TMCnet News
Federal Emergency Management Administration Certifies TeleCommunication Systems' Commercial Mobile Alert SystemOct 27, 2011 (Close-Up Media via COMTEX) -- TeleCommunication Systems, a provider of mobile communication technology, announced it has received certification by the Federal Emergency Management Administration for its Commercial Mobile Alert System. "FEMA is the independent, impartial evaluator of CMAS, and TCS is honored to have received its solution interoperability certification," said Jay Whitehurst, senior vice president, commercial software for TCS, in a release. "Wireless carriers who are participating in the CMAS program can now purchase access to a proven, easily deployed and already-certified CMAS solution." The company successfully met FEMA's CMAS ATIS/TIA J-102 (Section 5.3-Inter-Gateway Test Cases) standards testing in order to qualify for the certification. With this CMAS certification, wireless carriers utilizing TCS' system are assured of interoperability testing compliance in time for the April 7, 2012 CMAS implementation deadline and will not need to spend additional time and resources going through the testing process. There are approximately 140 wireless carriers who have opted to participate in FEMA's program. CMAS is the result of an executive order signed by the president in October 2006 which mandated the development of an emergency alert system for U.S. residents to be delivered via mobile phones. Over the past five years, FEMA, the Federal Communications Commission, TCS and others have developed a standard which uses cell broadcast technology to ensure that emergency messages will not be caught up in point-to-point congestion that can occur during an emergency. CMAS will deliver 90-character, geographically targeted alerts about imminent threats to life and property, Presidential Alerts (such as a notification of a terrorist attack) and Amber alerts. Mobile phone subscribers in the area at risk will receive the alerts in the form of a short text message and a special sound and vibration on any CMAS-compliant handset. The alert will notify mobile phone users of the emergency and tell them how to obtain additional information regarding it. ((Comments on this story may be sent to [email protected])) |