Franklin, Tenn., July 6, 2011 – Cassidian Communications, an EADS North America company, today announced the successful use of its emergency notification technology, specifically The Communicator!^® NXT^™ emergency notification system, during the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) National Level Exercise (NLE) the week of May 16-20. This high-level event, conducted in accordance with the National Exercise Program (NEP) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) guidelines, simulated a catastrophic earthquake along the New Madrid Seismic Zone (NMSZ), validating the independent and collaborative emergency response capabilities of four FEMA regions; federal, state and local governments; and other participants.

As indicated on FEMA’s website, www.fema.gov, the NLE is a White House-directed, Congressionally-mandated exercise that offers agencies and jurisdictions a way to test their plans and skills in a real-time, realistic environment and to gain the in-depth knowledge that only experience can provide. The exercise encompasses all areas of disaster preparation and response including critical resource logistics and distribution; emergency operations center (EOC) management; public information and warning; long term recovery and communications.

During the weeklong exercise, FEMA activated The Communicator! NXT system eight different times—the first of which took place at the event’s start. Within 2½ minutes, over 1,000 individuals in 17 different groups were contacted via email and phone, each receiving details regarding NLE activities. Reports indicate 1,032 emails were sent in the first 35 seconds of the activation and 819 calls immediately followed over the next two minutes.

Subsequent activations of The Communicator! NXT system provided secure, multimodal notification (i.e., via work phones, landlines, numeric pagers, etc.) to FEMA personnel, quickly mobilizing teams and gathering crucial feedback.

“We are fortunate to provide such a valuable tool to FEMA and the Department of Homeland Security,” said Bob Freinberg, vice president and general manager, Cassidian Communications. “We know our solutions must at all times be prepared to perform during any threat or emergency and be able to effectively resume Agency-essential operations if they are interrupted.”

FEMA, part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security since 2003, first deployed the notification system in 1999. Since that time, the Agency has diligently worked to improve communications across its ten regions, helping ensure that as a nation, we work together to build, sustain and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from and mitigate all hazards.

The Communicator! NXT system is also used by hundreds of public and private sector organizations globally, including US military operations. The industry-renowned application is proven to support simple to highly complex communications, meet even the most stringent IT/security requirements and provide comprehensive reporting for greater accountability and a full audit trail. Notable uses include 9/11, numerous Atlantic hurricane seasons and California wildfires, the H1N1 pandemic and most recently, the Joplin, Mo. tornado.

“Cassidian Communications is honored to support FEMA and other mission critical organizations worldwide in meeting their crisis communications objectives,” concluded Freinberg.

Cassidian Communications continues to serve clients ranging from public safety operations to Fortune 1000 corporations to federal agencies. Collectively, the company has more than 40 years of experience deploying 9-1-1 call processing solutions, notification solutions and first-responder digital trunked radio networks.

About Cassidian Communications (www.CassidianCommunications.com)

As the largest and most trusted source of mission critical communications solutions, Cassidian Communications, an EADS North America company, is leading the way in standards-based NG9-1-1 call center applications, notification solutions and services and P25 land mobile radio systems.  Headquartered in Temecula, California.

About EADS North America (www.eadsnorthamerica.com)

EADS North America is the North American operation of EADS, a global leader in aerospace, defense and related services. As a leader in all sectors of defense and homeland security, EADS North America and its parent company, EADS, contribute over $11 billion to the U.S. economy annually and support more than 200,000 American jobs through its network of suppliers and services. Operating in 17 states, EADS North America offers a broad array of advanced solutions to its customers in the commercial, homeland security, aerospace and defense markets.