Public broadcaster WNET N.Y./Newark (Ch. 13) said it received $50...
Public broadcaster WNET N.Y./Newark (Ch. 13) said it received $500,000 funding from the National Imagery & Mapping Agency (NIMA) to develop a prototype emergency alert system that would use the station’s digital spectrum to distribute emergency alerts, emergency response…
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information and command and control information to the public, first responders and homeland security personnel. WNET is developing the system in conjunction with Rosettex Technology & Ventures Group under the auspices of the National Technology Alliance (NTA). WNET said the $500,000 initial award would be used to develop and analyze an urban testbed project using the station’s licensed ITFS spectrum for dissemination of information to first responders in national disaster situations. The ultimate goal, WNET said, would be to create a hybrid system in which both the ITFS and normal DTV spectrum bands were used to provide information and 2-way communication to first responders. The DTV channel could be used to broadcast traditional emergency alerts to the public as well as to deliver supplemental datacast information about evacuation routes and emergency treatment center locations to those with data receivers. The ITFS channel could be used to disseminate encrypted data such as building blueprints, procedures for handling dangerous materials and other sensitive information to emergency responders, it said. “The crisis of September 11, 2001, brought Thirteen and New York City together as never before,” Pres. William Baker said: “Ever since that fateful day, Thirteen has been determined to harness its transmission resources to provide vital information that will help save lives in the event of a regional emergency.”