Colombo, Sri Lanka, 21st October 2006, Dialog Telekom Sri Lanka’s flagship telecommunications company were recognised and commended for their pioneering Disaster and Emergency Warning Network (DEWN) at the National Best Quality Software Awards (NBQSA) held last night in Colombo.

The Company together with their technology partners Microimage and the Dialog University of Moratuwa Mobile Communications Research Laboratory received the Overall Award in the Research and Development Category as well as the all round Gold Award for DEWN - a cost effective and multi modal mass alert system which could be deployed for the purpose of warning key stakeholders in disaster management as well as the general public in advance of the occurrence of life threatening disasters. The pilot launch of DEWN took place in November 2005 together with the Ministry of Public Security Law and Order.

Dialog Telekom was also selected to participate in the Asia Pacific ICT Awards (APICTA) to be held in Macau a fortnight from now. The Remote Alarm and Handset Resident Applications for DEWN designed by Microimage and the Dialog UoM were recently short-listed in the category of Innovative Technology Development at the GSMA Asia Mobile Innovation Awards.

Professor Tissa Vitarana, Minister of Science and Technology presented the trophy to Nushad Perera, General Manager, Sales and Marketing, Dialog Telekom. Commenting on the initiation and development of this project, Mr.Perera said “Dialog Telekom initiated this project following the massive destruction caused by the Tsunami in December 2004. We have always been very conscious about trying to use GSM technology for the betterment of the lives of people in Sri Lanka. We knew that as a means of communication our handheld devices would be more effective and far reaching than radio, TV or any other medium. After all today, through our network alone we can reach over 2.5million people. Our mobiles had proved invaluable in the evaluation and location process following the tsunami – so it was a natural step for us to develop something that would alert and therefore protect people before a tragedy occurred. With our partners Microimage and the Dialog University of Moratuwa Research Laboratory we developed and created DEWN - Sri Lanka’s first formal mass alert system, developed exclusively by Sri Lankans for Sri Lankans. I would like to thank our partners Microimage and the Dialog University of Moratuwa Research Laboratory for their inspired and innovative contribution, and absolute dedication to this project”

The National Best Quality Software Awards recognizes and honours significant technological development and innovations in Sri Lanka’s software industry. The NBQSAs is organized by British Computer Society (BCS) with the support of Sri Lanka Association for Software Industry (SLASI), Software Exporters Association (SEA), Infotel Society (INFOTEL), University of Colombo and University of Moratuwa.

Dialog Telekom, an ISO 9001 certified company, is a subsidiary of Telekom Malaysia. It operates a 2.5G GSM Network supporting the very latest in multimedia and mobile Internet services. Its local coverage spans all nine provinces while international roaming is provided in 190+ countries. Dialog Telekom, the largest and fastest growing cellular service in Sri Lanka, serves a subscriber base in excess of 2.5 Million Sri Lankans.

Microimage has been building up an impressive record of accomplishments since its formation ten years ago. The Company is multi award winning, the Gold Award for Most Innovative Mobile Application or Content at the recently concluded GSMA Mobile Innovation Awards is its most recent triumph.

The Dialog University of Moratuwa Mobile Communications Research Laboratory was established in 2004 and specializes in applied research in mobile telecommunication technologies and Internet applications. In addition, the Dialog – UoM laboratory has technology transfer arrangements with international research bodies.

Visit the website - Disaster & Emergency Warning Network (DEWN)