AMBER Alerts come to SMS
By Donald Melanson 
posted May 17th 2005 5:05PM
posted May 17th 2005 5:05PM
Starting today, AMBER Alerts, the service for bringing attention to missing children, will be available on cellphones via SMS. Cellphone users simply have to sign up on the Wireless AMBER Alerts website and enter the areas they would like to receive alerts for. Apparently, 90% of US cellphone subscribers are currently covered by the service, with most of the rest receiving coverage in the next two months. There's no charge for the service other than the usual carrier imposed SMS fees.
[Via Mobile Tracker]
This is an excellent idea. As long as when there is an amber alert I only get one message, and not 20 messages that keep reminding me.
#1 is absolutely right. The key aspect of making this service useful is to keep it non-instrusive (repetetive intrusions, that is).
Just throwing this out there, but it's technically "Amber Alert", not "AMBER Alert". That book apparently made up an acronym to go with the name, but the alert itself is from a little girl named Amber Hagerman, who was kidnapped and murdered in 1996.
I guess you can write it either way, as the book is right up there showing an acronym, but I usually see it written "Amber Alert" out of respect for Amber.
Great Idea.............
It would be nice if cell carriers could make receiving messages from the service free.
hmm....RTFA....
Update: Verizon Wireless, Cingular Wireless, Sprint, PCS, Nextel and T-Mobile USA all announced that text messaging fees will be waived for AMBER alert messages.
I don't intend to sound rude or heartless to anybody, so I apologize in advance. What exactly is the reason for a SMS alert of this nature?
To help save missing children. Ever seen those signs on the highway? When I child gets reported missing or kidnapped, the sign lights up with supect information such as car make, color, model. However, not everyone drives on the highway all the time. So, Amber alerts on cellphones would notify people that aren't driving on the highway.
Amber alerts are issued only when there is a confirmed child abduction and then only for the surrounding area. Amber alerts are commonly transmitted via on highway information signs and on radio stations.
From the amber alert website:
The AMBER Alert System began in 1996 when Dallas-Fort Worth broadcasters teamed with local police to develop an early warning system to help find abducted children. AMBER stands for America's Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response and was created as a legacy to 9-year-old Amber Hagerman, who was kidnaped while riding her bicycle in Arlington, Texas, and then brutally murdered. Other states and communities soon set up their own AMBER plans as the idea was adopted across the nation.
These alerts are a colossal waste of time, help no one, and increase traffic! Read my full expalanation at
http://randomtruth.blogspot.com/2005/03/amber-alerts-dont-waste-my-time.html
This is great to see and I like that the wireless carriers aren't charging. Ironically, just before this story broke I got an Amber Alert on my SPOT watch and chatted about it on the Commute-Cast, episode#21: http://www.commute-cast.com/2005/05/05-13-2005-commute-cast-with-kevin.html
I looked a little but didn't find any mention of a privacy policy on the site. I like the idea but am hesitant to submit my number to anything without a policy.
Brett, get a clue! AMBER Alerts work! Over 200 children recovered as a result. Clearly you do not have kids and don't care about kids. If you don't believe me, go to www.missingkids.com.
As long as it's an opt-in service. I'd be upset if I started receiving Amber alerts on my cell phone.
Ok, calling it AMBER as an acronym is just lame. It's named after the child Amber who was kidnapped. Leave it as is...
N.