HOUSTON-Westlin Corp. and CellCast L.L.C. formed a joint venture that calls for the companies to deploy a cell broadcast emergency alert system focused on the U.S. Gulf Coast region.
Cell broadcast technology sends text messages about impending weather or other emergencies to wireless users.
Westlin is an Internet technology company that specializes in disaster recovery and business continuity. The system envisioned in its joint venture with CellCast will be housed in the company’s Westlin Bunker, which originally was developed as a corporate nuclear fallout shelter. The facility is located north of Houston.
CellCast deploys cell broadcast technology under a license from the Cellular Emergency Alert Services Association, which developed the “reverse 911” cell broadcast concept more than five years ago. After a chilly initial reception, cellular emergency alert technology has gained some traction as lawmakers try to modernize the half-century-old national emergency alert system by incorporating wireless and other digital technologies.
Last fall, Airadigm Communications, which operates a wireless network under the Einstein PCS brand, announced plans to offer cellular emergency alert service warnings to its customers in Appleton, Wis.
