Question:

What is the Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) and how does Nixle use CAP?

Answer:

The Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) is an XML-based data format for exchanging public warnings and emergencies between alerting systems. Nixle uses CAP to send emergency alerts to both Google Public Alerts and the Integrated Public Alert & Warning System (IPAWS) systems for dissemination outside of an agency's Nixle subscriber base. With this protocol, alert messages can potentially reach millions of users when warranted.