TWENTY FIRST CENTURY COMMUNICATIONS

Universal Communications System: High Speed Telephone Notification

The Universal Communication System (UCS) is a comprehensive hosted message delivery and response service. UCS provides targeted emergency notification services to client-defined groups or geographical areas – by phone, fax, pager, PDA and/or e-mail – all via the same web-enabled system. Applications include public alert and warning, internal notification, employee accountability, business continuity and much more. UCS is an offsite hosted solution which can be activated from any remote location with internet access or by phone. Please see our white paper on Trends in Hosted Technology.

Link to Hosted Paper

UCS For Government

UCS can be used to reach critical personnel and mobilize emergency responders.The UCS system is powered by an Oracle database which enables massive data storage capacity and very rapid call-list creation. Disaster Preparedness and Continuity of Operations Planning are top priority today.  With Twenty First Century Communications, you can bring your agency into COOP compliance without breaking the budget. TFCC’s Universal Communications System is the safe choice, providing the features you need for a reasonable price. UCS is always on – guaranteed to be up and running even if your facilities are compromised.UCS is on the GSA Schedule, 70 – 132-52.

UCS For Business

Effective crisis communication is a key piece of your Business Continuity plan. Twenty First Century’s Universal Communication System (UCS) offers:

• Employee Notification
• Employee Accountability
• Call Center Support / Customer Service
• Supply Chain Management
• Inbound Crisis Hotlines
• Continuity of Operations
• Product Recalls
• Inter-Departmental Coordination
• Evacuations

UCS For Health Care

Whether you need to issue a medical alert or warning, share news and information, or muster your health care professionals, having a reliable and expedient means to reach a broad or targeted audience is something you simply can't be without.With TFCC you can make outbound calls and run inbound hotlines simultaneously and without interruption.

TFCC solutions are expertly engineered services that give you incredible communications capabilities without the limitations and vulnerabilities of an on-site system. TFCC offers a fully secure, ready-when-you-are solution that's off-site and off your mind. And since all future system upgrades are available automatically at no additional cost, you get a solution that will never become obsolete.

Dynamic Locator Program (DLP)

The Dynamic Locator Program (DLP) is an automated, geographically-based toll-free telephone information service which allows callers to find the nearest location of a particular resource. Callers can either speak or enter their zip code to activate the system, or they can enter the phone number from which they are calling. The DLP identifies the closest resource site using an advanced GIS mapping function and a user-defined radius.

The system administrator loads site locations and directions by sending text files and geographic coordinates to a secure web site. These text files are then converted to voice files using TFCC's innovative text-to-speech (TTS) technology.

What makes TFCC's Dynamic Locator Program so innovative is that it gives the administrator the ability to add or remove locations as needed, on the fly, via TFCC's secure web site. Changes propagate across the system immediately, so resources can be added or removed from the queue based on availability.

Pandemic Planning

High-volume, high-speed automated communications are critical in responding to pandemic situations. TFCC offers a sophisticated suite of services, including the Universal Communications System and the Dynamic Locator Program, developed to mitigate the effects of pandemics. Please see our white paper on Communication Options to Mitigate Pandemics.

Link to Pandemic Paper

Public Alert and Warning

UCS can alert the public to a situation, provide instructions, and also offer an inbound hotline for further information. The system has a sophisticated mapping module that allows for geo-targeted alerting. UCS meets and even exceeds NENA standards for an emergency alerting and notification system. UCS can be used for many applications:

Hurricane evacuation

• State and local Emergency Management officials use the system’s mapping capabilities to identify the persons living in vulnerable coastal areas to be affected by the hurricane surge.
• The notice of evacuation is given. Persons are asked by the automated system if they need assistance with transportation. The phone numbers of those requiring assistance are captured and called back to make arrangements.
• Those self-evacuating can call into a designated hotline, say their zip code and be told their evacuation route. After being evacuated, evacuees without a place to stay can call into the system to learn the location of the nearest open shelter.
• Post-hurricane notification is also critical. Public officials in hurricane states know that it is a significant challenge to be able to tell people when it is safe to return. Some areas may still be under water, some under Marshall Law, still others without potable water or utilities.
• An automated inbound telephone notification system can let evacuated citizens know by zip code or even street address the conditions in their areas and when it would be safe to return.

Water Contamination

A leak occurs in a major water tank line in a reservoir servicing a major metropolitan area. Use of this tap water without boiling it can result in intestinal illness. Particularly at risk are children and the elderly.

• UCS can be used to issue a boil water alert.
• A geo-coded online map of the area’s water distribution lines is used as a guide to precisely identify the area affected.
• UCS’s geo-coded mapping system generates a list of phone numbers and calls all affected households.
• Citizens’ inbound calls to the water department for additional information are diverted to the UCS inbound system, avoiding strain on agency resources.
• When the boil water alert ends, out dial calls reassure residents that their water is now safe to drink.

Smallpox Outbreak

It is determined that, either as a result of terror or natural causes, an outbreak of Smallpox (10 cases) has occurred in a Midwestern city. Unfortunately, most physicians have never seen Smallpox outside of medical textbooks.

• To alert physicians to be on the lookout for cases, out dial calls are made using UCS by the State Health Department.
• Physicians are instructed to read a fax or email, sent simultaneously with the call, containing the photographs of the symptomology of the disease.
• The physician calls into an 800 number and enters a unique code (license number, etc.) to confirm he has read the fax/email.
• If the physician has further questions or believes he may have treated a case, he presses the # key and is transferred into a conference bridge with other State Health Department officials.
• UCS can display call results on a map – even as calls are being returned. This can potentially aid health officials in identifying the spread of the disease.

Train Wreck/ Chemical Spill

A train carrying a variety of toxic and volatile chemicals derails. Several chemicals ignite and create clouds of toxic smoke. Perchloroethylene, an industrial solvent and carcinogen, flows into a stream near the tracks and vapors fill the air. Two tank cars containing anhydrous ammonia and muric acid respectively are in danger of being breached by fire.

• Using UCS, EMA officials use a geo-coded computer map to generate evacuation call lists. Some residents are called to evacuate; others shelter in place. The NTNS mapping function provides the most effective evacuation route for each household and business.
• UCS is also used to mobilize first responder police and fire. First contacting Transcaer as to the chemicals and the nature of their effects, UCS then uses phone, fax, email and text alerts to communicate instructions to those on the ground, who are attempting to contain the situation.
• Using a water line map overlay fed into the UCS geo-mapping system, call lists are generated. Then “Don’t drink the water” calls are made to those residents whose water may be contaminated by the perchloroethylene.

Abducted Child

A 2-year old boy is abducted in Virginia, and reportedly spotted with his kidnapper in Kentucky.

• The Frankfort, Kentucky EMA uses UCS’s GIS-Mapping function to define a 2-mile radius from the pair’s location.
• The Mapping program automatically generates a list of all phone numbers within that radius.
• The system calls more than 3,000 residences and businesses, giving a description and asking people to call 9-1-1 if they see the pair.
• Within 20 minutes, several calls come into the 9-1-1 center. Police quickly apprehend the kidnapper and recover the child.
• This event occurred September 29, 2006.Please see the story.

Missing Child Press Release

Internal Notification and First Responder Mobilization

Internal Notification

Whether you need to share news and information, issue alerts, or ensure the continuity of your business operations, having a reliable and expedient means to reach a broad or targeted audience is something you can’t be without.

With TFCC’s system, you can activate your employees, mobilize critical staff, and receive information and feedback quickly, directly and reliably at any time. Only Twenty First Century solutions allow you to take calls and make calls simultaneously and with interruption.

• Emergency notifications
• Business Continuity
• Employee accountability
• Inter-departmental coordination
• Call center support
• Product recalls
• Customer service
• Supply chain management
• Media relations
• Crisis hotlines

First Responder Mobilization

UCS can be used to reach critical personnel and mobilize emergency responders.The UCS system is powered by an Oracle database which enables massive data storage capacity and very rapid call-list creation. Responders can be grouped according to training, skill set, department or any other appropriate identifier required to effectively mobilize key personnel.

Campus Alerting

TFCC provides Campus Connection, powered by the Universal Communication System. Campus Connection brings to bear the largest call-handling capacity available in North America today. This capacity is vitally important for reaching large contact populations and handling multiple events.

Only Campus Connection can launch thousands of simultaneous alerts. And only Campus Connection can respond to the deluge of inbound calls from parents, family members and the media providing accurate and up-to-date information with no busy signals. What this means to you is that panic and rumors will be effectively minimized.

Outbound Calling

Outdial automated voice alert and messaging to landlines and cell phones. This can be used to rapidly place calls to students, faculty and staff with messages of any duration. TFCC’s massive calling platform allows calls to be placed as rapidly as the phone system can support. Since any number of authorized users can activate the system, it eliminates “calling trees,” calling circles and similar phone contact mechanisms with simultaneous contact.

Inbound Call Handling

Inbound voice messaging is important, as during an event, parents, media and others will deluge campus phone lines seeking information. TFCC’s proven technology can divert that call traffic out of the area, play an automated message and relieve campus and local telecom circuits.

Interactive Voice Messaging

TFCC’s systems provide interactive voice messaging, permitting both inbound and outbound contacts to select from a menu and indicate location, availability, or other status. TFCC’s clients use this feature to maintain continuity of operations and establish employee accountability.

SMS Text Messaging

Text Messaging via SMS to cell phones is provided by TFCC as part of the Campus Connection communication package. Despite its limitations, it is very popular among young people. It can supplement but not replace voice calls, as it is not possible to text message land lines such as faculty offices or dormitories.

Email Text Messaging

Text Messaging via Email is also part of Campus Connection. Most cell phones are equipped with either SMS or email messaging or both, therefore TFCC offers both methods.

Email

High-volume Email to PCs is also provided.

Data

The system can store student, faculty, parent and staff profiles in TFCC’s integrated Oracle database. This enables the administrator to notify targeted groups such as all students, a single dorm, or all faculty in a specific building, etc. The database can hold unlimited profiles and attributes within profiles.

Registration

System Sign-up is easy. TFCC can provide a website where students and staff can enter contact information. Or, TFCC can accept files in a variety of formats from the Universities and load the data into the system.

Support

24/7 Support is provided both as access to the TFCC Help Desk located in TFCC’s Network Operations Center (NOC) and with a dedicated Client Manager who provides a single point of contact to each school.

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Automated Inbound Call Handling

Public Alerting and Emergency Notification are critical in responding to crises. However, inbound call handling is often overlooked. Unique in the industry, TFCC’s telecom platform is designed with massive, mutually exclusive inbound and outbound capacity, allowing organizations to handle to deluge of incoming calls that result from a disaster.

With TFCC’s system, agencies can set up toll-free inbound hotlines which operate on TFCC’s telecom platform, keeping agency and local lines open for event-related critical communication. In addition to providing information to the public and the media, TFCC’s inbound capacity includes all the features and functions of its outbound alerting system, such as Interactive Voice Response, polling, password authentication, transfer to conference bridge, redirect to operator, and detailed Call Data Reporting.

Please see our white paper on the Importance of Inbound Call Handling.

Link to Inbound Paper

About Twenty First Century Communications

Twenty First Century Communications (TFCC) is a technology company offering a proprietary system of automated telecommunication Software as a Service (SAS) to Government, Utilities, and the private sector.

TFCC is a national leader in hosted crisis communication services, providing High Volume Call Answering (HVCA®), Public Alert and Warning, and Internal Notification Systems. TFCC offers a variety of customized, remotely run communication services using the industry’s largest, most reliable telecommunications platform.

Twenty First Century’s services are in use every day, in the form of more than 200 client programs, such as Public Information Hotlines, Emergency Team Mobilization, Map-based Alerting, and multiple utility programs such as Outage Reporting, Field Crew Management, and several Advanced Speech Recognition applications. TFCC offers its clients Relentless Reliability, including uninterrupted service and 24/7/365 support.

Relentless Reliability

While we don't expect you'll need it much, TFCC has world-class support available in the form of a personal Client Manager and a live, around-the-clock Help Desk. They'll respond quickly and intelligently to your trouble calls and can even launch your remote notification program if necessary. And don't worry about an outage on our end.

Our systems are continually tested, ably backed up with UPS generators, and co-located at multiple, geographically redundant sites across the United States. Whatever the situation, we're always here when you need us.

Mission Statement

With an unparalleled passion for quality, we will…

• Provide unwavering customer support,
• Create practical solutions to customer problems,
• Develop enduring, proven products,
• Challenge, reward and support our employees,
• Forge critical alliances, and
• Increase market penetration and client retention to maximize growth.

Additional Statistic and Assets

Twenty First Century serves over 180 clients in the U.S., Canada and the U.K., with a database representing more than 100 million contacts. TFCC handles the outage calls for 80 major U.S. utilities, including the 10 largest. TFCC’s domestic clients reach from Maine to California and Florida to Washington State.

Recent Accomplishments

Twenty First Century’s HVCA® handles outage reporting calls for more than 80 electric utilities, representing 70% of American households. TFCC also provides outbound Telephone Alerting Systems for Public Safety. In September 2006, our system was used to safely recover an abducted child in under an hour. Post-Katrina, TFCC operated the 1-877-LOVED1s hotline for the American Red Cross, reuniting over 40,000 displaced family members.TFCC’s international division provides services in Canada and the U.K., where one partner serves the entire U.K. population