The world is wired these days. Wherever you go, whatever you do, unless you’re an Amish farmer, you’ve probably got some kind of cellular phone on your person, silently irradiating you with its invisible waves of interconnectedness. Why not use it for the greater good? Alcatel-Lucent has created something known as the Broadcast Message Center, which will allow the authorities to send text messages and other emergency alerts to your cellular phone directly, bypassing the traditional radio/television delivery system used currently.
Or rather, it will be adding to the traditional warning systems. It will be folded under the guidelines of Federal Communication Commission’s Commercial Mobile Alert System, which specifies just how phones can be contacted in case of emergencies. The US Government can use the system to contact phones in the case of natural disasters or terrorism, and local governments can use it to dispense Amber Alerts, traffic information, and local severe weather warnings (though you can opt out of those).
“With the public increasingly relying on cell phones, it becomes mission critical for service providers to be able to share critical, time-sensitive information over these devices during times of crisis,” said Morgan Wright, the VP of Alcatel-Lucent. After all, you may be miles from a TV or radio, but you’ll always have your cell phone on you.
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