Fusion Communications, a centralcasting master control and production company, is deploying emergency messaging platforms with intelligent remote control from Digital Alert Systems (DAS) to provide automatic, seamless emergency alerts for its 20 remote TV stations located throughout the United States. DAS is a veteran provider of Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) and Emergency Alert Systems (EAS).
Fusion Communications, based in Davenport, IA, operates centralcasting and control services that allow its contract stations to have a fully produced TV station with minimal investment in staff and equipment. To meet EAS/CAP compliance for each station, and to provide notifications quickly, Fusion has deployed an emergency messaging platform that automatically communicates local alert data to the company’s Davenport facility, where it could be immediately sent out on-air.
"When it comes to emergency alerts, the nature of our business poses a unique challenge," said Jeff Lyle, president of Fusion Communications. “If an alert is issued locally for one of our stations, it needs to be sent to the operation center in Davenport before it can go out over the air. As we have seen from the recent tragedies in Joplin and other communities, lives are at stake, and every second counts.”
Fusion has installed a DASDEC-IR unit in each remote station. The DASDEC-IR units automatically communicate EAS data via an IP network to the central DASDEC-II hosts at the Davenport facility via Digital Alert Systems' exclusive EAS-NET communications protocol software. Each DASDEC in Davenport can handle up to five DASDEC-IR units by utilizing the Digital Alert Systems’ MultiStation software. From Davenport, Fusion can easily use DASDEC's Web-based user interface to monitor all messages and alerts for all 20 stations.
The DASDEC-II system meets all FCC Part 11 rules and conforms to FEMA CAP V1.2 and IPAWS 1.0 standards, allowing broadcasters to reduce headaches and substantially improve operational efficiency for just a little more than adding a CAP converter to their legacy EAS equipment.