Financial Times

Dialog, government launch Disaster/Emergency Warning network
Dialog Telekom, Sri Lanka’s biggest mobile phone operator, and the Ministry of Public Security Law and Order last week launched the country’s first Disaster and Emergency Warning Network (DEWN).

Key participants in the project include technology partners Microimage (Pvt) Ltd and the Dialog-funded, University of Moratuwa’s Centre for Mobile Communications Research.

The initial phase of DEWN combines the innovative use of Cell Broadcast, Location Based Technology and SMS available on a GSM network with specialized terminal device technologies to render a cost effective and reliable mass alert system.

DEWN encompasses the multiple areas of specialized GSM handset applications, proto-type wireless alerting devices for domestic and specialized use and the deployment of cutting edge Sinhala and Tamil interfaces to deliver a suite of mass alert solutions applicable to the Sri Lankan environment, a statement from Dialog said.“The development of an effective disaster and emergency warning system through the innovative leverage of the key resources we have at hand was foremost in our minds over the past months.

DEWN capitalizes on the inherent strengths of GSM technology and the widespread access provided by GSM networks, to create a specialized Disaster Alert delivery and response layer residing on the incumbent technology.

The Ministry of Public Security Law and Order has been a key motivator in this project since its inception and today plays a key role in its implementation through the public security system in Sri Lanka,” said Dialog CEO Dr. Hans Wijayasuriya.

Present at the launch of the pilot were several key dignitaries, including Thilak Ranaviraja, Secretary to the Minister of Public Security, Law and Order, Prof. Dileeka Dias, Dialog University of Moratuwa Research Laboratory and Harsha Purasinghe, CEO Microimage, all of whom have collaborated in the development of the system.

The DEWN pilot features the deployment of the system at the main police stations in Ratnapura and Galle and key disaster management stakeholders in the surrounding areas. The 118 Center in Colombo will function as the command center for the pilot of DEWN.

The system will be tested and modified over the next few months leading up to final deployment on a national basis.

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