWS PMO to assess how the
messages were transmitted through IPAWS-OPEN and the carriers, and then received by handsets.
IPAWS-OPEN System Performance Tests
The IPAWS PMO conducts extensive testing of the IPAWS-OPEN alerting architecture to evaluate
connectivity and interoperability performances.
• Required Weekly Test (RWT): IPAWS distributes an RWT message for EAS
participants to meet their FCC requirement to demonstrate connectivity to IPAWS by
receiving and logging reception of the IPAWS RWT. The RWT message is not broadcast
but is logged by radio and TV broadcasters throughout the U.S. each week. The FCC may
inspect station EAS logs for regulatory compliance.;
• Required Monthly Tests (RMT): An RMT WEA test message is sent to all connected
Commercial Mobile Service Provider Alert Gateways monthly to confirm connectivity
between the IPAWS-OPEN and wireless provider gateways and the ability of the gateways
to receive and acknowledge a WEA message. The FCC rules require wireless providers to
distribute the RMT within 24 hours of receipt of the test message. However cellular phones
are not required to display the WEA RMT and the wireless providers are not required to
report on network distribution beyond acknowledgement of the WEA RMT at the provider
gateway.; and
• User Acceptance Test (UAT): Each IPAWS-OPEN system release is thoroughly tested by
a formal UAT. The UAT ensures that all required functions of the IPAWS-OPEN web
services work as intended and at an acceptable level of performance. This test is done in a
formal testing environment operated by FEMA IT personnel and separate from the
development and live production environments. UAT includes all new functionality and
approximately 700 different regression tests. Testing is conducted by IPAWS personnel
and by external system operators whose software is designed to interoperate with IPAWS-
OPEN, including the NWS, makers of alert origination software, and downstream
commercial disseminators. A representative sample of all UAT testing is overseen by
FEMA Independent Verification and Validation staff who also conduct some tests
independent from IPAWS PMO staff. FEMA tested IPAWS-OPEN release 3.09.01in
March 2017 and is scheduled to complete IPAWS-OPEN release 3.10 in June 2019.
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Exercises
The IPAWS alerting capability is factored into key DHS/FEMA exercises, where appropriate, to
test and evaluate emergency response plans at the federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial level.
For example, the 2017 Gotham Shield exercise simulated the IPAWS alerting decision-making
process to issue timely and actionable information to the public in the event of a major natural or
manmade disaster. IPAWS also participated in NLE 2018, a two-week hurricane related event,
where IPAWS coordinated test message activity with the state of Pennsylvania and Fairfax County
in Virginia. During NLE 2018, NPWS successfully simulated readiness of PEP stations in North
Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, and D.C. to support local emergency information
broadcast when needed during a local incident.
The IPAWS PMO also works with FEMA’s Radiological Emergency Preparedness Program and
the Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program to make state and local emergency
managers aware of the possible uses of IPAWS during exercises in coordination with these
facilities. This included participating in message simulation with Madison County, Kentucky and
Pueblo County, CO during the Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program meeting in
December 2017. The IPAWS Lab has worked with Berrien County, MI and Monroe County, MI in
conducting message simulation leading up to their evaluated exercises in 2017 and 2018.
IPAWS also identifies additional exercise opportunities through participation with the FEMA
National Exercise Program, National Exercise Division monthly meetings, the annual Exercise and
Evaluation Program Training and Exercise Planning Workshops, and collaboration with DHS
Office of Emergency Communications.
Outcomes
The IPAWS Program has provided the tool for alerting authorities to send alerts and warnings that
help save lives and mitigate the consequences of natural and manmade events. Examples are as
follows:
● During the 2017 and 2018 hurricane seasons, state and local emergency management
authorities used the IPAWS system to issue timely and actionable alerts that complemented
other alerting channels. The NWS extensively relied upon IPAWS to help convey their
warnings to impacted areas;
• The Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM) issued several evacuation alerts
prior to the arrival of Hurricane Irma, which assisted in the safe evacuation of nearly 6.5
million residents. FDEM also issued IPAWS alerts on behalf of counties that did not have
access to use IPAWS, and used other methods to deliver information to reinforce the alert
advisories;
• During the 2017 December California wildfires, alerting authorities embedded URL links
in WEAs to ask the public to identify what protective actions, if any in their localities, they
should undertake. This demonstrated the power of WEAs to disseminate life-saving
information in a timely manner;
19
• Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) used WEAs in August 2016 to dispel false reports
of an active shooter at Los Angeles International Airport, and inform the public it was safe
to return to the airport terminals;
• The New York City Office of Emergency Management used WEAs to distribute critical
information to the public during the September 2016 terrorist events. These WEAs
included a shelter in place advisory, and asked residents to help locate the suspect: Ahmad
Khan Rahami. Suspect Rahami was arrested within four hours after the WEA was issued;
• In September 2015, Missouri issued a WEA for Cleveland, Missouri, shortly before a
football game, when a tornado touched down at the Cass Midway School grounds. The
WEA prompted the school to move about 350 people to shelter. The school credited the
early warnings for its decision to shelter people 10 minutes before tornado impact; and
• Martinsville law enforcement in Virginia released a WEA in October 2015 after receiving a
call from a business reporting an armed robber on the loose. Citizens recognized the
suspect at a local convenience store and called the 911 dispatch center to inform them of
the suspect’s whereabouts. Law enforcement credited IPAWS and the use of WEAs with
the quick apprehension of the dangerous criminal.
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Current Challenges
As required by Public Law 114-143, FEMA has identified significant challenges to the effective
operation of the public alert and warning system and plans to address these challenges. IPAWS
has achieved notable successes since its inception, providing critical and timely alerts for a
variety of natural and manmade events. Challenges and opportunities remain as the program, and
its benefits, continue to expand. Key areas for improvement are listed below.
Increasing the Usage of IPAWS by Alerting Authorities
There is a large number of alerting authorities (92 percent) that have sent 10 or fewer alerts
between January 2016 and September 2018. FEMA is conducting an initiative to understand
why some alerting authorities rarely use IPAWS, and identify ways to increase usage, when
appropriate. The PMO is interviewing a sample of alerting authorities to assess how FEMA can
support them in improving the quality of alerts and increasing usage during emergencies. The
purpose of the research is to identify the main challenges alerting authorities face and to share
effective practices through training and stakeholder engagement activities. From April 2017
through September 2018, evidence shows a significant increase in the number of messages
alerting authorities sent to inform the public of threats to public safety. Figure 7 shows IPAWS
WEA usage from 2012 through September 2018.
Figure 7: IPAWS WEA Usage Over Time
Installing “All Hazards” Protection for PEP Stations
31 of the 77 PEP stations throughout the U.S., that form the foundation of the NPWS, are not
fully protected against “all hazards.” The IPAWS PMO is currently upgrading the PEP stations
to an “all hazards” capability to increase resiliency. The PEP system provides broadcast
coverage to 90 percent of the American public.
Improving Alerts to Individuals with Disabilities, Access and Functional Needs, and Limited-
English Proficiency
Educating the public about IPAWS PMO efforts remains a top priority to increase awareness
about initiatives like the IPAWS National Test and alerts Symbology, as well as of IPAWS as a
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whole. Continued outreach and stakeholder engagement can continue to address this priority.
IPAWS continues to explore new technologies to improve the reach and effectiveness of alerts
for persons with disabilities and others with access and functional needs. IPAWS also continues
to work towards the inclusion of additional languages with each new release of IPAWS-OPEN.
Additional stakeholder engagement activities, combined with FCC and industry interactions,
will help facilitate the adoption of innovative alert capabilities.
Dependencies
The IPAWS architecture relies on several dependencies across IT infrastructure operations and
maintenance, and relies on voluntary partnerships with PEP stations and cellular carriers.
IPAWS’ effectiveness is dependent upon directly resourced relationships for maintenance and
sustainment of IT infrastructure at the FEMA and DHS data centers. IPAWS works in close
coordination with its federal partners to maintain and sustain the IT infrastructure, but this
reliance on outside entities limits the PMO’s control over critical elements.
IPAWS depends on the broadcast industry to participate as PEP stations in the NPWS and has
installed FEMA-provided resiliency systems at PEP stations throughout the country. If the
IPAWS PEP program loses participating PEP stations, either by broadcast industry action,
regulatory changes, or natural disaster, then the PEP network will have less than 90-percent
population coverage and IPAWS will be unable to meet its legislative and executive mandates.
The FCC is considering reducing Class A AM radio interference protections. If the FCC rules to
change these parameters, many PEP stations in the program will have reduced power output,
which will lessen nationwide coverage by PEPs. The IPAWS PMO actively monitors PEP
station status, conducts industry and regulatory engagement emphasizing the benefits of
national and local-level EAS services to the public, and promotes broadcast media as the more
resilient and reliable source of public safety information.
Current IPAWS IT infrastructure contains many single points of failure. To address these
challenges, FEMA will migrate the IPAWS-OPEN system to a cloud-hosted environment to
achieve and meet the IPAWS Operational Requirements Document Full Operational Capability
definition that IPAWS-OPEN have “two redundant, geographically diverse highly available
operational sites.”
Necessary IPAWS Improvements
The IPAWS PMO continuously improves the performance of the alerting system based on
recommendations from internal reviews, advisory committees, and regulatory rule changes.
FCC WEA Rule Changes
The IPAWS PMO is currently implementing the FCC’s adopted rules to update and strengthen
WEAs. The rules, announced on September 29, 2016, update the FCC’s 2008 technical and
procedural requirements. These changes increase the maximum length of WEA messages (from
90 to 360 characters) for 4G LTE and future networks, supports a new classification of WEA
messages called “Public Safety Messages,” and requires support for embedded URLs and phone
numbers. Additionally, the rule changes will require facilitating State/Local WEA Tests to the
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public which will make it easier for state, local, tribal, and territorial authorities to test WEA,
train personnel, and raise public awareness about the service. Participating carriers must also
support Spanish language WEAs by May 2019. The Commission also authorized the use of the
“BLU” event code for alert originators to send Blue Alerts to notify the public of threats to law
enforcement using EAS as of January 2018 and using WEA as of July 2019. The January 2018
WEA rules update requires that WEAs hit a 100 percent target area with a 0.1-mile overshoot
and for cell phones to preserve alerts on the device for 24 hours by November 2019.21
IPAWS-OPEN v3.09.01 ends the restriction on the use of phone numbers and links in current
messages. Cell carriers and alerting software vendors are making system modifications where
necessary for the changes to take effect.
Cloud Migration
The IPAWS PMO is working toward migrating IPAWS-OPEN to the cloud to increase the
availability and the resiliency of IPAWS-OPEN. The cloud migration decision was made
following the IPAWS PMO, in conjunction with the FEMA Office of the Chief Information
Officer (OCIO), performing an Alternatives Analysis in March 2015, and an Extended Analysis of
Alternatives in August 2015. Through this analysis and research, IPAWS and the FEMA OCIO
determined that moving the IPAWS system from DHS’ Data Center 2 (DC2) at Mount Weather to
a commercial CSP would increase availability and resiliency, while lowering cost. The analysis
revealed that hosting services offered by CSPs could provide 99.9 percent availability or better.
Extensive follow-on market research analysis with the General Services Administration, industry,
and other DHS cloud subject-matter experts resulted in a strategy to modernize the IPAWS-OPEN
application to be cloud-optimized, rather than migrate the existing application architecture to the
cloud. This cloud modernization approach will significantly lower cloud migration technical risk
and eliminate existing costly licenses. IPAWS awarded a cloud contract in FY 2018 for hosting,
modernizing, and maintaining the IPAWS-OPEN system.
Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) Business Processes Improvements
The IPAWS PMO is assessing options for updating the MOA process for registering new alerting
authorities. The MOA management application will allow alert originators to self-edit their
information and to track the process of their application online. The improvements follow a
business process review conducted in 2016 to improve and accelerate the MOA process. A MOA
authorizes the alerting authority to connect to and ultimately use IPAWS-OPEN. The business
process review analyzed the current business processes, identified bottlenecks and redundancies,
identified business process improvements, and investigated options for automation.
Message Creation and Dissemination
Many IPAWS alerting authorities are issuing actionable alerts in a timely manner. The IPAWS
21 Wireless Emergency Alerts; Amendments to Part 11 of the Commission’s Rules Regarding the Emergency Alert
System, PS Docket No. 15-94. Second Report and Order and Second Order on Reconsideration. Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) (January 2018).
23
PMO continues to emphasize the importance of sharing best practices across all alert originators.
IPAWS is also developing an online IPAWS users working group community as part of this
process. This will help to support those facing difficulties in issuing alerts or those who are
infrequent users of IPAWS. IPAWS’ efforts are focusing on governance and coordination,
mechanics of alert creation and dissemination, and alert content to achieve desired outcome. The
outcomes will likely include expanding available training for alerting authorities.
NOAA Weather Radio Connection
The National Weather Service’s NOAA Weather Radio is one of the four dissemination channels
of IPAWS-OPEN and allows the dissemination of Non-Weather Emergency Messages (NWEM).
This increases the reach of message dissemination and offers another mechanism for the public to
receive important emergency messages. As of September 30, 2018, the NOAA Weather Radio
connection is currently offline from IPAWS. Currently, FEMA and NOAA are working together
to enable this capability.
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Appendix: Acronyms
AMBER America’s Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response
AOSP Alerting Origination Software Provider
CAP Common Alerting Protocol
CMAS Commercial Mobile Alert System
COG Collaborative Operating Group
DHS Department of Homeland Security
EAS Emergency Alert System
EO Executive Order
EAN Emergency Action Notification
EMI Emergency Management Institute
FAOC FEMA Alternate Operations Center
FCC Federal Communications Commission
FDEM Florida Division of Emergency Management
FEMA Federal Emergency Management Agency
FOC FEMA Operations Center
GPRA Government Performance and Results Act
HSPD Homeland Security Presidential Directive
INT IPAWS National Test
IPAWS Integrated Public Alert and Warning System
IPAWS-OPEN IPAWS Open Platform for Emergency Networks
KPP Key Performance Parameters
LAPD Los Angeles Police Department
MASAS Multi-Agency Situational Awareness System
MOA Memorandum of Agreement
NAC National Advisory Council
NCMEC National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
NIPP National Infrastructure Protection Plan
NLE National Level Exercise
NOAA National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration
NPT National Periodic Test
NPWS National Public Warning System
NWS National Weather Service
OCIO Office of the Chief Information Officer
ODIC Office of Disability Integration and Coordination
PEP Primary Entry Point
PMO Program Management Office
QHSR Quadrennial Homeland Security Report
RMT Required Monthly Tests
RWT Required Weekly Test
UAT User Acceptance Test
VTTX Virtual Table Top Exercise