The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is currently working on a new nationwide and local emergency alert system that will notify Americans in the event of a national or local "emergency". And unlike the current Emergency Alert System (EAS), that is used by all FCC-licensed radio and television stations, the new system may even include technology that would allow Big Brother to turn on your receiver.
Randy Dotinga of Wired writes that the Commission will work with the spooks at the Department of Homeland Security to develop the system.
Broadcasting & Cable, a trade publication for professional broadcasters, reports that the FCC envisions the new system to be capable of sending messages to many more electronic devices than just radios and TVs.
Plans are underway at the Commission to require broadcast stations to carry local alerts by 2007, and alerts to other devices such as computers, mobile phones, and PDAs could follow. The intent is to build a system through which messages could be received even if the device is turned off.
The technology would require special EAS chips to be added to radios, TVs, computers, and portable devices such as mobile phones.
If things go as the federal agencies plan, Americans will soon be awakened by Big Brother turning on their telescreens to notify them that Oceana has been bombed by Eurasia, war is peace, freedom is slavery, and ignorance is strength.
And if the latter were true, Americans would be the strongest people the world has ever known.
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