Author Archives: njnena

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 911.gov sent this bulletin at 09/07/2018 08:55 AM CDT

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), in coordination with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), will conduct a nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) and Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) on September 20, 2018 (primary date) or October 3, 2018 (secondary date). The WEA portion of the test commences at 2:18 p.m. EDT and the EAS portion follows at 2:20 p.m. EDT. The test will assess the operational readiness of the infrastructure for distribution of a national message and determine whether technological improvements are needed.

This is the fourth EAS nationwide test and the first national WEA test. The WEA test message will be sent to cell phones. Previous EAS national tests were conducted in September 2011, 2016 and 2017 in collaboration with the FCC, broadcasters, and emergency management officials in recognition of FEMA’s National Preparedness Month.

The EAS test is made available to EAS participants (i.e. radio and television broadcasters, cable systems, satellite radio and television providers, and wireline video providers) and is scheduled to last approximately one minute. The test message will be similar to regular monthly EAS test messages with which the public is familiar. The EAS message will include a reference to the WEA test: “THIS IS A TEST of the National Emergency Alert System. This system was developed by broadcast and cable operators in voluntary cooperation with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Federal Communications Commission, and local authorities to keep you informed in the event of an emergency. If this had been an actual emergency, an official message would have followed the tone alert at the start of this message. A similar wireless emergency alert test message has been sent to all cell phones nationwide. Some cell phones will receive the message, others will not. No action is required.”

The WEA test message will be a Presidential Alert and will read “THIS IS A TEST of the National Wireless Emergency Alert System. No action is needed.”

The WEA system is used to warn the public about dangerous weather, missing children, and other critical situations through alerts on cell phones. It allows customers whose wireless provider participates in WEA and who own a WEA compatible wireless phone to receive geo-targeted alerts of imminent threats to safety in their area through unique tones and vibration. The national WEA test will use the same special tone and vibration.

The WEA test will be sent through IPAWS, as part of the nation’s modern alert and warning infrastructure that automatically authenticates alerts. Cell towers will broadcast the WEA test for approximately 30 minutes. During this time, cell phones that are switched on and within range of an active cell tower should be capable of receiving the test message. Cell phones should receive the message once.

Significant coordination has been conducted with EAS participants, wireless providers, and emergency managers in preparation for this EAS-WEA national test. This test is intended to ensure public safety officials have the methods and systems that will deliver urgent alerts and warnings to the public in times of emergency or disaster. Periodic testing of public alert and warning systems is also a way to assess the operational readiness of the infrastructure required for the distribution of a national message and determine whether technological improvements are needed.

Receiving preparedness tips and timely information about weather conditions or other emergency events can make all the difference in knowing when to take action to be safe. FEMA and our partners are working to ensure alerts and warnings are received quickly through several different technologies, no matter whether an individual is at home, at school, at work, or out in the community. The FEMA app, which can be downloaded on both Android and Apple devices, is one way to ensure you receive both preparedness tips and weather alerts of your choice. Download the FEMA app today at https://www.fema.gov/mobile-app.

More information on the national test is available at https://www.fema.gov/Emergency-Alert-Test

Questions on the national test can be sent to FEMA-National-Test@fema.dhs.gov

The Federal Communications Commission recently released a report on state collection and distribution of 9-1-1 fees.  The State of New Jersey collects a “9-1-1 System and Emergency Response Fee”.  In the FCC report, on page 61, a chart explains that the State of New Jersey collects $122,632,000.00 of which $110,278,000.00 is diverted. That is 89.9 percent of 9-1-1 funds collected.

An excerpt from the report:

“New Jersey reported that it did not divert or transfer any collected funds. However, it reported that it collected a total of $122.6 million in 911 fees and, in accordance with New Jersey statute (P.L.2004, c.48), the total was “deposited into the 911 System and Emergency Response Trust Fund account and applied to offset a portion of the cost of related programs.” According to New Jersey, with respect to 911 specific costs, approximately $13,122,000.00 was applied to “the Statewide 911 Emergency Telephone System” and $900,000 was applied to “the Office of Emergency Telecommunications Service.” New Jersey applied the remainder of $110,278,000.00 to offset costs related to programs within the New Jersey Departments of Law and Public Safety and Military and Veterans’ Affairs.”

Click Here to view the Full Report

Please download and review the proposed bylaws changes.  You can download an annotated version here.  The are to be voted on and accepted during the 2017 Annual Conference.

Major Changes:
1. Two year terms for executive board positions.
2. Private Sector members may serve a regional VP (consistent w/ National NENA)
3. Emergency Dispatcher is now Telecommunicator member.
4. Elimination of Second Vice President position.
5. Streamline nomination and election processes

Aside from that there are minor language changes to bring us inline with NENA.  The bylaws will first be sent to NENA for their approval and formal acceptance must be done during the NJ-NENA meeting at the annual conference.  If you have any questions, please contact a member of the bylaws committee.

Bylaws Committee: Chairperson – Ray Strilec,  Al McNally and Dara Orsini

October 22, 2015 – New Jersey NENA held its annual Fall Membership Meeting at the Burlington County Public Safety Training Academy.  Craig Reiner of the Office of Telecommunications Services provided an update on the state’s Text-to-911 efforts. Joe Geleta provided an overview of the NJ 2-1-1 Partnership and Fred Scalera gave a very interesting presentation on JerseyNet, the state portion of FirstNet.  Fred brought some of the mobile equipment with him, including a Cell On Wheels and System On Wheels, on which he gave a demonstration to attendees in the parking lot, on a beautiful autumn day.

Joe Geleta – New Jersey 2-1-1 http://www.nj211.org

Fred Scalera of NJ Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness Demos a A C.O.W. and a S.O.W.

We have several executive board changes to announce.

As most of you know by now, the passing of Patti Walsh left a vacancy in the position of South Region Vice-President.  Mike Morgan, from the NJ Office of Emergency Telecommunications Services (OETS) was appointed to fill the position by President Faenza.

Private Sector Vice-President, Daryl Doran, formerly of Cassidian Communications (Now known as Airbus DS Communications), decided that it was time to retire. We thank Daryl for his years of service to NJ-NENA and we wish him all the best and we trust that he will enjoy retirement.

Taking Daryl’s place is Dara Orsini, Client Solutions Executive with Micro Strategies in Denville, NJ. I’m sure many of you will recognize Dara as a long-time exhibitor at our annual conferences. We welcome “new blood” to the executive board and we all look forward to working with both Dara and Mike.

Ray Strilec, who was appointed to serve as Second Vice-President at this past year’s conference, had to step down from the position because he has accepted employment in the private sector, performing technical support duties for Eventide, Inc., located in Little Ferry, NJ. To prevent conflicts of interest, NENA and NJ-NENA by-laws limit private sector income to only fifteen percent of an Executive Board member’s total income. This rule, of course, does not apply to the Private Sector Vice-President.  Past-President, Gareth Williams accepted the appointment to serve as Second Vice-President.