Next Generation Warning System

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has awarded CPB $136 million to establish and implement the Next Generation Warning System (NGWS) grant program. CPB is administering a competitive grant program for public television and public radio stations to replace and upgrade infrastructure to expand alert, warning, and interoperable communications, creating a more resilient and secure public alerting system.

The program funds equipment upgrades and training that will result in enhanced alerting and warning capabilities. The program prioritizes public media stations serving underserved communities, primarily in rural and tribal areas.

NGWS grant funding will:

Enhance capacity of local broadcast stations to receive, broadcast, and redistribute emergency alert messages using the Integrated Public Alert & Warning System (IPAWS) Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) specifications;
Allow for technical assistance for stations in determining equipment needs, purchasing, and installation;
Enhance technology infrastructure to enable new broadcast services that improve the distribution of public alerts and warnings and strengthen infrastructure resilience with emergency generators and other equipment;
Expand the delivery and distribution of emergency alert messages from IPAWS to fill gaps in alert and warning delivery in underserved areas; and
Enable the communication of alerts and warnings to individuals with disabilities, individuals with access and functional needs, and individuals with limited English proficiency.

Impact

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has awarded CPB a total of $136 million in FY 2022, FY 2023 and FY 2024-appropriated funds to establish and implement the Next Generation Warning System (NGWS) grant program. For more information, email us at ngws@cpb.org.
Station Name	Call Letters	Location	Funding	Impact
Mississippi Public Broadcasting	WMPN WMAW WMAE WMAO WMAB WMAV WMAU WMAH	Jackson, MS	$221,009	Mississippi Public Broadcasting will upgrade its Emergency Alert System (EAS) encoders to expand the capacity of and geotarget its emergency alerts throughout the state.
Indian River State College	WQCS, WQCP and WQJS	Fort Pierce, FL	$165,680	Indian River State College will purchase and install an HD transmission line and antenna to a tower in Okeechobee, FL, improving its ability to broadcast emergency alerts and to expand its coverage to an unserved audience.
Silakkuagvik Communications, Inc.	KBRW-AM	Barrow, AK	$98,853	Silakkuagvik Communications, Inc. will update critical equipment to ensure a dependable connection to their listeners and a reliable source of emergency messages.
Stikine River Radio- CoastAlaska, Inc	KSTK-FM	Wrangell, AK	$90,002	CoastAlaska, Inc. will improve its Emergency Alert System in the community and outlying remote areas. They will replace aging equipment, including a backup generator at their transmitter site, an EAS decoder replacement, and a translator replacement
Delta College Public Media	WDCQ-TV	University Center, MI	$976,708	Delta College Public Media will replace broadcast infrastructure, making the station more resilient and ready to transition to NextGen TV standards.
Community Radio Project, Inc.	KZET-FM, KSJD-FM, and KICO-FM	Cortex, CO	$54,750	Community Radio Project, Inc. will purchase equipment, including new transmitters and backup power supplies, to ensure that stations stay on air during an emergency.
Alamo Public Telecommunications Council	KLRN-TV	San Antonio, TX	$551,426	Alamo Public Telecommunications Council will replace an aging antenna, which will ensure broadcast resilience during an emergency and will provide advanced alerting when the station transitions to NextGen TV.
Alabama Public Television	WBIQ, WIIQ, WDIQ, WFIQ, WHIQ, WGIQ, WEIQ, WAIQ, WCIQ	Birmingham, AL	$529,558	Alabama Public Television will purchase hardware and software equipment, including upgrading license key software, which will allow it to transition to the ATSC 3.0 broadcast standard and to broadcast alerts and content in rich media, such as live video, to targeted devices. Alabama Public Television (APT) is a statewide relay for the Emergency Alert System.
Bethel Broadcasting, Inc.	KYUK-TV/AM/FM	Bethel, AK	$277,292	Bethel Broadcasting will buy a TV encoder, UPS battery backups, gateway VPN devices, and an updated DASDEC III encoder for all broadcast formats.
Radio Catskill, Inc.	WJFF-FM	Liberty, NY	$135,439	Radio Catskill will replace critical broadcasting infrastructure to ensure emergency alerts can be sent to rural and underserved communities.
North Country Public Radio-St. Lawrence University	WSLU-FM	Canton, NY	$109,675	North Country Public Radio will expand coverage into two currently unserved portions of northern New York and replace and upgrade critical broadcasting infrastructure to ensure emergency alerts can be sent to rural and underserved communities.
South Texas Public Broadcasting System, Inc.	KEDT-TV/FM and KVRT-FM	Corpus Christi, TX and Rancho Viejo, Tx	$536,921	South Texas Public Broadcasting System will replace equipment to increase transmission reliability and prepare KEDT for ATSC 3.0 broadcast capabilities. The upgrades to the TV and radio transmissions will ensure that KEDT can provide critical news and information to the coastal region in South Texas during emergencies.
Unalaska Community Broadcasting, Inc.	KUCB-FM	Unalaska, AK	$224,081	Unalaska Community Broadcasting, Inc. will install and upgrade emergency alert system equipment and add needed resiliency equipment.
KTOO Public Media	KTOO- TV/FM	Juneau, AK	$252,209	KTOO Public Media will improve the station’s resilience and warning system infrastructure. KTOO is the local primary distribution point for Juneau and reaches tribal and other populations in outlying communities.
University of Central Missouri	KMOS PBS	Warrensburg, MO	$880,085	University of Central Missouri will replace aging broadcasting infrastructure and provide increased technical capacity to partner with local, state and federal emergency management officials in emergencies.
Kodiak Public Broadcasting	KMXT-FM	Kodiak, AK	$51,670	Kodiak Public Broadcasting will buy encoders to improve common alerting protocol capability, fill gaps in alert delivery and provide backup power systems to improve its infrastructure and resilience.
PBS Fort Wayne	WFWA-TV	Fort Wayne, IN	$185,086	PBS Fort Wayne will improve the reliability and resiliency of their broadcast station’s warning system and support the installation of several updated equipment components.
Northern California Educational TV	KIXE	Redding, CA	$857,105	Northern California Educational TV will upgrade the overall transmission signal, increasing emergency alert access.
St. Lawrence Valley Educational Television Council	WPBS	Watertown, NY	$276,444	St. Lawrence Valley Educational Television Council will replace an aging transmitter, making the station fully ATSC 3.0 ready and providing a stronger signal and reaching more communities with emergency alerting in this rural area, from the Adirondack Mountains to the St. Lawrence River.
Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs	KWSO	Warm Springs, OR	$158,749	Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs will install and upgrade emergency alert equipment at the radio station and towers and to establish an alternate transmitter site in case of emergency.
Texas A&M University	KAMU	College Station, TX	$486,214	Texas A&M will improve the resiliency of broadcast signal origination and boost redundancy of the station’s transmission and related emergency alerting.
Lynn Canal Broadcasting	KHNS	Haines, AK	$88,426	Lynn Canal Broadcasting will incorporate digital audio and increase the redundancy and reliability of their broadcast station’s emergency alerting, including an independent broadcast from Skagway if the KHNS studio and transmitter are compromise
Rainbird Community Broadcasting Corporation	KRBD	Ketchikan, AK	$95,185	Rainbird Community Broadcasting Corporation will purchase a new transmitter, broadcasting equipment, and generator that will enable the station to stay on air in case of an emergency.
Mountain Lake Public Telecommunications Council/Mountain Lake PBS	WCFE	Plattsburgh, NY	$218,586	Mountain Lake PBS will replace aging equipment with NextGen TV-ready equipment and buy new ATSC 3.0 licenses and testing and monitoring equipment.
Alabama A&M	WJAB-FM	Normal, AL	$246,263	WJAB-FM will replace a 30-year-old transmitter, providing a stronger signal that reaches more underserved communities with emergency alerts.
Tri-State Public Media	WNIN	Evansville, IN	$161,481	WNIN will replace and upgrade critical broadcasting infrastructure to ensure emergency alerts can be sent to rural and underserved communities.
Smoky Hills Public Television	KOOD-TV	Bunker Hill, KS	$1,761,843	Smoky Hills PBS will update the main transmitter tower to ATSC 3.0 so that central and western Kansans will have access to enhanced emergency communications when the market transitions to the newest broadcast standard.
Red River Radio	KDAQ-FM	Shreveport, LA	$80,642	Red River Radio will replace critical resiliency infrastructure, including three emergency generators, that will ensure rural and underserved communities have access to emergency communications.
Mid-South Public Communications Foundation	WKNO-TV WKNO-FM	Cordova, TN	$1,657,012	WKNO will replace a transmitter and two emergency generators to ensure the rural agricultural communities in Tennessee, Mississippi, and eastern Arkansas receive timely emergency communications.
Blue Ridge PBS	WBRA-TV	Roanoke, VA	$1,122,074	Blue Ridge PBS will replace critical broadcast infrastructure that will strengthen their signal in the mountainous region to reach more rural communities with targeted emergency alerts.
Hawaii Public Television Foundation	KMEB-TV	Honolulu, HI	$184,961	PBS Hawaii will replace a 15-year-old transmitter to ensure communities that rely on KMEB's broadcast services consistently receive emergency alerts.
Eastern Kentucky University	WEKU-FM	Richmond, KY	$382,056	WEKU-FM will upgrade and replace infrastructure to ensure emergency alerts can be sent to the vulnerable rural and underserved communities.
Murray State University	WKMS-FM	Murray, KY	$270,377	WKMS-FM will upgrade aging equipment at two transmitter sites, enabling WKMS-FM to broadcast in HD and improve their emergency messaging infrastructure.
Missouri State University	KOZK-TV, KSMU-FM	Springfield, MO	$384,573	KOZK-TV AND KSMU-FM will replace broadcasting equipment for resiliency, alerting, and broadcast signal and expand KSMU-FM's reach by enabling the station to broadcast in both analog and HD radio.
Rosebud Sioux Tribe	KOYA-FM	Rosebud, SD	$481,003	KOYA-FM will replace and upgrade infrastructure to ensure emergency alerts can be sent from local/Tribal, regional, and federal agencies.
White Ash Broadcasting, Inc	KVPR-FM	Fresno, CA	$38,607	White Ash Broadcasting Inc. will build an emergency auxiliary transmitter site so the station can stay on-air if there’s an issue at the main site.
Public Broadcasting of Northwest Pennsylvania, Inc	WQLN-FM	Erie, PA	$87,059	Public Broadcasting of Northwest Pennsylvania, Inc. will replace aging equipment and related software and upgrade the radio monitoring tuners to receive HD signal at the station’s five translator sites.
Listeners Community Radio of Utah, Inc	KRCL-FM	Salt Lake City, UT	$462,038	Listeners Community Radio of Utah, Inc. will upgrade the transmitter to distribute HD and FM signals and extend emergency alerting to a larger and more rural coverage area.
Raven Radio	KCAW-FM	Sitka, AK	$313,203	KCAW will upgrade equipment allowing the station to increase coverage of their broadcast signal to underserved areas, adding redundancy to make their service more reliable.
Clark Atlanta University	WCLK-FM	Atlanta, GA	$195,331	WCLK will replace and upgrade aging equipment to address broadcast interruptions and improve the station’s emergency alerting system.
Louisiana Public Broadcasting	KLTI-TV, KLTM-TV	Baton Rouge, LA	$1,985,213	Louisiana Public Broadcasting will buy and install transmitters and antennas for KLTL-TV in Lake Charles and KLTM-TV in Monroe and update alerting equipment to enable statewide delivery of alerts and warning messages.
Wisconsin Educational Communications Board	WHA-TV, WPNE-TV, WHRM-TV, WHLA-TV, WHWC-TV, WLEF-TV	Madison, WI	$1,445,686	The Wisconsin Network will buy and install decoders and other equipment that will make the network more resilient, expand coverage in rural areas, and upgrade its emergency alerting.
Wyoming PBS	KCWC-TV, KWYP-TV, KPTW-TV	Riverton, WY	$2,263,457	Wyoming PBS will replace outdated and unreliable equipment at 39 of their 53 locations to ensure timely and accurate emergency alerting across the state.
KUTE, Inc. KSUT Tribal Radio	KSUT-FM	Ignacio, CO	$537,288	KSUT Tribal Radio will replace equipment at nine locations to create back-up systems to broadcast emergency information during extended power outages.