Being more than four years since the September 11th terrorist attacks, Americans face an important question: Has enough progress been made? The answer, unfortunately, is no.
The threat that confronted us four years ago still confronts us. The need to be prepared, as Hurricane Katrina clearly showed, is still one of the most critical challenges facing our federal government. Our emergency response workers and citizens still can't communicate quickly and effectively in the event of an emergency. As the threat of future terrorist attacks and natural disasters looms, the need to enhance the national alert system seems long overdue.
Yet sometimes it's the simplest technology that thrives in times of chaos, like the simple format of SMS (short messaging service) available on the majority of U.S. cell phones.
Text messaging has clearly proven advantages. The experiences of September 11th indicate that many people may not be near a television or radio in an emergency. Furthermore, such traditional media for emergency alerts are not likely to survive power outages. There's a strong need to upgrade our nation's emergency alert systems with SMS technology. Text messaging not only will stand the test of nature but will more efficiently use our limited voice communication capacity.
During the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, high traffic volumes made it extremely difficult to connect calls; however, SMS text messaging continued to operate and provide the means for people to communicate effectively.
Our firm realized this firsthand as New Yorkers spiked our SMS traffic logs, starting on September 11th with messages like "R U Ok?" and "I am fine."
Why, then, has the federal government been so slow in adding SMS technology to its emergency alert systems?
One reason is that a prior system, the Emergency Alert System (EAS), is set up for the President to communicate during a national emergency or natural disaster. Over the last five decades the system has been in place, however, a national alert has never been fully activated -- not even during the September 11th terrorist attacks. The system was developed during the Cold War and can transmit messages only to radios and televisions and simply put -- is outdated! Case in point: How many people do you know who still carry radios around in their pockets?
Easy to use for consumers / Easy on telco networks
The cell phone is the very icon of communication today. About 190 million Americans have phones with text messaging. In addition, text messages won't overload the telecommunications backbone the way voice calls could, because text requires less capacity and is sent over the network differently.
The federal government, to its credit, is exploring options to enhance emergency responses and alerts, but the exact timeline for national implementation of an all-hazards alert system is unknown. In a statement, the CTIA, an international association for the wireless telecommunications industry, acknowledges that "four major wireless carriers currently are working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) on a pilot project regarding expansion of the Emergency Alert System."
However, Dr. Peter Ward, retired after 27 years with the U.S. Geological Survey, notes the challenges still to be confronted: "The problem with regular SMS is that each phone must be dialed individually. Once it becomes popular, the system can easily be overloaded."
CTIA agrees: "Sending out a widespread alert via SMS can be problematic. SMS was designed to send a message to a single person or a small group of people. It was not designed as a broadcast technology, so there likely could be significant delays when it is used for mass emergency alerts. The carriers have been carefully studying these issues with FEMA through a trial with PBS, although the scope is limited to presidential alerts."
FEMA will not even begin to implement any large-scale upgrades to the national alert system until it receives results of its pilot studies a year from now.
But all is not lost. A bill was introduced to Congress just last month to establish a unified national hazard alert system. It has already gained support from key Republican and Democratic senators, including Sen. Jim Demint (R-South Carolina), the lead sponsor; Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii); Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Nebraska); and Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska). Senate Bill S. 1753 would provide millions of dollars, via the Department of Homeland Security, for research, development and deployment of a modern public-warning system.
Tsunami forces Asia's hand on SMS
Our government is lagging behind the efforts of governments overseas. On January 10, 2005 -- a month after the tsunami hit Southeast Asia -- France, along with India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Thailand, began developing an alert system that will send SMS messages to cellular phones to warn individuals of incoming tsunamis. Four years after the attacks of September 11th, the United States, a modern industrial nation, has yet to implement similar technology.
With government initiatives held up by red tape, a few are taking matters into their own hands.
In April 2005, Arlington County, Virginia, launched an alert service for the entire county, paying $100,000 in start-up costs and $10,000 a year for upgrades to the technology vendor. Despite the lack of marketing by the county, 2,200 people have already signed up, proving that there's public demand for the service. And the system works: A test message took only 80 seconds to reach 4,500 devices.
There's no doubt that SMS alerts have enormous potential to save many lives. Our government's lack of urgency in adopting SMS technology endangers the very lives of the citizens it aims to protect. Americans must urge their representatives to rally and support bills for a modern emergency system that integrates the latest technology, because without strong demand, our government is not likely to act any time soon.
Let's do something. Text message your elected officials now (or at least email/phone them).
Urge them to pass a federal emergency alert system for cell phones.
For contact information for U.S. government officials, visit www.congress.org.
Nihal Mehta is founder and CEO of ipsh!, a mobile marketing "boutique" that has successfully implemented over 400 innovative campaigns in the United States since its inception in June 2001. ipsh! clients include Kellogg, Reebok, HBO, SONY, BMG, EMI, A&E, Nokia, Budweiser, Warner Bros, FOX, ABC, Dunkin' Donuts, Johnson & Johnson, K-Mart, and Universal.
