In 1998, Vice President Gore's National Partnership for Reinventing Government brought together representatives from federal agencies, including the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and formed a multi-agency working group to explore ways of improving the Nation's hazard warning systems to save lives. The working group is finding combined solutions to give people better, faster and more effective hazard warnings by coordinating efforts of all federal government agencies with the telecommunications industry to promote and encourage the use of warnings on various telecommunications devices. As a result of its efforts, the inter-agency working group published Saving Lives With an All-Hazard Warning Network in December 1999. This report made several important observations about the current warning system and the future needs for effective warnings.

NTIA, an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce, is the Executive Branch's principal voice on domestic and international telecommunications and information technology issues. NTIA works to spur innovation, encourage competition, help create jobs and provide consumers with more choices and better quality telecommunications products and services at lower prices.

The technological explosion of the past 10 years is fostering new and innovative ways to bring hazard warning messages to the public. To reach as many people as possible, we will need to use all means available to provide a better, faster, cheaper, and more effective all hazard warning system for the future. Furthermore, existing and future cooperation between government agencies, public and private groups will assure that weather, hazard and emergency warnings are provided through the many forms of communications available to consumers as the nation's information systems continue to develop and expand.

Currently, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Weather Radio is the most direct way to warn people about all impending hazards. Recent technological advances, however, have fostered new and innovative methods of bringing hazard warnings to the public. To reach the maximum number of people, we must utilize all available communications technologies - both current and emerging - to deliver better, faster, more affordable, and more effective hazard warnings. Partnerships between government agencies and public and private parties will help to ensure that these life saving hazard warnings are provided through various means of communication available to consumers. These communications technologies include both wireline and wireless telephone services, Internet, paging, broadcast television and radio, both satellite and cable television, and emerging technologies.

On July 17, 2000, NTIA in cooperation with the working group hosted a roundtable discussions opened to the public and explored how new and existing technologies can be used to provide hazard warnings. Members from consumer advocacy organizations, public safety agencies and various telecommunications industry were invited.

NTIA will host follow up meetings where NTIA will invite specific telecommunications industries to attend and discussion substantive issues to disseminate hazard warnings over their respective services and/or products. These meetings will be open to the public and announced in the Federal Register as they are organized.

Rich Orsulak, Emergency Planning & Public Safety Division, National Telecommunications and Information Administration; telephone (202) 482-9139; or electronic mail rorsulak@ntia.doc.gov.