Abstract: Systems and methods are disclosed for broadcasting and receiving a terrestrial broadcast signal containing emergency alert information in machine-readable format. The method includes the steps of scanning a Transport Stream associated with the terrestrial broadcast signal. The Transport Stream contains one or more Transport Stream packets and a plurality of tables, which are parsed to identify a channel having a type specified as containing emergency alert information. An MPEG-2 program having said emergency alert information may then be acquired for delivery through a terrestrial broadcast receiver.

Abstract: Systems and methods are described for increasing data transfer efficiency between networks. The invention being particularly well suited when establishing connectivity between wireless networks, such as based on IEEE 802 standards, and traditionally wired network protocols (often referred to as internet protocols), such as TCP/IP and UDP. The invention provides formatting of network packets and then processing of network packets according to one or more optimization processes. One optimization process comprises performing partial packet retransmissions to increase network efficiency, especially in high bit error rate networks such as wireless networks. Another optimization process comprises suppressing unnecessary packet acknowledgements, therein reducing burst traffic and saving substantial overhead in lossy networks. Additional aspects of the invention provide further benefits.