Four Additional AETC Bases Purchase AtHoc IWSAlerts for Emergency Mass Notification

AtHoc, Inc. today announced that four additional Air Force Air Education and Training Command (AETC) bases have purchased AtHoc IWSAlerts(TM) to promote situational awareness and strengthen force protection. Keesler, Laughlin, Little Rock and Maxwell Air Force Bases (AFBs) will use the offering to provide emergency notification via their existing Internet protocol (IP) networks. AETC standardized on AtHoc IWSAlerts in 2006, and with the four contracts announced today, eight of the thirteen AETC bases now have purchased the industry's leading emergency notification solution. Maxwell and Laughlin have already finished deploying the system, joining the ranks of Luke, Randolph, Sheppard and Vance AFBs.

AtHoc IWSAlerts provides the bases with state-of-the-art emergency communications capabilities that strengthen their antiterrorism and force protection initiatives.

"In addition to providing each communications center with the ability to quickly alert personnel to emergencies, by having all AETC bases use the system, the Command achieves operational benefits such as interoperability between the systems. This means the bases have the ability to connect each base's alerting system to create a Command-wide notification capability," said Guy Miasnik, president and CEO of AtHoc. "Additional benefits of creating a standard include reduced training and maintenance costs as well as reduced deployment times."

AETC took a comprehensive view of emergency mass notification -- not just in its decision to have all bases use the same product, but in its decision to interconnect all forms of alerting (Giant Voice, telephone and network-centric alerting). By quickly alerting personnel through all available channels as soon as a threat presents itself, AETC has dramatically increased the likelihood staff can respond effectively and avoid crisis.

The AtHoc system combines a network alerting capability with a robust emergency notification management system. Using its network alerting capability, AtHoc IWSAlerts enables the AETC bases to reach all personnel using a network-connected device, such as desktop PCs or PDAs. The alerts reach personnel in times of emergency with targeted messages and instructions for action -- all within an average of one minute.

AtHoc IWSAlerts' network alerts take the form of pop-up windows accompanied by an optional audio alarm. They describe the potential threat, categorize the threat level and include instructions for action. The alerts can be preconfigured so that when an emergency occurs, the system is already set up to alert different groups with detailed instructions for action. These alerts comply with DoD standard signals and messaging specifications appropriate to Force Protection Conditions (FPCONs), watches, warnings, evacuation routes, battle staff directives and other federal, Department of Defense (DoD), U.S. Air Force, and base-specific emergency notifications.

And AtHoc IWSAlerts' management system provides the bases with centralized management of all aspects of the emergency notification process. This includes: emergency scenario management, operators' permission management, end-user management, alerts tracking as well as the ability to connect and trigger multiple alert delivery system such as Giant Voice or telephony alerting systems, through a single interface.

AtHoc's emergency notification management system operates through a Web-based operator console. Using this console, operators activate alerts from any computer connected to the base's network. Web-based access is a crucial capability, especially if a Command Center gets disabled during an emergency. The system may also be configured so that each operator has different rights to activate specific types of alerts. For example, some operators may be limited to activating weather alerts while others can only launch IT alerts.

AtHoc IWSAlerts is one of the few commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) network-centric alerting systems that have received Defense Information Technology Security Certification and Accreditation Process (DITSCAP) certification from HQ AETC A6. The product includes a specific library of audio-visual signals that comply with the Air Force's Full Spectrum Threat Response (FSTR) requirements outlined in Air Force Instruction (AFI) 10-2501. Such signals cover force protection (FPCON) commands, warnings and other DoD and USAF emergency messages.

About AtHoc, Inc.

AtHoc provides enterprise-class, network-centric alerting systems for emergency notifications, force protection readiness, anti-terror warnings and critical communications. AtHoc offers a broad set of alerting solutions for the government/defense agencies and commercial enterprises, including IWSAlerts(TM) for Network-Centric Emergency Notifications; C2Alerts(TM) for Targeted User Alerts in Command & Control / C4I Operations Center; KMAlerts(TM) for Knowledge and Intelligence Dissemination; and EmployeeAlerts(TM) for Corporate Emergency Communications. AtHoc has partnered with Microsoft, Northrop Grumman and IBM to bring these notifications solutions to the enterprise market. The U.S. Strategic Command, U.S. Air Force, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Boeing, eBay and Juniper Networks are some of the world-class organizations that have selected and deployed AtHoc for their critical enterprise notifications needs.