How It Works :: America's Emergency Network (AEN)

Step 1: Emergency Operations Center or other government site holds a news conference or publishes a text bulletin with vital information.

Inexpensive equipment installed in emergency operations centers, in city halls and at other government sites captures news conferences and critical text bulletins for AEN.

Step 2: Streamed video and audio of news briefings are fed via satellite into AEN’s distribution system and then relayed to the media and to public websites. Emergency text bulletins also are distributed for viewing by affected residents.

A satellite connection is included in the installation so video streams, email notices and feeds of other information can continue when phone lines, mobile phones and cable TV are knocked out.

Step 3: The public has access to AEN’s live video and audio streams through media websites, including those belonging to local newspapers and television stations.

Step 3

Step 4: As emergency bulletins are issued by local, state or federal emergency centers, AEN’s website will call attention to these alerts, clearly label them on a map and direct the public to local media websites where the information can be viewed.

Step 4

Step 5: Satellite distribution allows emergency messages and news briefings to reach disaster victims and surviving television and radio stations when traditional communications systems have failed.

Messages from governmental entities big and small can reach anybody with electricity – local radio and TV stations, members of the public, first responders, shelters, etc. – via satellite. Evacuees and media outlets are able to monitor official news from the disaster zone from wherever they may be.

Step 6: The most important current video or text information being fed into the AEN system eventually will be combined into AEN-TV and distributed via satellite, cable and other outlets.

Important text information is presented here. At times the information adds to the content in the video window, other times it is information about a different event.

Information covering the same events covered in the video window is crawled across the bottom of the screen for the hearing impaired.

News briefings or other content from government emergency centers appear in the video window.

The schedule of events is posted and updated as necessary.

Step 7: Brief emergency messages are relayed from the AEN Central Database through the Alert FM system. The messages can be directed to an entire county, a specific zip code or an individual.

Alert FM utilizes a small part of local FM stations’ signals called subcarriers to send messages to an entire community or specific neighborhoods or individuals. The messages are received from overlapping FM stations instantly, unlike other, less-robust systems that use cellular networks.