Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Government to Send National Emergency Alerts to Your Cellphone

Provided that the system is not used in a political way, but legitimately only in the case of dire emergencies, the concept does not bother me. If there is a bio attack and an area has to get locked down, the ability to alert everyone in the area would be beneficial. If I am getting texts about from Obama about his 'latest great achievement the Republicans are trying to block' that would not go down well.

Ultimately, I think it is already 10 years to late. People do get instant alerts to their phone from people and sources they trust. It should also be optional.

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2011/05/10/national-emergency-alert-system-set-to-launch-in-nyc

"A new national alert system is set to begin in New York City that will alert the public to emergencies via cell phones.

It’s called the Personal Localized Alert Network or PLAN. Presidential and local emergency messages as well as Amber Alerts would appear on cell phones equipped with special chips and software.

The Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Emergency Management Agency said the system would also warn about terrorist attacks and natural disasters.
...
Verizon and AT&T, the nation’s largest cell phone carriers, are already on board. Consumers would be able to opt out of all but those presidential messages.
"

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