RESTON, Va., 15 June 2008. Mobile Satellite Ventures (MSV) has joined with the Central United States Earthquake Consortium (CUSEC) to form a new satellite mutual aid radio talkgroup (SMART) dedicated to the preparation for and response to earthquakes throughout the central United States.

CUSEC is a partnership of the federal government and eight states most affected by earthquakes in the central U.S. including Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee. The organization serves as the coordinating hub for the multi-state region and as a partnership of organizations to mediate disasters and save lives caused by earthquakes in the central U.S.

Working with MSV, CUSEC will manage and approve talkgroup participation by federal, tribal, state, and local public safety agencies, and appropriate private sector users with public safety missions.

This new earthquake preparedness satellite talkgroup enables critical and interoperable communications at all levels of public safety agencies and facilities in the eight-state region. For those agencies already using MSV's technology, these talkgroups represent a major step forward in having reliable and interoperable communications in the event of a natural disaster such as an earthquake where terrestrial networks are damaged or congested.

"We see this as an excellent opportunity to expand connectivity between our member states," says Jim Wilkinson, executive director of CUSEC. "The need to have redundancy in communications systems is amplified by the large area of the earthquake threat and the multi-jurisdictional issues."

"Many do not realize that two very active and dangerous seismic zones - The New Madrid and Wabash Valley seismic zones - are located in the central United States," says Jim Corry, vice president of Government Solutions for MSV. "The newly established "CUSEC-1" SMART talkgroup will serve as an important supplement to existing interoperable communications. CUSEC can now make this tool available to all levels of public safety and emergency response for organizations operating throughout its eight-state partnership region."