Wireless messaging for mass information and alerting in emergency situations
With governments mandating public-warning systems to alert their populations in situations of heightened risk, the mobile phone is an ideal medium for this purpose.
Alert Broadcast Centre (ABC) is Enghouse Networks solution for wireless public alerting. It supports the geo-targeted, mass distribution of emergency messages to mobile subscribers via multiple different channels (Cell Broadcast, SMS, Push Notifications, MMS, USSD). It also supports all standard interfaces through which authorities may submit alerting campaigns (CAP, CMAS, WPAS) and can easily accommodate others.
Depending on the architecture specified for a national alerting system, Alert Broadcast Centre can be offered as a central solution to the national authority or to the operators of public wireless networks to help meet their statutory obligations in support of national and local alerting.
Alert Broadcast Centre can also support the configuration and scheduling of commercial messaging campaigns that do not interfere with emergency alerting, which can help operators to monetise their investment.
Key Benefits
Key Features
Broadcast Manager
Enables the reception, configuration, launch and monitoring of alerting campaigns.
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GIS-Enabled Site Repository
Includes a GIS Server to store the co-ordinates of all cell sites in the network.
Dynamic Map-based UI
- Supports the visualisation of campaigns on maps so system administrators can quickly monitor when and where campaigns are active.
- Optionally, supports the creation of new campaigns using a map-based UI. (This can be useful for testing the system independently of the national emergency centre).
Alerting API’s
Supports the major alerting protocols (CAP, CMAS and WPAS) that enable authorities to initiate public warning campaigns.
Delivery Channels
Supports geo-targeted SMS and Cell Broadcast in GSM, CDMA and LTE networks.
FAQs
Alert Broadcast Centre
A 3GPP mobile network technology that broadcasts alerts to every compatible device in a defined area at once, without needing phone numbers or a data connection.
SMS sends to registered numbers, is not inherently location-based, and can be delayed by network congestion. Cell Broadcast targets handsets by cell location over a dedicated high-priority channel separate from voice and SMS traffic, and generally imposes a much lighter network load — which is why it continues to function during the congestion that often follows a disaster.
Within the US CMAS reference architecture, ABC performs the function of the CMSP Gateway, receiving alerts from the Federal Alert Gateway via the C-interface. Within the Canadian WPAS reference architecture, ABC performs the function of the WSP Gateway, receiving alerts from the NAAD System via the WPAS C-Interface.
ABC supports geo-fencing: once a target area is defined, automatic messages can be sent to any device that crosses into or out of that area – extending the reach of an alert as the at-risk population moves.
