FCC gives national SMS alert system stamp of approval
By Donald Melanson 
posted April 10th 2008 3:13PM
posted April 10th 2008 3:13PM
As expected, the FCC today approved plans to roll out a nationwide SMS-based alert system, which is now all but certain to be adopted by all four national carries, and no doubt most regional carriers as well. As CNN reports, under the new plan, the FCC will appoint a federal agency tasked with creating the messages, which will in turn be passed on to participating carriers (which will have ten months to comply with the system once the agency is named). Those messages will be limited to one of three categories of emergencies, including disasters like a terrorist attack, ongoing threats like hurricanes or earthquakes, or child abductions or amber alerts. Also as we had heard before, individuals will be able to opt out of the system if they so desire, and carriers will be required to provide distinct vibration and audio alert options for people with disabilities.[Thanks, Ron]
Wasn't there a big stir in December about how so many people send SMS messages at midnight on New Year's Eve/Day that it clogs the phone tubes up and message delivery gets delayed, sometimes by several hours? How would sending messages to millions of phones simultaneously work again?
I totally dig the opt out, but I wonder if you will be able to pick what you're opting out of. For example, I'd love to know that there's a tornado coming for me, but would just as soon see the amber alert/fake terrorist attack alerts pass me by.
What took so long?
How the hell is this supposed to work? SMS works by using the empty time slots in the wireless network. When you send out, say, ten thousand SMSes at once, or even nicely queued, even if no one happens to be using their cell phones in the area at that time, there are only so many time slots, and SMSes by design are never guaranteed to be delivered, especially not to a deadline.
I'm thinking they must've thought about this but I just don't understand how it could work for anything but notices that are okay if they are delivered two days after being sent.
Okay, reading TFA it seems they're actually planning to redesign the SMS protocol to support broadcasts, updating base stations and cell phones in the process. WTFish, but sure, that could work.
There is already a system in place for GSM phones to do just that. It's called broadcast messages (similar to the notification you get for voicemail). If they do use that system it's solve a bunch of problems.
1. It'll have to be opt-in (for people who already own phones)
2. The Broadcast messages come directly from towers and are directed to anybody in the vicinity.
That'd make it regional by design, and it since it isn't a directed message (to the individual) it'll decrease network load.
I know they use it for troubleshooting and internal purposes, but there's nothing to keep them from using it for this alert system.
Ugh. No thanks. It's bad enough when my weather radio goes off at three in the morning over some custody dispute. I don't need my phone doing it. If I can opt out of "Amber alerts", I'm very interested in this. Otherwise I'm opting out of everything.
Forgot to add but At&t already sends me amber alerts by sms fyi when then do send them they don't cost me a cent.
I want the "gubment" to send the messages as shorthand txt like: "ALRT ALRT AL-KAED-DA IZ COMMIN 4 U" TTYL.
I'm all for it, as long as: 1) I don't have to lift a effin' finger to get them, 2) I don't have do anything more than log into my account on my provider's Web site and uncheck a box to opt out, and 3) getting any number of them is absolutely, positively FREE, always.
I don't want Amber Alerts. I'm not going to die if I don't get an Amber Alert.
Nuclear launch, meteor impact, gigantic tornado thing... sure.
Here's how you can tell there is a real disaster: The phone network is down.
Unless I missed it, no one is talking about the passive consent structure: you have to OPT OUT in order to avoid the propaganda, rather than OPT IN. BS. Looking forward to the "Repression 2.0" SMS messages from the Feds: "Stay inside your homes. Everything is under control."