WRAL To Demo Mobile Emergency System

On Thursday, WRAL, Capitol Broadcasting’s CBS affiliate in Raleigh-Durham, N.C. (DMA 24), will become the first commercial TV station to demonstrate the benefits of the proposed Mobile Emergency Alert System (M-EAS.)  The new emergency technology can easily transmit video, audio, photos, maps and text information to millions of people using mobile devices.

M-EAS will provide interactive, on-demand emergency information to mobile receivers equipped with mobile digital TV capability. The potential of the system includes mobile digital television devices, cell phones, tablet computers and other devices. This technology requires no cell towers, no cell phone data plans, and no Internet access since it uses broadcast TV transmissions to reach millions of potential viewers with a single broadcast.

According to WRAL, “no other system has the capacity to deliver on-demand emergency messages to so many people simultaneously.” The system requires no additional radiofrequency spectrum and is an additional use of existing TV transmitters and towers. Standard equipment used to upgrade stations for mobile DTV transmission is utilized.

M-EAS is being standardized by the Advanced Television Systems Committee, building on the ATSC Mobile Digital TV Standard, which WRAL has been using for the past three years.

WRAL plans a demonstration of the potentially life-saving technology tomorrow, during an event attended by emergency management personnel and public officials in Raleigh, N.C. The event is being live-streamed Thursday, Sept. 13, at 6-7 p.m. ET on WRAL.com. Watch and tweet live: www.wral.com/11477194 using #WRALMEAS #MDTV.