Wireless SMS Based Emergency Alert System Going Live this Month

[dgstorm]

All four major cell phone carriers have now signed on to the U.S. federal government's Wireless Emergency Alert system. That new new wireless SMS based emergency alert service is set to go live this month. The new service will cover 97 percent of active mobile users, with a "point-to-multipoint system" that targets at-risk subscribers. The service will include alerts from the National Weather Service, FEMA, FCC and Department of Homeland Security. It works by sending location-based messages of 90 characters or less to nearby handsets in the event of an imminent meteorological or other threat. The mostly opt-out, but free, service will also accommodate AMBER and Presidential alerts.

Thanks for the tip, Str8Aro!

Source: Engadget

[johnomaz]

Are the messages free of charge or will I pay for each one?

[Beardface]

Somehow, Verizon will find a way to make us pay for the use of this system

[NeoPhoenixTE]

I'm glad there's an opt-out. Not to sound cold but amber alerts are the biggest tease for severe weather nuts like myself. I get goosebumps everytime the EAS goes off at home.

[Str8Aro]

Somehow, Verizon will find a way to make us pay for the use of this system

Beardface, I understand the frustrations with Big Red in light of the policy changes that they have made in the last year but to be clear to future readers, this will be a free service to subscribers (unless you count all the taxes that we pay to fund government programs including this one). In the original article on Engadget, which dgstorm linked at the bottom of the post, it states that it is a "gratis" program.

[Chizzele]

I wont be surprised if we get a "come to vote" alerts through this come elections time... with such a simple way to contact the mass i'm sure there will be some abuse to this..

[wtabke]

Sent from my Droid Razr using Tapatalk 2

[tommyz]

I have SMS turned off on my cell phone number due to the spam I was receiving and having to pay for each message. Hopefully it will work with Google Voice, since that is the only way I can receive txt messages.