Ga. deploys farm alert system
AT&T and Invizeon developed the system to be used for crises such as an animal disease outbreak or food supply contamination.
Georgia Agriculture Department officials are implementing a Web-based emergency alert system for agricultural agencies. The system will be used in crises such as an animal disease outbreak or contamination of the food supply.
AT&T Government Solutions, AT&T Labs and Invizeon Corp. developed the system and are under a new contract to deploy it, according to AT&T officials.
State officials can use the system to deliver information to telephones, computers, personal digital assistants, cell phones and other devices.
Officials at Georgia's Agriculture Information Sharing and Analysis Center (AGISAC) are directing the alert-notification project. AGISAC is a network of federal and state agencies, companies, academic institutions and agriculture associations.
"With this technology, Georgia will serve as a model for other state governments," Bill Hitchens, Georgia's homeland security director, wrote in a statement. "Our goal is to be prepared to deal with any kind of threat to Georgia's agriculture sector. We're also proud to have established a unique partnership involving three separate state agencies."