WASHINGTON—President George W. Bush Friday signed the port-security bill into law, a move that also creates the Warning, Alert and Response Network. The WARN legislation was attached to the port-security bill, and essentially updates the nation’s Cold War-era emergency-alert system to use newer technologies, including wireless.
“The measure ensures that when disaster strikes, the wireless network will be used as a tool so that almost all Americans will be notified through radio, TV and wireless communications devices, because there are more than 200 million wireless subscribers in the United States,” said the Senate Commerce Committee.
The wireless industry had supported voluntary participation in a new EAS regime rather than a legislated requirement. Industry also had wanted liability protection and more time to study technical options for delivering alerts. Carriers have said short message service can be a stop-gap solution in the near term, despite its shortcomings, while a permanent fix is found.
The WARN Act authorizes $106 million to develop technical protocols for delivering emergency alerts through wireless and other communications distribution channels.
