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AMATEUR RADIO IS PUBLIC SERVICE  CORRECT TERMINOLOGY WILL MORE ACCURATELY
REFLECT THE SERVICE WE PROVIDE.  THERE HAVE BEEN SOME CHANGES GOING ON IN
THE PUBLIC SERVICE ARENA RECENTLY.  IM HANDING OVER THIS MONTHS COLUMN TO
ARRL EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS MANAGER MIKE COREY, KI1U, TO EXPLAIN THE NEW
PUBLIC SERVICE DIRECTION FOR THE AMATEUR RADIO SERVICE.  OVER THE PAST FEW
YEARS THERE HAS BEEN A SHIFT IN TERMINOLOGY IN ARRL PUBLICATIONS FROM THE
USE OF THE TERM EMCOMM TO THE NEW TERM, PUBLIC SERVICE COMMUNICATIONS.
THIS CHANGE HAS HAPPENED FOR TWO REASONS.  THE FIRST REASON IS THAT PUBLIC
SERVICE IS A MORE ACCURATE DESCRIPTION OF AMATEUR RADIOS ACTIVITIES.
SECOND, EACH OF THESE TERMS, EMCOMM AND PUBLIC SERVICE, CARRIES ITS OWN
IMAGES AND CONNOTATIONS.  ALTHOUGH WE ARE ACCUSTOMED TO THE TERM EMCOMM AND
IT DOES HAVE A CERTAIN DRAMATIC ELEMENT, THE PHRASE PUBLIC SERVICE CARRIES
GREAT VALUE IN ITS OWN RIGHT.  LETS START WITH AN EXAMINATION OF THE
PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH THE USE OF EMCOMM AND ITS DERIVATIVES, ECOMM AND
EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS.  THE PROBLEM WITH EMCOMM  THE PROBLEM BEGINS WITH
THE DEFINITION OF EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS.  ONE DOES EXIST AND CAN BE
FOUND ON THE FCCS WEBSITE WWW. FCC. GOV/ GUIDES/ EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS.
EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS CONSISTS OF THREE COMPONENTS 911 CALL CENTERS, THE
EMERGENCY ALERT SYSTEM, AND BROADCAST MEDIA SUCH AS RADIO AND TELEVISION.
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