Digital Alert Systems today announced that it has supplied DASDEC™-II emergency messaging platforms to enable radio stations across Anguilla, Aruba, Montserrat, and Sint Maarten to provide their communities with timely emergency alerts. These next-generation DASDEC-II broadcast alert systems allow stations to supply the public with critical warnings and instructions in case of weather or other emergencies. The multinational project was made possible through a contract awarded by the United Nations Development Project (UNDP).
“These Caribbean island nations are highly vulnerable to various natural hazards, which can be particularly dangerous for populations, business, and infrastructure in low-lying coastal areas,” said Ed Czarnecki, Digital Alert Systems senior director for strategy and regulatory affairs. “Advanced DASDEC-II alert systems significantly increase these nations’ ability to safeguard the public through weather and public-safety alerts and warnings.”
Radio AM and FM broadcast stations in these four Caribbean nations use the DASDEC-II to monitor authorized emergency sources for all hazards and send digital warning messages from authorities. When threatening weather or other crises arise, emergency messages are transmitted to the DASDEC-II, which automatically interrupts and overrides broadcast programming with a distinctive alert tone followed by a high-quality automated voice message providing detailed information and instructions from local authorities.
The Caribbean installations mark the latest international deployments of Digital Alert Systems’ emergency alert and broadcast override products. The company already has deployed similar technology in media operations in Canada and at other Caribbean sites. Though the Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) format being used by Anguilla, Aruba, Montserrat, and Sint Maarten differs from the format adopted in the United States and Canada via updated EAS products, the flexibility of the DASDEC-II facilitated easy integration into the Caribbean countries’ broadcast stations and alerting systems.
The award-winning DASDEC is the latest generation of flexible emergency-messaging technology for broadcast radio and television operations. The majority of U.S. television stations and many major radio networks already rely on the DASDEC, which is the United States’ first FCC-certified Emergency Alert System (EAS) encoder/decoder capable of receiving and transmitting digital CAP messaging.
Further information about Digital Alert Systems and the DASDEC CAP/EAS messaging platform is available at www.digitalalertsystems.com.
