Emergency Alert System Uses Cellphones in Specific Areas

In case of an emergency, local officials would broadcast a text message to cellphones. The message would be aimed at a geographic target, and the phones carrying SquareLoop software in that particular place would display the warning. The technology provides different alert tones, and vibration for deaf or blind users.

"Ultimately we expect the wireless industry, through the standards process, will be including the capabilities in the manufacturing process," Stroup said.

The software is free to cellphone users. SquareLoop charges localities for the service -- anywhere from several thousand dollars to hundreds of thousands of dollars a year -- based on the number of users.

Most cellphones are compatible with SquareLoop's software. Users whose cellphones are not compatible or who subscribe to wireless providers that do not partner with the company can sign up on a Web site to receive alerts based on preset locations.

It's not clear what proportion of people will opt in, opt out or pay attention to the messages.

Interest in sending text alerts to cellphones during emergencies took off after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and intensified after the massacre of 32 students and faculty at Virginia Tech in April.

A top competitor to SquareLoop in the emergency-messaging field is Arlington-based Roam Secure, which was sold in late December to Cooper Industries, a large electronics company in Houston. Roam Secure offers text-alert services in the District, Arlington and other parts of the Washington region, but these messages are not geographically targeted.

Another local company, E2Campus of Leesburg, provides similar services to more than 300 colleges and universities.

SquareLoop was formed three years ago after licensing the technology from Mitre, a government-backed research and development organization that developed software in the 1990s to help soldiers avoid missile attacks.

Last month, SquareLoop announced $1 million in venture capital backing from Object Video chief executive Raul Fernandez, Capital One co-founder Nigel Morris and others, and is seeking a second deal this year.

Stroup said that while the initial focus will be the public sector, he expects his company, as it grows, to compete in more commercially oriented markets such as geographically targeting advertising.