Dialog, Ministry launch Disaster and Emergency Warning Network (DEWN)

Dialog Telekom with the Ministry of Public Security Law and Order commenced its Disaster and Emergency Warning Network (DEWN).

Key participants in the project include technology partners Microimage (Pvt) Ltd (an award winning mobile applications development company) and the Dialog-University of Moratuwa Centre for Mobile Communications Research.

Pioneered as a research and development initiative of Dialog Telekom and supported by Microimage and the Dialog-UoM laboratory, the initial phase of DEWN combines the innovative use of Cell Broadcast, Location Based Technology and SMS available on a GSM network with specialised terminal device technologies to render a cost effective and reliable mass alert system.

DEWN encompasses the multiple areas of specialised GSM handset applications, proto-type wireless alerting devices for domestic and specialised use and the deployment of Sinhala and Tamil interfaces to deliver mass alert solutions applicable to the Sri Lankan environment.

Dr. Hans Wijayasuriya said the development of an effective disaster and emergency warning system through the innovative leverage of the key resources was foremost in our minds over the past months.

DEWN capitalises on the inherent strengths of GSM technology and the widespread access provided by GSM networks, to create a specialised disaster alert delivery and response layer residing on the incumbent technology. The Ministry of Public Security Law and Order has been a key motivator in this project since its inception and today plays a key role in its implementation through the public security system in Sri Lanka.

The innovations were created by partners in this project - Microimage and the Dialog-UoM Research facility.

The DEWN pilot features the deployment of the system at the main police stations in Ratnapura and Galle and key disaster management stakeholders in the surrounding areas.

The 118 Center in Colombo will function as the command center for the pilot of DEWN.

The system will be tested and modified over the next few months leading upto final deployment on a national basis. Research into DEWN - the first formal implementation of a mass alert system in Sri Lanka, was initiated by Dialog Telekom as a part of its ongoing programme of community focused innovations.

CEO Microimage Harsha Purasinghe said that the project is "A great example of in depth collaborative research and development capabilities of multiple parties brought together to deliver a platform of national importance utilising 100% local talent.

We are glad to utilised our time and effort for this national cause together with the teams from Dialog Telekom and Dialog University of Moratuwa Research Laboratory to deliver another breakthrough mobile application and delivery framework for disaster and early warning.