Fiscal Year 2024 Next Generation Warning System

Having in place a secure and effective system for warning and informing the public of impending natural and man-made disasters is an essential part of America's emergency preparedness. FEMA's Integrated Public Alert & Warning System (IPAWS) is the national system for local alerting that provides authenticated emergency and life-saving information to the public. Local radio and TV stations, along with cable, direct broadcast satellite, and wireless service providers disseminate the public safety messages they receive from IPAWS. This grant supports projects that aid in creating and maintaining a resilient public alert and warning system that provides timely and effective warnings, especially including areas that are traditionally underserved by broadcast providers. This public alert and warning system is built on the Common Alerting Protocol standard (CAP) that permits a single CAP compatible message to activate multiple compliant warning systems and a station's' ability to maintain continuity of operations during emergencies.

The Next Generation Warning System includes all available radio and television technology in the alert and warning ecosystem to expand and enhance emergency information dissemination to the public. The grant is intended to replace aging infrastructure to enhance alerting capabilities, improve resiliency, operational continuity, and security through new technology for qualified rural, tribal, and other stations who support underserved public broadcast audiences. Broadcasters may use funding to replace aging equipment and improve cybersecurity hygiene. This program supports investments that improve resiliency, continuity of broadcast operations, and security of public broadcasting networks and systems. In addition, broadcasters may upgrade to the Advanced Television Systems Committee broadcast standard (ATSC 3.0) or digital radio, allowing broadcasts to reach a greater number of different types of communication devices, incorporating multimedia in alert and warning messaging, and making alerts more accessible.

Applicants can submit applications for this funding opportunity through FEMA Grants Outcomes (GO). Access the system at https://go.fema.gov/.