3n Provides Geographically Targeted Mass Notification For Park Water Company

3n Mass Notification System Enables Public Water Utility to Notify Thousands of Customers During Emergencies and for Proactive Customer Service and Other Routine Activities

GLENDALE, CALIF. --[EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION NEWS]-- March 20, 2006 – 3n (National Notification Network), a mass notification system provider, today announced Park Water Company (PWC) is using 3n’s InstaCom GIS as its primary communications platform for emergencies and daily operations, such as proactive customer service notifications.

PWC and its subsidiaries provide water service and supply to a population of more than 200,000 in Los Angeles and San Bernardino Counties in California and in Missoula County in Montana. PWC needed a high-capacity communications and notification system to notify thousands of customers in minutes concerning routine operations and emergencies. In emergency situations PWC is required to rapidly disseminate time-sensitive information and instructions to customers, in addition to quickly communicating with employees.

Other more routine activities, such as flushing—the process of cleaning pipes through the force of water, required PWC to notify residents by sending out letters, posting street signs in the communities and placing door hangers. With the 3n notification system, PWC has been able to eliminate the manual, costly and time-intensive process of door hangers. Now geographically-targeted customers are notified by telephone the night before, providing residents more effective and timely communication of a scheduled flushing so they can plan their activities accordingly.

PWC chose 3n to meet its mass notification needs specifically for 3n’s geographically targeted communication capabilities. This geographic-targeting function enables PWC to notify customers in a specific community where a flushing is scheduled, for instance. Instead of alerting all residents unnecessarily with a notification, the system is capable of targeting a specific area. Residents receive only relevant voice notifications thereby increasing their attention to the message and decreasing chances for residents to feel “spammed” which could decrease the value of the notification system.

Andrew Alpert, vice president of sales for 3n, commented, “Mass notification and GIS technology are adaptable to an endless number of utility customer service, operations, and emergency situations. PWC’s commitment to 3n demonstrates the importance the Company places on using communications technology to improve customer service, as well as its concern for public safety.”

About Park Water Company
Park Water Company (PWC) is an investor-owned, public water utility. Its primary activity is the production, storage, distribution, and sale of water. PWC and subsidiaries currently deliver water to approximately 65,000 service connections, through a distribution system of over 800 miles of pipeline. It serves a population of about 200,000 people in Los Angeles and San Bernardino Counties in California, and in Missoula County in Montana. The California Public Utilities Commission regulates public utility operations in California; the Montana Public Service Commission regulates operations in Montana.

Four Florida Counties Launch MIR3 Intelligent Notification Platform for Emergency Operations and Business Continuity

Benefits of streamlined, two-way notification during year-long pilot in the City of Miami lead to expansion of the MIR3 technology

San Diego --[EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION NEWS]-- February 22, 2006 – MIR3™, the technology leader in Intelligent Notification™ solutions, has received a contract from the Miami Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) to provide expanded Intelligent Notification services in the Florida counties of Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach and Monroe. Miami UASI was formed to distribute Homeland Security funds across South Florida. At its discretion, it can disburse funds to other municipalities that would likely be called in an emergency.

The multi-modal MIR3 Intelligent Notification solution was chosen for high-speed emergency communications in these four areas after a highly successful "pilot" of the technology in the City of Miami. During 2004 to 2005, the City of Miami used the MIR3 Intelligent Notification platform an average of once a month to speed the process of notifying and mobilizing first responders and other key individuals during disasters that pose a threat to human lives and critical business and government operations.

"We have had amazing results with the MIR3 Intelligent Notification platform," said Joe Fernandez, the Miami UASI's administrator and the City of Miami's assistant fire chief. "We signed the contract on a Thursday, trained staff at the City of Miami on a Friday, and by Saturday, we were launching notifications to all emergency personnel in preparation for Hurricane Ivan’s landfall in 2004. We also used the MIR3 system this past hurricane season, during Katrina and Wilma."

The MIR3 Intelligent Notification platform facilitates the rapid delivery and response of emergency communications to and from any device, such as landline, satellite and mobile phones, email, pagers, SMS, PDAs and fax. Once profiles of individual recipients or groups are set up, communications can be sent with a click of a mouse. Seconds later they are received on each individual's preferred device. If the preferred device does not answer, the message is automatically sent to the next device in the person's profile, with speech-to-text translation automatically performed if needed. This process repeats itself using high-speed communication protocols until a response is received. In all, tens of thousands of messages can be sent and responded to in a matter of minutes using the MIR3 technology.

"In the heat of an emergency, whether it's a computer crash, a flood, a bomb threat in an office building or a major freeway accident, even well-trained individuals do not always think clearly," said David Leibow, executive vice president at MIR3. "Add to that the time-consuming and unreliable nature of contacting individuals manually or by only a single method, and it's evident that a system such as the MIR3 Intelligent Notification platform cuts overall response time by hours, possibly even days."

The rollout to the four counties will begin next month under the supervision of the City of Miami, which will provide "Best Practices" guidance and training to those county agencies that need the new technology the most.

Tennessee Homeland Security Distrcit 7 Obtains New Emergency Notification System

System Calls Residents, Mobilizes First Responders During Severe Weather, Missing Persons and other Emergencies

Clarksville, Tennessee --[EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION NEWS]-- February 20, 2006 - Through Department of Homeland Security funds, District 7 officials today announced they have acquired a powerful new Telephone Emergency Notification System, which will be known district-wide as TENS. The new system will significantly strengthen the District’s emergency response and communications capabilities.

TENS will be used before, during and after emergency situations, such as terrorist threats or flooding evacuations. The technology, developed by Franklin, TN-based Dialogic Communications Corporation (DCC), is an Internet-based calling engine. It will allow the District to rapidly alert residents in their homes and mobilize first responders, including police, fire, EMS and emergency management.

Through advanced mapping software, TENS can pinpoint, and then automatically contact, homes and businesses within specific geographic locations. District officials select these notification areas on digital, street-level maps - ranging from a single city block to the entire District. When activated, residents will receive a phone call with important information or safety instructions. This could include shelter locations or the description of a missing child in a specific neighborhood.

The District has a three-year service contract with Dialogic at a cost of $187,500.

TENS data is derived from all listed residential and business phone numbers throughout the District. Unlisted, non-published, cellular, blocked, and voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) numbers are not in the calling database. Those not having published numbers, may visit http://gisweb.apsu.edu/hls_r911/tens.htm to submit the required information in order to be added.

3n Provides Mass Notification Solution to Three Oklahoma Schools

Schools Will Use Communication System from 3n Channel Partner SNS for Emergency and Routine Situations

GLENDALE, CALIF. --[EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION NEWS]-- February 16, 2006 – 3n (National Notification Network), a provider of mass notification systems, today announced three new customers with channel partner Superior Notification Systems (SNS). Sand Springs Public School (grades 9-12), Tulsa’s Town & Country School and Broken Arrow’s Immanuel Christian Academy will rely on 3n’s mass notification system for communications with parents and children in emergency and routine situations.

Emergency communications plans for schools are a “must-have” as schools are constantly at risk of being affected by a major crisis. The ability to notify parents, contact emergency responders, and mobilize staff in an efficient and reliable manner can save lives, prevent injury, and minimize property damage. Administrators at Sand Springs, Town & Country and Immanuel Christian Academy cited weather-related emergencies, such as tornadoes and snow days, lockdowns, and fires as specific instances where mass notification would be filling a direct need for improved communication.

Katherine McGrew, headmaster at Immanuel Christian Academy, comments, "The message confirmation feature in particular is crucial because it eliminates the guesswork we would normally make. Our parents are busy and they appreciate accurate and quick communication. They now have confidence they can receive timely and important messages from us.”

According to Robert Franklin, Sand Springs Assistant Superintendent, “We are constantly striving to improve our connections with students and parents. We have used creative grant funding to pilot the fees for this service as we look to improve student academic achievement, improve attendance, and seek to improve communication with parents. This service will be a significant cog in our planning to manage complicated emergencies that might unfold with our students and school family members.”

Tulsa, Okla.-based Superior Notification Systems is a channel partner providing the 3n mass notification system to local schools, churches and businesses in Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas and Missouri in response to 9/11 and the federal government’s need for effective mass communications in emergency situations.

Shure Chooses MIR3’s inEnterprise for Company-Wide Business Continuity and Emergency Communications

San Diego, California --[EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION NEWS]-- January 18, 2006 – MIR3™, the technology leader in Intelligent Notification™ solutions, today announced that Shure® Incorporated, a global leader in audio electronics, has contracted with MIR3 to provide notification services. Shure will utilize MIR3’s inEnterprise, which works in conjunction with standard corporate databases such as LDAP, Microsoft® Active Directory®, Oracle®, Peoplesoft®, SunGard® ParagonTM and Strohl Systems® LDRPS®, and allows organizations to consolidate communications across all divisions into a single Intelligent Notification platform. The ability to integrate across divisions simplifies the deployment process and decreases the upkeep time spent on maintaining the integrity of the notification system.

inEnterprise will allow Shure’s designated personnel to notify hundreds of employees simultaneously on any device, including landlines, mobile phones, pagers, PDAs and email, about weather-related office closure information, to convey company news and announcements, as well as for high-priority communications that could affect business continuity in the event of a regional or facility-related crisis.
According to Shure’s Chief Information Officer, Paul Erbach, MIR3’s business reputation for supplying top-notch customer and technical support, as well as the proven reliability of MIR3’s Intelligent Notification technology, were the key reasons that Shure named MIR3 as its notification service provider.

“We needed a technology solution that would allow us to reach all of our associates in the event of a crisis. Of all the systems we tested, and we did test quite a few, MIR3’s notification was the only one that returned a hundred percent of the notifications successfully,” said Erbach. “It also offered more features than the other service providers which gives us the option of utilizing MIR3 in other departments and applications within Shure. That flexibility was very appealing to us.” inEnterprise features MIR3’s Enterprise Access Control (EAC™), which brings a new level of security to enterprise-wide communications. MIR3’s EAC allows designated users, defined by their role and those security attributes, to send time-sensitive communications only to their defined departmental sphere of influence. It increases the level of accountability and security required of high priority communications for government, military and globally distributed organizations with stringent security policies in IT, corporate security, supply chain / logistics, human resources, and sales divisions.

“MIR3 is extremely pleased to add Shure to our growing list of customers,” said Margi Schmidt, Senior Vice President of Business Development at MIR3. “After 80 years in business, Shure has become an established, globally renowned company in the audio electronics industry. Shure is a also a technology innovator that reap the benefits of our advanced notification technology to make communicating with its employees more effective and in turn, will be able to service its customer base more efficiently.”

About Shure, Inc.
Founded in 1925 as a one-man operation, Shure Incorporated is a global provider of audio electronics. Headquartered in Niles, Illinois, Shure manufactures and distributes audio processing equipment, phonograph cartridges, wireless systems, and personal monitors. Since 1925, Shure’s microphones and electronics have been the tools of choice for politicians, musicians, corporations, churches and broadcasters around the world. Shure’s most visible and well-known users include Grammy® winners such as India.Arie, Nelly Furtado, ‘N Sync, Christina Aquilera, Buddy Guy, Patti LaBelle, Brandy and the Dixie Chicks, among others.