TWC Techs Are AMBER Alert First Informers

Time Warner Cable said Tuesday (Aug. 12) that all 18,000 of its technicians now have the capability to receive AMBER alerts. Those are the electronic alerts of a missing child.

TWC said it is now one of the largest companies in the country to equip its workforce with the capability.

“Helping communities where our employees live and work is one of Time Warner Cable’s core values,” said Rob Marcus, chairman and CEO of Time Warner Cable. “Thanks to the training and technology that our technicians receive as part of our AMBER Alert initiative, we are taking important steps to help the well-being of children in communities we serve every day. I am proud of the role we are playing to protect our children and thank NCMEC for making our participation possible.”

It is part of a partnership with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children

According to TWC, there are about 200 alerts issued annually.

TWC techs have been trained to contact local law enforcement if they spot a person or vehicle fitting an Amber alert description.

The announcement came at Tuesday's Crimes Against Children Conference.

TWC, which launched the TWC Eyes and Ears Amber Alert Initiative earlier this summer, uses its operations center in Charlotte, N.C., to receive and redistribute the alerts in real time and a spokesperson said that it has already relayed alerts in 10 markets.

As of press time, 695 children have been recovered thanks to the alerts.

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.