Nashville Public Television and SpectraRep to Support Disaster Preparedness Exercise Across Middle Tennessee.

Collaboration will Provide Alerting, Training and Incident Management Capabilities During One of the Nation's Largest Local Preparedness Exercises for Emergency Responders.

August 10th, 2005 - Chantilly, VA and Nashville, TN - SpectraRep^®, a leading provider of solutions for the broadcast delivery of IP video, rich media and data over digital television and satellite, and Nashville Public Television (NPT), an independent, community-licensed public television station, today announced that they will partner to provide alerting, training and emergency management capabilities to Nashville’s Office of Emergency Management (OEM).

NPT and SpectraRep will work with the Nashville Metropolitan Government to develop a training and emergency alerting system called NPT MetroCast for use during the City of Nashville and Greater Nashville Homeland Security District 5 2005 Emergency Preparedness Challenge on September 23 and 24 in Nashville. The system will use several toolsets provided by SpectraRep with the goal of deploying a wireless all-hazards preparedness network for emergency management and ongoing training.

The NPT MetroCast system will use several toolsets provided by SpectraRep, including AlertManager^TM and IncidentOne^TM, which both allow for the delivery of real-time information. AlertManager^TM  is an emergency notification system that securely and reliably sends EAS, AMBER, weather alerts and other information to broadcasters for redistribution to the general public, as well as directly to government offices, schools, hospitals and other sites.  Alerts can be distributed in text, audio and video formats, along with data files and other emergency information.  IncidentOne^TM provides access to training content and the latest data on effects, protective gear, and response measures for hazardous chemicals, biological and radiological threats, and explosives.

The NPT MetroCast system will be deployed to support the City of Nashville and Greater Nashville Homeland Security District 5 during their 2005 Emergency Preparedness Challenge, one of the nation’s largest local disaster preparedness exercises for emergency responders in Davidson, Williamson, Wilson and Sumner counties.

Data will be delivered in a secure and encrypted format over NPT’s digital television (DTV) signals.  During the exercise, information - such as real-time video, simulated EAS alerts and training content - will be sent by NPT’s digital TV signal to exercise participants using computers and laptops across Middle Tennessee.

After the exercise is completed, NPT MetroCast can continue to serve as a valuable tool for first responders and emergency managers throughout the region.  NPT Metrocast will continue to employ SpectraRep’s toolsets throughout the process. 

“We want the community to know that in the event of an emergency, NPT will be ready to assist in any way we can," said Steve Bass, NPT President and CEO. “This partnership between NPT, SpectraRep and the Office of Emergency Management is a wonderful example of how local government and industry can work together to develop a tailored solution to an urgent need.”

“We're enormously pleased to be working with NPT and the Nashville Office of Emergency Management for this critical exercise across Middle Tennessee,” said Edward Czarnecki, SpectraRep’s vice president of government solutions.  “SpectraRep has been working diligently to become a leader and innovator in datacast training and alerting solutions.  This system will help ensure that critical information - whether emergency alerts, video, data files, graphics or streaming media - reaches the right people, at the right time, wherever they are.”

The 2005 Emergency Preparedness Challenge is the district's first joint exercise that will allow emergency responders in all four counties to evaluate a wide range of disaster management practices, including search and rescue for victims from a structural collapse, mass evacuations and mass sheltering efforts.

"Everyday our police, fire and emergency personnel face the potential of an emergency challenge. Whether it is a flash flood or chemical spill, we must all be able to communicate with the public about the extent of the emergency and our ability to respond," said Richard Byrd, Nashville OEM Director.

The exercise will involve nearly a thousand first responders throughout the district, and about 2,500 volunteers who will act as injured patients to test and evaluate the region's emergency response plans for large-scale disasters involving mass casualties. "The exercise will involve a wide range of disaster scenarios at multiple locations across the district," said OEM Director Byrd. "It will include all of the area hospitals, local responders, state and federal resources."

MetroCast is being funded in part by a grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the largest single source of funding for research, technology, and program development for public radio, television, and related on-line services.  Additional contributions and support are being provided by the Nashville-Davidson County Metropolitan Government, Vanderbilt University, NPT and SpectraRep.

For more information about the Greater Nashville 2005 Emergency Preparedness Challenge, visit https://www.hsd5exercise.org/Nashville/nashville.nsf.

About Nashville Public Television ...  Nashville Public Television is one of the nation's leading public broadcasters, serving the community for nearly four decades with non-commercial, educational and inspiring public television programming. NPT also serves educators and home-schoolers through instructional programs, educational contests for children, and professional development opportunities for teachers. NPT advises the Nashville and Tennessee Homeland Security and public safety community in the area of DTV datacasting -- a growing need in times of greater security and communication needs for first responders. For more information about NPT, visit www.wnpt.net.

About SpectraRep^® ... SpectraRep is a leading provider of solutions for the broadcast delivery of data over digital television. SpectraRep is working with broadcasters around the country to deploy wireless datacast broadband services and applications for all-hazards emergency notification, emergency management, first responder and education applications. SpectraRep® is a wholly owned subsidiary of BIA Financial Network (BIAfn), a premier financial and strategic advisory services firm that has served the media and communications industries for more than two decades. For more information about SpectraRep, IncidentOne and AlertManager, visit www.spectrarep.com.

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