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NOUS41 KWBC 101928
PNSWSH
Public Information Statement...Comment Request
National Weather Service Headquarters Washington DC
328 PM EDT Fri Sep 10 2010
TO: Subscribers:
-Family of Services
-NOAA Weather Wire Service
-Emergency Managers Weather Information Network
-NOAAPORT
-Other NWS Partners, Users, and Employees
FROM: David B. Caldwell
Director
NWS Office of Climate, Water, and Weather Services
SUBJECT: Soliciting Public Comments through June 30, 2011
on the Experimental National Mobile Decision Support
Services (interactive NWS) for NWS Core Partners
NWS is seeking comments on experimental provision of a service
called Mobile Decision Support Services (MDSS) interactive
National Weather Service (iNWS), referred to as MDSS (iNWS).
See service description document in the national catalog of new
and enhanced products available at:
http://products.weather.gov/PDD/MDSS_National_SDD_Final_070710.pdf
MDSS (iNWS) will provide weather warnings and alerts via short
message service (SMS) text messaging and email services to
enhance communications between the NWS and its core partners
during high impact weather events. This service is also referred
to as iNWS mobile alerting. MDSS (iNWS) messages will also
provide a hyperlink to additional information, such as graphics,
relevant to an weather event. This additional information may
include products currently available on the NWS website or other
information generated specifically to support decision making by
NWS core partners.
MDSS (iNWS) services are intended only for NWS core partners,
including members of the emergency management community at all
levels of government, other government agencies, and members of
the electronic media to provide an additional means of
communicating mission-critical decision support information.
This service is not intended for general public use.
NWS wireless services for mobile devices designed for the
general public have been operational since July 2009 and are
available at:
http://mobile.weather.gov <http://mobile.weather.gov/>
The earlier experimental prototype of iNWS services was
available to the general public. The new experimental service
will be available only to NWS core partners. As of October 11,
2010 the earlier prototype will be replaced with the new
experimental service. On or after September 14, 2010, all
existing iNWS accounts registered before September 2009 will be
notified via email to reapply for an account to determine
eligibility. Those who do not respond or do not meet NWS core
partner criteria will be terminated. New and existing users
will be required to log into their iNWS account to accept a new
terms-of-use agreement.
MDSS (iNWS) services are available after registration at the
following website:
http://inws.wrh.noaa.gov/
MDSS (iNWS) is designed to operate 24 hours per day. However
the service is provided on a best effort basis and it may be
temporarily suspended. Reasons for suspense of service include,
but are not limited to, software or hardware upgrades, fixes or
maintenance, and unexpected technical or security issues. Every
effort will be made to eliminate unplanned outages and those
that occur will be addressed as quickly as possible. NWS
personnel may not immediately respond to MDSS (iNWS) user
subscription requests or other inquiries if they are addressing
other critical warning or forecast tasks or experiencing
technical issues.
There may be times when issues beyond the control of the NWS
prevent MDSS (iNWS) messages from reaching users or cause a
significant delay in the receipt of messages. Examples of this
include, but are not limited to, network congestion, wireless
carrier outages, dead zones, local connectivity issues, changes
in physical location, and user error.
During the period of experimental use, NWS expects the
availability of the service to approach 97%. If this service
becomes operational, then the planned addition of redundant
servers will provide 99.9% availability. Since cellular
coverage cannot be guaranteed, NWS core partners should ensure
they have access to other sources for NWS warnings, watches, and
advisory information (WWA).
MDSS (iNWS) is an enhancement to communications between the NWS
and its core partners. MDSS (iNWS) is not intended to replace
official NWS products or official means of communications such
as NOAA Weather Radio and NOAA Weather Wire Service.
Additional information about the experimental iNWS service may
be found at:
http://products.weather.gov/detaile.php?selrow=405
Comments on this experimental service may be provided at:
http://www.weather.gov/survey/nws-survey.php?code=mama
If you have comments or questions regarding this public
information statement, please contact:
Douglas Hilderbrand
National Weather Service
1325 East/West Highway
Silver Spring MD 20910
301-713-1768 x 170
douglas.hilderbrand@xxxxxxxx <mailto:douglas.hilderbrand@xxxxxxxx>
For technical questions regarding the iNWS service please
contact:
Andy Edman
125 S State Street
Salt Lake City UT 84138
801-524-5131 x 249
andy.edman@xxxxxxxx <mailto:andy.edman@xxxxxxxx>
National Public Information Statements are online at:
http://www.weather.gov/os/notif.htm
$$
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