Friday 22 January 2010, Phoenix, Arizona

 

Last Friday, Iridium hosted the inaugural meeting of the ProTECTS Alliance. ProTECTS (Promotion of Two-way Emergency Communication and Tracking Systems) was founded in September 2009 to advocate the rapid and orderly adoption of standards for duplex satellite based location, tracking and messaging technologies, with a focus on the challenges faced by first responder and search-and-rescue (SAR) communities. More than 20 companies were in attendance, from as far afield as New Zealand, the UK and South America.

 

The initial presentation was made by Chris Hoffman, RTCM Board of Directors and Chairman of the RTCM SENDS (Satellite Emergency Notification Devices) Committee. This committee is charged with defining the operational requirements of future devices. This was followed by a presentation from Lieutenant Commander Kathy Niles, SARSAT Liaison Officer, U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters.  Kathy explained the challenges they face in dealing with a multiplicity of alerts from a wide variety of sources and how the use of two-way satellite devices could significantly reduce false alerts and provide additional and relevant information for the SAR community.

 

The presentations were followed by an open forum to discuss the next steps in the formulation of standards.

 

“It is clear that more work needs to be done to identify the requirements of the SAR community”, says Richard Prodger, AWS Technical Director. “The recent emergence of low cost satellite communication devices will inevitably mean more SAR alerts, with many more being false alerts. With the constant demand on resources, establishing protocols and standards for these devices will help to reduce the burden on the already over-stretched services. This is a great opportunity for companies such as AWS to provide a framework for the collaborative development of industry standards and ensure interoperability with first responders and SAR authorities”.

 

Iridium Press Release re ProTECTS Conference ProTECTS_Concludes_First_Meeting.pdf

 

 

For more information contact AWS on +44 (0)1473 834560 or email info@aws.net