New Yorkers soon to get emergency cell phone alerts in what Bloomberg calls 'quantum leap forward'
BY Erin Einhorn
CITY HALL BUREAU CHIEF
CITY HALL BUREAU CHIEF
Monday, May 9th 2011, 9:19 PM
Dorling Kindersley/Getty
Soon, New Yorkers will receive emergency text message alerts on their cell phones. Take our Poll
Emergency Text Messages
Would you like to receive text message warnings from government agencies during emergencies?If Times Square needs to be evacuated because of a bomb threat or if a hurricane is bearing down on Queens, warnings will be bounced from cell towers.
"Making sure that [people] get useful and life-saving information, quickly and easily, right on their mobile phones, will help more people get out of harm's way when a threat exists," said Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator W. Craig Fugate.
The system - called PLAN or Personal Localized Alerting Network - uses cell phone towers to send messages to everyone currently in a certain area, regardless of whether they're visiting from out of town or have a phone registered elsewhere. People won't have to register in advance to receive the alerts.
The messages, including urgent blasts from the President, information on imminent threats and Amber Alerts about missing children, will supercede all other phone traffic so they won't be stalled or delayed.
FEMA's Fugate and Federal Communications Commissioner Chair Julius Genachowski plan to announce the new system at the World Trade Center site Tuesday in a press conference with Mayor Bloomberg and top phone company execs.
They system is expected to be up and running in New York and Washington by the end of the year - months before the rest of the country.
Mayor Bloomberg called the alerts a "quantum leap forward in using technology to help keep people safe."
RECENT COMMENTS FROM DAILY NEWS READERS
18 comments |
Ococker
KTMrider
7:47:04 AM
May 10, 2011
May 10, 2011
Hey.....Goverment....Local & Federal. STAY OUT OF OUR LIVES.
iupetre
7:47:48 AM
May 10, 2011
May 10, 2011
“Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both.” - Benjamin Franklin RON PAUL 2012
Buck N Farock
7:49:33 AM
May 10, 2011
May 10, 2011
And now a message from your Dear Leader: Remember, tomorrow is election day, so let's get out and vote for, well, you know who; Keep Hope Alive.
SFreud
7:53:43 AM
May 10, 2011
May 10, 2011
Just in time for Obama to send reelection propaganda.
Zel
8:05:41 AM
May 10, 2011
May 10, 2011
The mayor should review his physics. Quantum leaps are very small. This looks more like a BIG power grab.
malice420dotcom
8:08:51 AM
May 10, 2011
May 10, 2011
Who do these people think they are ? Stop voting for garbage..
Live_Free
8:14:40 AM
May 10, 2011
May 10, 2011
So, who pays for the text message? I mean, isn't New York broke?
matism
8:22:39 AM
May 10, 2011
May 10, 2011
You voted for this, New York! Enjoy!
jesus_loves_you!
8:35:13 AM
May 10, 2011
May 10, 2011
FCUK OBAMA!
May 10, 2011