The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Weather Service (NOAA/NWS) has entered into a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with AlertFM / Global Security Systems LLC to evaluate how existing FM broadcast infrastructure and Radio Data System (RDS) technology can provide a resilient, geographically-targeted, redundant pathway for distributing NOAA Weather Radio audio, data, and alerts to dedicated receivers and other modern devices.
For more than 50 years, NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards has served as a critical component of the nation’s public-warning infrastructure, providing continuous forecasts, watches, warnings, and emergency information to the public, emergency managers, and partner organizations. The collaboration reflects NOAA/NWS’s continuing effort to evaluate innovative, cost-effective technologies that can strengthen the reliability, resiliency, geographic precision, and reach of mission-critical weather and hazard information.
Under the agreement, NOAA/NWS and AlertFM will evaluate the secure ingestion, distribution, and reception of NOAA Weather Radio content through AlertFM’s satellite-connected Digital FM network and do end-to-end testing to confirm performance. A technical objective is to evaluate whether alerts can be delivered in less than five seconds; results will be documented through the CRADA process and should not be interpreted as certification before testing is completed. The work is intended to strengthen—not replace—NOAA Weather Radio by examining an independent, complementary distribution path that can continue operating when cellular networks, public internet connections, or commercial power are disrupted.
“This collaboration gives NOAA/NWS and AlertFM a practical framework to test how Digital FM can add a resilient last-mile pathway to America’s public-warning infrastructure,” said Matthew Straeb, Principal Investigator for AlertFM / Global Security Systems LLC. “Our goal is to demonstrate that existing FM broadcast facilities, connected through secure satellite distribution and paired with dedicated receivers, can help deliver timely and geographically targeted warnings when cellular, internet, or power systems are unavailable.”
“NOAA/NWS is looking forward to collaborating with AlertFM to evaluate innovative approaches for delivering NOAA Weather Radio content via FM radio and other pathways for potentially modernizing access to NOAA Weather Radio content,” says George Jungbluth, Director for NWS Mission Systems and Technology Office.
NOAA/NWS will evaluate the results and document findings and recommendations through established reporting processes. The outcomes may inform future strategies for modernizing NOAA Weather Radio, improving continuity of operations, expanding access to warnings, and adding a scalable parallel alerting layer that complements NOAA Weather Radio, the Emergency Alert System, Wireless Emergency Alerts, and the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System.
This CRADA reflects NOAA/NWS’s commitment to working with private-sector partners on mutually beneficial research and development that supports NOAA’s mission to provide timely, reliable weather and hazard information that helps protect life and property. NOAA CRADAs are coordinated through NOAA’s Technology Partnerships Office.