|
 |
|
|
New Module Supports FCC’s Recent Order Requiring All EAS Systems to Comply with the Common Alerting Protocol
|
Burlingame, CA. (June 11, 2007) – AtHoc, Inc. today announced the availability of the AtHoc EAS
Activation Module, an add-on capability for its flagship alerting product – AtHoc IWSAlerts™. The
new module lets federal, state and local emergency management officials trigger the broadcast
Emergency Alert System (EAS) using IWSAlerts’ Web-based alert management system, sending EAS messages
over the Internet to broadcasters using the Common Alerting Protocol (CAP). This capability adds yet
another critical alerting channel to AtHoc’s network-centric emergency notification system.
On May 31, 2007, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced it had adopted an order
requiring all EAS participants to support CAP in order to facilitate the “efficient and rapid
transmission of EAS alerts to the American public in a variety of formats
(including text, audio and video) and via different means (broadcast, cable, satellite, and
other networks).” The AtHoc IWSAlerts EAS Activation Module includes components that enable
CAP-compliance per the FCC order for both the emergency management agencies and the EAS participating
broadcasters. As such, emergency management organizations using AtHoc IWSAlerts will be able to trigger
EAS systems by transmitting a CAP message that would be received by the broadcaster’s CAP-enabled EAS
equipment. AtHoc has already successfully deployed the AtHoc EAS Activation Module, integrating Hawaii
State Civil Defense with the EAS through CAP.
IWSAlerts provides organizations with the ability to trigger alerts to a wide variety of communication
channels, all based on IP-network communications, including: desktops, mobile phone text messaging and
SMS, telephony, sirens, public address (PA) systems and paging systems. When an emergency response
official with EAS activation authority uses IWSAlerts with the optional EAS Activation Module, they
can also send the alert directly through the EAS over the Internet to broadcasters at the same time
the alerts are distributed through other communication channels. IWSAlerts’ central alert management
provides operators with a single place to manage all emergency scenarios, recipient information,
operators’ permission, activation, and tracking and auditing of alerts for all integrated communication
channels.
“By being able to launch an alert to the Emergency Alert System from any networked workstation,
including from a remote location, emergency management organizations shorten response times, improve
messaging consistency and speed information flow during a time when minutes and even seconds are
critical,” commented Guy Miasnik, president and CEO of AtHoc. “Emergency management agencies and
first responder officials can now use a single, Web-enabled system for all their notification needs.”
IWSAlerts also significantly reduces the cost of communication between the activation stations and
the broadcasters by using the Internet versus the traditional approach of using dedicated
satellite/microwave communication channels. Now emergency management organizations can more
easily afford to reach a larger number of broadcasters, which in turn reaches a larger proportion
of the public at large.
AtHoc’s EAS Activation Module provides the following capabilities:
- Web-based activation of EAS from any network-connected workstation within the Emergency
Operations Center or from a remote location
- Authenticated and secure Web-based access to multiple operators. The system includes permission
management that defines which specific system operators have EAS activation rights
- Preprogrammed selection of EAS scenarios and audio messages that can be distributed as-is or
quickly tailored
- Integrated text-to-speech capability which converts text messages to broadcast audio
- Ability to target broadcasters by geographical regions
- Audit trail of all activations with details including operator, time stamp, scenario activated
and more
- Delivery of EAS messages over the IP network, including the public Internet, to the EAS
ENDEC (Encoder-Decoder) interface
- Delivery of alerts to broadcasters, online and via print media using additional, non-EAS
channels including multi-media desktop alerting that can provide audio, video and more in-depth text
information to complement short EAS messages
EAS integration is achieved through the Common Alerting Protocol (CAP). IWSAlerts generates a
CAP-compliant alert, and this message is then processed by CAP-compliant EAS devices that convert
the CAP messages to signals that can feed into the EAS system via their standard interface – the
ENDEC. With this approach, EAS messages can be communicated over IP networks to any ENDEC – whether
located at the headquarters of the emergency management agency or directly to broadcasters over the
public Internet. This achieves a high level of redundancy and more reliable broadcast delivery of
each activated EAS message.
The Emergency Alert System is a national system that was put into place in 1994 to replace the Emergency Broadcast
System. It is jointly administered by the FCC, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the National
Weather Service. State and local emergency management officials develop, implement and maintain the EAS
infrastructure on a local level. The EAS allows radio (both public and subscription) and television (cable,
wireless and digital) broadcast stations to send emergency information to the public quickly.
About AtHoc, Inc.
AtHoc is a recognized leader in providing enterprise-class, network-centric emergency notification
systems used for force and personnel protection, facility mass notification, public safety and
critical enterprise communications. Millions of end users worldwide, in organizations such as the
U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, the Air University, Hawaii State Civil Defense, Boeing,
PricewaterhouseCoopers and eBay rely on AtHoc's alert delivery and management systems for their
critical communication and alerting needs. AtHoc has partnered with market leaders including
Microsoft, Northrop Grumman, Siemens, Avaya, Unisys and others to bring these notification
solutions to the public and commercial markets.
For more information on AtHoc, please visit http://www.athoc.com.
‹‹ Back
|
|
|
|
|