The FCC (News - Alert) has approved Trilithic’s EASyCAP Encoder/Decoder next-generation Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) Emergency Alert System (EAS) alerting equipment. The Trilithic alert program is a message warning that can be used for all-hazard emergencies and public warnings.

Trilithic said it needed to get FCC certification. “As a manufacturer, all of Trilithic’s EAS and CAP-IPAWS equipment is or will be certified and in compliance with the FCC Part 11 Regulations. It is the responsibility of the manufacturer to certify EAS equipment with the FCC,” said Trilithic.

“Naturally, we’re very pleased regarding the certification. We were the first to be certified. However, as a leading manufacturer, we expect for all of our EAS and CAP-IPAWS equipment to be in compliance with the FCC Part 11 Regulations,” said Trilithic President Terry Bush.

Bush confirmed that the company received its first certification back in July of 2002 for EASyPLUS and its more recent certification for EASyCAP back in November of last year. 

Trilithic explains the benefits of using the CAP software by stating, “With EASyCAP Software you can receive CAP alerts from multiple sources such as TCP, DM-OPEN (News - Alert) v1, or IPAWS interfaces. EASyCAP Software can support multiple EASy Series Encoder/Decoder systems. CAP alerts and audio are delivered to the EASyPLUS, EASyCAST, or EASyIPTV across a network connection (via TCP port), fully supporting CAP text and MP3 audio.”

“CAP alerts are queued by the system until all EASy Series Encoder/Decoders can process the CAP alerts,” officials added. “Additional interfaces will become available for receiving CAP alerts as they are defined and required by FEMA, the FCC, individual states, or individual operators.”

The software can run on a PC or a Server with any of the latest Windows operating systems. The EASyCAP Software (as do some of the other add-ons) needs to connect to the Internet via a wireless connection or Ethernet. All companies must have a Trilithic EASyNIC Ethernet card installed and be licensed to receive EASyCAP alerts. Participants have until the end of June to sign up to receive CAP messages.