The Emergency Alert System (EAS) is a national warning system in the United States designed to allow authorized officials to broadcast emergency alerts and warning messages to the public via cable, satellite and broadcast television and AM, FM and satellite radio. Informally, Emergency Alert System is sometimes conflated with its mobile phone counterpart Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA), a different but related system. However, both the EAS and WEA, among other systems, are coordinated under the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS). The EAS, and more broadly IPAWS, allows federal, state, and local authorities to efficiently broadcast emergency alert and warning messages across multiple channels. The EAS became operational on January 1, 1997, after being approved by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in November 1994, replacing the Emergency Broadcast System (EBS), and largely supplanted Local Access Alert systems, though Local Access Alert systems are still used from time to time. Its main improvement over the EBS, and perhaps its most distinctive feature, is its application of a digitally encoded audio signal known as Specific Area Message Encoding (SAME), which is responsible for the characteristic "screeching" or "chirping" sounds at the start and end of each message. The first signal is the "header" which encodes, among other information, the alert type and locations, or the specific area that should receive the message. The last short burst marks the end-of-message. These signals are read by specialized encoder-decoder equipment. This design allows for automated station-to-station relay of alerts to only the area the alert was intended for.
An emergency population warning, or public warning system is a method where by local, regional, or national authorities can contact or notify members of the public to warn them of an impending emergency. These warnings may be necessary for a number of reasons, including:
In information technology, a notification system is a combination of software and hardware that provides a means of delivering a message to a set of recipients. It commonly shows activity related to an account. Such systems constitute an important aspect of modern Web applications.
Mobile marketing is a multi-channel online marketing technique focused at reaching a specific audience on their smartphones, feature phones, tablets, or any other related devices through websites, e-mail, SMS and MMS, social media, or mobile applications. Mobile marketing can provide customers with time and location sensitive, personalized information that promotes goods, services, appointment reminders and ideas. In a more theoretical manner, academic Andreas Kaplan defines mobile marketing as "any marketing activity conducted through a ubiquitous network to which consumers are constantly connected using a personal mobile device".
The Digital Emergency Alert System (DEAS) was a system managed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and designed to alert first-responders and civilians in the event of a national emergency. It was based upon and supplemented the Emergency Alert System (EAS) by sending out text, voice, video, and other digital messages to mobile phones, pagers, radios, and televisions.
The HTC Dream is a smartphone developed by HTC. First released in September 2008 for $179 with a 2-year contract to T-Mobile, the Dream was the first commercially released device to use the Linux-based Android operating system, which was purchased and further developed by Google and the Open Handset Alliance to create an open competitor to other major smartphone platforms of the time, such as Symbian, BlackBerry OS, and iPhone OS. The operating system offers a customizable graphical user interface, integration with Google services such as Gmail, a notification system that shows a list of recent messages pushed from apps, and Android Market for downloading additional apps. This operating system's debut would later be followed by the Samsung Galaxy i7500, the first in what would become the long-running Samsung Galaxy series.
Next Generation 911 refers to an initiative aimed at updating the 911 service infrastructure in the United States and Canada to improve public emergency communications services in a growing wireless mobile society. In addition to calling 911 from a phone, it intends to enable the public to transmit text, images, video and data to the 911 center. The initiative also envisions additional types of emergency communications and data transfer. This NG911 infrastructure is intended to replace the current services over time. The National Emergency Number Association (NENA) first identified the need for NG911 in 2000, and started development actions in 2003, and is nearing full definition and standards for NG911. Since 2006, the US Department of Transportation (DOT) in the United States and the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) in Canada have been leading their respective initiatives, which include research and development projects aimed at advancing NG911. On January 24, 2013, the CRTC announced the first step toward a Canadian implementation of NG911 and, in March 2016, began a consultation with the public to discuss what services should be offered, who will play a role in offering these services and how these services should be paid for. Several US states have implemented versions of NG911, as of October 2013.
Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA), formerly known as the Commercial Mobile Alert System (CMAS) and, prior to that, as the Personal Localized Alerting Network (PLAN), is an alerting network in the United States designed to disseminate emergency alerts to cell phones using Cell Broadcast technology. Organizations are able to disseminate and coordinate emergency alerts and warning messages through WEA and other public systems by means of the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System.
Genasys Inc. is based in San Diego, California. Its long-range acoustic device (LRAD) products are used for long-range acoustic hailing and mass notification. Its software-as-a-service product suite, the Genasys Protect Platform, that includes ACOUSTICS, ALERT, CONNECT, and EVAC, is used for emergency alerting, notifications, evacuations, secure collaboration, and repopulations. The company was previously named American Technology Corporation (ATC) until 2010 and LRAD Corporation until 2019. The company's stock trades on the NASDAQ Capital Market with the ticker symbol "GNSS".
The Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) is an architecture that unifies the United States' Emergency Alert System, National Warning System, Wireless Emergency Alerts, and NOAA Weather Radio, under a single platform. IPAWS was designed to modernize these systems by enabling alerts to be aggregated over a network and distributed to the appropriate system for public dissemination.
An emergency communication system (ECS) is any system that is organized for the primary purpose of supporting one-way and two-way communication of emergency information between both individuals and groups of individuals. These systems are commonly designed to convey information over multiple types of devices, from signal lights to text messaging to live, streaming video, forming a unified communication system intended to optimize communications during emergencies. Contrary to emergency notification systems, which generally deliver emergency information in one direction, emergency communication systems are typically capable of both initiating and receiving information between multiple parties. These systems are often made up of both input devices, sensors, and output/communication devices. Therefore, the origination of information can occur from a variety of sources and locations, from which the system will disseminate that information to one or more target audiences.
An emergency notification system is a method of facilitating the one-way dissemination or broadcast of messages to one or many groups of people, alerting them to a pending or existing emergency. The Emergency Notification System (ENS) was created by Dialogic Communication Corporation (DCC) in the early 1980s. DCC, including its patent portfolio, was purchased by Motorola Solutions as part of their 2018 acquisition of Airbus DS Communications.
A personal safety app or SOS app is a mobile application designed to provide individuals with additional security and assistance in various situations. These apps offer a range of features and functionalities that users can utilize to enhance their personal safety. Common features include emergency alerts, location sharing, safety tips, SOS buttons, audible alarms, and community safety reporting. Users can employ these apps to quickly send emergency alerts, share their real-time location with trusted contacts, and access safety-related information and resources.
Silent mode is a setting available on mobile phones and pagers that, when activated, disables the ringtones and, in some cases, also the vibrating alerts or alarm. Unlike the airplane mode, the silent mode still allows the device to receive and send calls and messages. This quiet option may be useful in meetings, speeches, libraries, museums, or places of worship. In some places it is mandatory to use the silent mode or to switch off the device.
Guardly is a Canadian-based security company with headquarters in Toronto. In July 2022, SmartLocksGuide.com acquired Guardly. The company designs and provides mobile safety and security solutions for enterprise organizations, campuses, and municipalities. It is best known for its mobile safety application that allows users to connect to security, public authorities and a list of emergency contacts when the safety app is activated. Guardly is also attributed as the first company to offer an indoor positioning system to locate users who are within a building during an emergency, and the first to offer a mass notification system that integrates with indoor positioning data to locate people in need of help. The company's technology was featured on the Discovery Channel’s Future Tech TV series.
The National Public Alerting System, branded as Alert Ready, is the national warning system in Canada, broadcast to Canadian television, radio, and wireless devices.
Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM), formerly known as Google Cloud Messaging (GCM), is a cross-platform cloud service for messages and notifications for Android, iOS, and web applications, which as of May 2023 can be used at no cost. Firebase Cloud Messaging allows third-party application developers to send notifications or messages from servers hosted by FCM to users of the platform or end users.
RapidSOS is an intelligent safety platform that securely links data to 9-1-1 and first responders. It connects more than 500 million devices directly to 15,000+ first responder agencies.
EU-Alert is a Public Warning System designed to disseminate emergency alerts to mobile phones based on Cell Broadcast technology, as defined by ETSI standards. National authorities are able to disseminate emergency alerts and warning messages through the system. EU-Alert is a standard designed for interoprability and national implementation may vary. The standards are based on NL-Alert from the Netherlands, which first became operational in 2012.
iOS 15 is the fifteenth major release of the iOS mobile operating system developed by Apple for its iPhone and iPod Touch lines of products. It was announced at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference on June 7, 2021, as the successor to iOS 14 and released to the public on September 20, 2021.
