PBS Expands Sencore Deal

Vendor will supply message data encapsulator for PBS' WARN Act Project

By George Winslow -- Broadcasting & Cable, 6/26/2012 7:21:02 PM

Sencore has expanded its involvement in the PBS Warning, Alert, and Response Network (WARN) Act compliance project with the announcement Tuesday that the vendor will also be delivering an advanced message data encapsulator.

The new data encapsulator be deployed along with the other Sencore solutions already in place to enable PBS, its member stations, public television and other non-commercial stations to provide emergency alert services.

"Already a close partner on this project, Sencore is uniquely qualified to fulfill PBS' requirements for a WARN encapsulator," noted Aaron Silverman, communications director for the PBS WARN Project, in a statement. "The new message data encapsulator is the latest building block in a seamless and reliable framework that will allow us to serve as a diverse path for wireless enabled alerts without disruption to the broadcast signal."

The message encapsulator is designed to work with the Sencore's MRD 3187B receivers and TDI 3000 transport data injectors to create a redundant data network that will use the existing PBS broadcast infrastructure. The WARN backup data network will connect FEMA to mobile phone providers for the delivery of geo-targeted emergency warning text messages to cellular telephones.

"With the addition of the new encapsulator, we are building a completely integrated signal transmission system that has been extensively qualified and tested by both the PBS WARN staff and Sencore," said Garrett Carter, director of sales at Sencore, in a statement. "It's the latest step in our continuing role in helping PBS deliver this vital service as part of the U.S. Emergency Alert System, and we're confident that all of our solutions will offer the proven reliability and effective broadcast signal delivery that PBS needs to build a future-proof WARN infrastructure."