The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) will conduct the first nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS).
The nationwide test will occur on Wednesday, November 9 at 11 a.m. pacific time and may last up to three and a half minutes. The public will hear a message indicating that “This is a test.” The audio message will be the same for radio, television, and cable.
The National-level EAS is a public alert and warning system that enables the President of the United States to address the American public during extreme emergencies. Similar to local EAS tests that are conducted frequently, the Nationwide Test will involve broadcast radio and television stations, cable television, satellite radio and television services and other communications providers across all states and territories.
Over the past two years and as part of ongoing national preparedness planning efforts, FEMA, the FCC and other federal partners, State, local, tribal and territorial governments, EAS Participants, and others in the EAS Community have been working toward making this test a reality.
As the federal, state, tribal, territorial and local governments prepare for and test their capabilities; this event serves as a reminder that everyone should establish an emergency preparedness kit and emergency plan for themselves, their families, communities, and businesses. Anyone can visit www.Ready.gov for more information about how to prepare for and stay informed about what to do in the event of an actual emergency.
BendBroadband is participating in this test and has undertaken a variety of customer awareness initiatives Additional information on this nationwide test can be found within the hot topics area of BendBroadband.com.
About BendBroadband
BendBroadband is a family-owned, local company serving Central Oregon since 1955. A leader in the cable and broadband sectors, the company offers an extensive range of broadband, cable and telephone services for commercial and residential customers. Central Oregon facilities include more than a thousand miles of fiber and coax infrastructure along with metropolitan optical Ethernet, T-1/PRI and hosted PBX services serving the business community. BendBroadband offers multiple phone and high- speed Internet options with speeds up to 60 Mbps. BendBroadband operates one of the fastest wireless broadband networks in the nation, which covers an expanded Central Oregon footprint along with outdoor Wi-Fi. The company was among the first to be 100% digital and offers Video on Demand, digital video recorders, HDTV (with more than 100 HD channels) and a choice of interactive program guides. BendBroadband focuses its corporate contributions and sponsorship efforts on youth, and by supporting an array of arts and entertainment in Central Oregon. In the community, BendBroadband provides extensive local sports, civic programming and local features created and produced by COTV, channel 11. For more info, visit www.bendbroadband.com. The company recently opened the BendBroadband Vault, Tier III, LEED Gold-certified green colocation data center providing hosted storage for primary site and disaster recovery needs, equipment colocation and managed services. For more info about the Vault, please visit www.bendbroadbandvault.com.
