WFIT Is First in State with Emergency Alert System
– Florida Tech’s WFIT 89.5-FM is the first radio station in the state to have installed a Comlabs Communications Laboratories’ Emergency Management Network
(EMnet). The EMnet, an emergency notification system based on secure, satellite-based messaging, was donated to WFIT. It is valued at $6,890, installed.
“The EMnet system will give WFIT the advantage of being notified literally seconds after an emergency alert has been issued,” said Terri Wright, WFIT
general manager. “The system greatly reduces the response time of our old emergency alert system, where WFIT was just one in the chain of contacts to be
notified of an emergency.”
WFIT can now broadcast a hurricane evacuation notification, Amber Alerts, and news of hazardous spills, and many other emergency situations within seconds
of the news being issued by officials at an event’s point of origin.
With EMnet installed, an emergency management news outlet, such as WFIT, eliminates the “daisy chain” relay system. The network allows broadcast stations
to be individually addressable, enabling many locations to be specifically targeted at once. This speeds delivery, maintains signal quality and ensures
that the message reaches those stations that need the information.
In 1985, Comlabs, based in Melbourne, Fla., was awarded the contract to update, deploy and maintain the United States National Warning System, NAWAS.
Remaining the system’s custodian, Comlabs has since broadened the scope of its operations, diversifying into the arena of satellite-based warning systems
technology.