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New Emergency Alert Broadcasts to be Available on Cellphones

By Deborah Hirsch
TMCnet Contributor

9/11 may not have been any less scary or horrifying if this had been available. But now the emergency broadcast system is coming to cellphones.

You probably know it as the shrill late-night whistle that comes over your TV, followed by, “This is only a test.” But in a true emergency, it would supply information on what to do and where to go, and on 9/11, this information might have helped save lives.

Federal officials announced this week that soon some cellphone users in New York and Washington will be able to receive alerts by text message in the event of a national or regional emergency, according to a story in the New York Times.

To receive the alerts, users must have mobile phones with a special chip, which is currently included in some higher-end smartphones, like the latest iPhones. The service will also require a security update.

The emergency text messages will include alerts issued by the President, information about public safety threats and Amber Alerts for missing children. Text messages will be sent to customers of participating cellphone companies who are in an area affected by the emergency. Users can opt out of any of the alerts except the presidential messages.

The alerts are designed to mimic the familiar radio and TV broadcast alerts that have advised Americans where to tune in for an emergency message. Known as the Personalized Alerting Network, or PLAN, the new system will be a free service for people in New York and Washington who have enabled phones and are customers of Verizon (News - Alert), Sprint, AT&T or Spring mobile phone systems.

Although cellphone companies in the United States are not required to participate in the system, officials said they expected that cellphone makers would promote the inclusion of the special chip as a selling point for new mobile phones, according to the New York Times. 

The service is expected to be available in New York and Washington later this year and in the rest of the country as early as April.

Deborah DiSesa Hirsch is an award-winning health and technology writer who has worked for newspapers, magazines and IBM (News - Alert) in her 20-year career. To read more of her articles, please visit her columnist page.