Stop Alert Devices. That’s what the NAB wants the FCC to do.
Alert Devices International Corp., also called ADi, based in Woburn, Mass., has asked the commission to allow emergency vehicle warnings to be transmitted over FM and AM broadcast radio signals, in what is being called an Emergency Vehicle Signaling Service, or EVSS.
NAB said the goal is “laudable” but expressed concern that it is not the best way to solve the problem. Of more immediate concern, NAB stated, is that the company is making and selling an unlicensed system via the Internet, “without any apparent mechanism to control purchasers of equipment that jams broadcast signals, and in clear violation of Part 15 of the commission’s rules.”
The manufacturer says it is not offering the product for sale in the United States (see story below).
The system, NAB further argues, cannot notify motorists who aren’t tuned into radio already; it might interfere with radios of people living along busy roads; and the alerts might actually cause more traffic accidents, confusion and tie-ups.
And NAB said EVSS interruptions may also “threaten the viability” of EAS and broadcasters’ dissemination of emergency information such as Amber Alerts.
NAB Wants Alert System for Cop Cars Halted…
NAB Wants Alert System for Cop Cars Halted...