LITTLE ROCK — The first test of the national Emergency Alert System aired on Arkansas television and radio stations Wednesday afternoon but not without a few glitches, broadcasters and cable providers said.
Only the warning tones of the 30-second test sounded on many radio and television stations across the state while the rest of the message was all but inaudible, broadcasters said.
Ben Fry, general manager of Little Rock-based KUAR-FM, 89.1, public radio, which was the national test’s distribution point for the state’s stations, said the signal received from National Public Radio was weak.
“It went off, but the audio quality was just horrible. ... It sounded like almost a radio signal on the fringe — cutting in and out,” he said.
In addition to audio problems statewide, some Comcast cable television customers were stuck watching the cable service provider’s public announcements channel — where all channels were tuned for the test — for much longer than the half-minute unless they figured out the fix.
The malfunction locked subscribers’ televisions on Channel 18, which featured scrolling messages about community events and public-service announcements, unless the viewers unplugged the TV’s cable box and then plugged it back in.
In a written statement, Comcast said it sent out instructions in “bill inserts, emails and social media” over the past few weeks to help customers who lost service after the test return to normal programming.
“There were reports from some customers in our Little Rock service area that their set-top boxes did not return to the previous channel upon the completion of the test, and we’re working to resolve those issues,” the statement said.
Douglas Wells, vice president of government affairs for Comcast in Atlanta, said the company was still working to determine the specific cause of the malfunction.
Doug Krile, executive director of the Arkansas Broadcasters Association, said he had to restart his cable box after the test. He said the problem was likely because the government’s test signal ended differently than most emergency alerts do, throwing off some broadcasters’ and cable companies’ equipment that automatically resumes regular programming.
“They didn’t close this test the way they close most of the alerts. Some places it worked fine, and some places it didn’t,” he said.
The test was planned to simultaneously broadcast on television and radio stations across the country at 1 p.m. Wednesday, but Krile said the test aired late in some states and not at all in others, such as Oregon.
“The test functioned correctly here or closer to correctly here than it did in some states. There were some states where it was a complete failure,” he said.
“It obviously was an issue with the transmission from Washington,” Krile said.
After several states reported problems Wednesday afternoon, the Federal Emergency Management Agency released a statement saying it, along with the Federal Communications Commission, was working to evaluate the test.
“This initial test was the first time we have tested the reach and scope of this technology. ... Only through comprehensively testing, analyzing, and improving these technologies can we ensure an effective and reliable national emergency alert and warning system,” the statement said.
Krile said identifying any bugs in the system was the main goal of Wednesday’s test.
“From my point of view, it worked. It wasn’t pretty. ... That’s the reason everybody does the test, to see where all the holes are,” he said.
Arkansas, Pages 10 on 11/10/2011