University of Rhode Island officials unveiled yesterday a comprehensive emergency notification system yesterday, which they hope will be fully operational by the end of this month...

...Called URI EmergencyAlert...[t]he technology is provided by MIR3, a San Francisco company that specializes in sending emergency information to companies, schools and government agencies. When a URI student or employee enters his or her emergency information into e-Campus, it is collected and stored in MIR3 servers across the country. In the event of an emergency, URI officials place a phone call or use any internet-connected computer to dictate what message to send and what segments of the URI community will receive the message. The company uses multiple servers in multiple locations in case of a failure of internet access at a critical time...

...The university's contract with MIR3 is for a flat rate, which allows the system to be used an unlimited number of times. Wyman would not divulge the exact value of the contract, but said it is less than $30,000.