WASHINGTON, D.C. — NOAA’s National Weather Service has entered into a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement with SpectraRep LLC, an affiliate company of BIA Advisory Services, to evaluate how broadcast television datacasting can provide “a resilient, redundant pathway” for delivering NOAA Weather Radio audio and data during emergencies.
Under the agreement, NOAA/NWS and SpectraRep LLC will work together to assess whether existing digital television broadcast infrastructure can enhance the distribution of NOAA Weather Radio content, particularly during periods when other networks may be disrupted.
The project will also examine opportunities to expand endpoint delivery options to reach modern digital and mobile platforms—without altering or replacing existing NOAA Weather Radio services.
“NOAA/NWS is looking forward to collaborating with SpectraRep, LLC to evaluate innovative approaches for delivering NOAA Weather Radio content via datacasting and other pathways for modernizing access to NOAA Weather Radio content,” says George Jungbluth, Director for NWS Mission Systems and Technology Office.
For more than 50 years, NOAA Weather Radio has been a critical component of the nation’s public warning infrastructure, providing continuous forecasts, watches, warnings, and emergency information to communities, emergency managers, and partner organizations. “This collaboration reflects NOAA’s ongoing efforts to explore innovative approaches that strengthen the reliability, resiliency, and reach of mission-critical weather and hazard information services,” BIA-aligned SpectraRep said in an announcement distributed Monday.
For, SpectraRep LLC, it says it brings more than 25 years of experience in broadcast datacasting technology and public alert dissemination. “Television datacasting uses a small portion of a digital TV broadcast signal to securely transmit data as a one-way service that is unseen by television viewers and the general public,” it notes. “Digital television datacasting is designed for very high availability—exceeding 99.9% annually nationwide—making it a potential candidate for improving continuity of operations during emergencies.”
As part of the CRADA, SpectraRep LLC will work with NOAA/NWS to better understand the current NOAA Weather Radio workflow, including how content is generated and transmitted. Using NOAA/NWS content and technical expertise, SpectraRep LLC will configure a demonstration showing how live NOAA Weather Radio content can be securely transported through a local television broadcast partner and delivered to a NOAA endpoint(s), such as a NOAA Weather Radio transmitter.
SpectraRep will also share access and seek feedback on its AlertNow mobile solution which can tap into multiple transport paths—including radio, broadcast datacasting, and internet sources—on a single mobile platform. “This work highlights potential opportunities to modernize access to NOAA Weather Radio content while reinforcing NOAA/NWS’ longstanding commitment to public trust,” SpectraRep notes.
