Well fellow MoPocket readers, you will be happy to read that I just survived my first earthquake… and I am a bit shaken up (no pun intended). IDK about you, but the first thing I like to do when I am in a car accident or some other event that is upsetting, I like to call home and chat with my dad and apperently I am not the only one. No big surprise here, but after the 5.4 rumble, the phone system was maxed out.
Phones are somewhat working at this point, however the California Office of Emergency Services has issued a request for people in Southern California to cut back telephone use in order to free up the lines for emergency calls.
Spokesman Kelly Huston says the telephone system has been “maxed out” because of the volume of calls from people checking on their friends and relatives.
Some people apparently are dialing 911 for general information about the 5.4-magnitude quake. Huston said people should not do that.
Steve Largent, president and CEO of CTIA, just announced that they are reactivating Text 2Help for the SoCal fires.
The national Text 2HELP Initiative is a partnership between The Wireless Foundation and the American Red Cross that allows customers of participating wireless carriers to send a text message to the American Red Cross and make a donation for relief efforts during a major natural disaster.
Wireless phone subscribers can send a text message to “2HELP” (24357) containing the word “GIVE” and a $5 tax-deductible donation will be made to the American Red Cross for disaster relief efforts. Donations will appear on customers’ monthly bills or be debited from a prepaid account balance.
CaliforniaState officials said today that they expect to provide a cell phone alert system within the next 12 to 14 months.They are working along side the federal government but are prepared to move forward without them.
“With Bay Area officials leading the way, warnings about threats ranging from campus massacres, road calamities, wildfires and quake aftermaths to terrorist attacks, floods and tsunamis will come over the cell phone.
With utility regulators’ backing and no legislation required, authorities are planning to use cell-phone towers to broadcast tone and text warnings of imminent dangers to all cell phones and Blackberry-type devices in a specific zone. For example, the phone would emit a sound unlike the usual ring followed by a written message appearing on the screen.
Officials said the alert system would not invade citizens’ privacy, since it would be a mass message sent out to all those phones that had been served by a particular communications relay tower near a danger zone, without regard to who owns the phones.”
PennState is no stranger to technology.The university’s “PSUTXT” service, which began in August, sends information from the University directly to students’ cell phones, including emergency notices, concert information, school delays and cancellations, and sports alerts.
The State of Pennsylvania got straight to business today, a mere day after the shooting at Virginia Tech.State Rep. Scott Conklin, D-Bellefonte, unveiled a resolution requesting universities statewide to have an effective system in place to alert students of potential threats — and he wants to use Penn State’ PSUTXT as a template. Under the Reso, each univeristy would be required to have a database which contains instant access to student’s cell phone numbers and e-mail addresses. “Every student owns a cell phone and text messaging in the event of an emergency is the most logical way to contact them.”
Hopefully the events yesterday service as a wake-up call for universities all over the nation that they need to have some sort of emergency notification in place, just in case.
While Kathie’s article yesterday covers a lot of the deeply saddening buzz around the Virginia Tech massacre and the schools lack of emergency communication preparedness I just wanted to point out a few more things. One of them very very ghostly in my book.
Its an article from this past SEPTEMBER in the Roanoke which eerily begins with talking about a Virginia Tech University man-hut for a double murderer. The story highlights how while they relied on e-mail, the Web and messages sent to dorm phones to get the messages out the ability to reach kids on their cell phone was out of the question.
The article then points out that university officials at Virginia Tech already met with University text message provider E2Campus. But Virginia Tech, like most schools, saw this as to much of an an innovative idea.
“We will certainly be investigating other kinds of communications vehicles,” Tech spokesman Larry Hincker said, though he cautioned that a text-messaging system was still a “blue sky idea” that would take investigation to implement.
“Blue Sky” idea, huh? Lets compare this statement to and jump to yesterday and some little blurbs from todays New York Post:
“Before the campus alerts went out, students already began using their cell phones and text messaging to warn one another.”
I was in my class… two buildings over,: Michelle Billman told ABC News. Someone got a text message saying something was going on. After that, we where told to stay in the building.”
The only reason we knew was someone got a text message… no one was there saying “This is what’s going on,’” said Billman, the general manager of the campus radio station.
Steger said the university decided to rely on e-mail and other electronic means of notifying members of the university, but with 11,000 people driving onto campus first thing in the morning, it was difficult to get the word out.
Looks like someone’s idea of a “Blue Sky” solution actually seemed like the practical thing to do.
Rafat overt at MocoNews also thinks to think so. Besides pointing out the mobile phone citizen journalism that took place with a Nokia N70, Rafat also pointed out how NYC-based Rave Wireless, even has a blog on campus mobility. Its system differs in that, along with allowing text alerts, it enables college police departments to monitor the locations of students, both on and off campus.
The Roanoke article also lists more companies in the mobile university space.
But the crisis also speaks to a larger communication issue than just text alerts. It speaks to the difficulty that universities have in communicating with college students in general and therefore the concern does not just lie with universities themselves but with anyone trying to communicate with this demographic.
So if you are media empire, political campaign or non profit you may want to take a look at how kids on campus are speaking to each other (i.e over their phones) and start thinking about how best to go about with a mobile strategy.
GW’s University Police Department is on heightened alert. Students,
faculty, and staff are asked to exercise appropriate caution and report any
suspicious action to University Police at 202-994-6111. We also recommend
programming this number into your cell phone to expedite reporting of suspicious
activity. In addition, if you have not already done so, please visit the Campus
Advisories Web site (www.gwu.edu/~gwalert) and sign up for Alert DC so that you
can be notified immediately of important announcements in our area.
Also, tonight on GWU’s Campus, Mobile Monday DC will be hosting Rave Wireless for an event on campus security.Please come out to the MarvinCenter, room 309 tonight at 6 to learn how to make your campus a safer place using mobile technology.
First, MOpocket extended our deepest sympathies to the friends and families of the victims of today’s horrific events. Second, I must say that I am deeply appalled by this incident and deeply ashamed of the University for NOT getting this emergency information in the hands of the students quickly and efficiently.
CNN interviewed a student, Matt Taylor, a junior who was just a few buildings down from where the second shooting was. His class was going about their business as usual. They heard some noise outside and looked out the back window to see some police officers with assault riffles running by. They thought it was strange, but there had been a few bomb threats last week, so they wrote it off as nothing. About 10 minutes later, someone got a text message in class saying that there was a shooting on campus and at that point the professor asked them to stay in the room. When Matt finally returned home, the University email and website were down. The only news he is able to get is from the TV. Matt shares my disconcert with the University for allowing students on campus after the first shooting without giving anyone vital information.
“The one thing that came to a lot of people heads is why with the first shooting at 7o’clock this morning or whenever it was, why were we on campus at 9?â€
With today’s technology there is NO excuse for allowing these students on campus after a mass shooting in a dorm. Many lives could have been saved if these students were alerted to this compromising incident earlier and asked NOT to attend class. I understand that when university email is down that is difficult, but with the vast majority of students owning cell phones, why were they not sending alert text messages to everyone!? SMS, should be the new air raid siren. Especially when companies like Rave Wireless have been specializing in university and college mobile emergency alert systems (utilizing such technologies as SMS and GPS) as well as other university mobile services for three years now
Have we learned nothing from past tragic incidents? We NEED to get people information on how to remain safe and they have to come to the realization on where most people go for that kind of information. If students are becoming more unreachable because they are relying heavily on mobile devices then find away to incorporate the mobile phone into your university system. This is the University’s responsibility, the benefits will be immediate.
Virginia Tech, our hearts are with you and we are deeply sorry.
On the one year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina’s disastrous landfall on New Orleans and neighboring cities I find it suitable to call to your attention an article posted in Fierce Wireless about an on going debate amid an FCC request for comment on a panel’s recommendations after reviewing Hurricane Katrina’s impact on communications networks.
Apparently, the wireless operators want dibs when it comes to restoring power because cell phones have become a lifeline for many in the wake of natural disasters and emergencies. I also seem to remember friends of mine from New Orleans telling me that before they saw any FEMA or Aid trucks directly after the storm… the first tracks they saw were those of Cingular and Verizon providing temporary cell signals and repairing damaged towers.
Anyways, you see, the problem is that the situation really is that the wireless companies really are at the mercy of power and landline companies who hold the necessary infrastructure to restore power to cell sites and they are saying now way. I hope that is not just a jealousy play over cell phones stealing landline business.
In an FCC filing, AT&T said it’s unclear why wireless carriers should get priority over “tens of millions of other business and residential subscribers.” Verizon Communications says it opposes mandates that would “limit flexibility” of its response. While it does look like mobile-phone companies are trying to “muscle their way to the head of the line” of power restoration ahead of landline companies, as AT&T puts it, operators do have a point. Time after time we’ve seen people trying to rely on the mobile phones amid an emergency. One year after Hurricane Katrina hit, parts of New Orleans still don’t have landline service! Unfortunately, business interests and politics will play a starring role in the outcome of this one.
What I think. Well I have not seen all the data but from what I know the very fact that the places that have landline service would not be occupied immediately and the fact that most people would have evacuated in an emergency situation and be on the go (even when they get back), it might be a good idea to get the cell phones up and running. Also the fact that cell phones were somewhat usable during the actual storm (some people got camera phone shots and SMS’ out to friends) means that, it would appear, that at the very least SMS and other mobile services are more reliable than landline’s to begin with. I welcome your comments
While we are on the Mobile Emergency theme Mobile Crunch is reporting that Einstein Wireless has become the first US company to successfully demonstrate their ability to broadcast emergency alerts based upon the FEMA Pilot Program guidelines. That means it can broadcast emergency alerts related to life-threatening events including terrorist activites, weather events, fires, chemical spills/explosions or other dangerous situations.
Messages can be broadcasted statewide or can be broadcasted geographically in the event of a regional emergency like a chemical spill.
Using Cellcast technology Einstein Wireless transmitted emergency alerts across the state of Wisconsin. NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg (my mayor) and FEMA reps where on hand.
A little late on the posting but this service seamed like such an amazing, practical and obvious idea i figured it should be posted about.
“PowerPhone , a leader in 9-1-1 training and technology, has unveiled a new system for delivering cell phone photos from 9-1-1 callers right to call handlers.
After calling the number, if the person has an appropriate phone the emergency operator can send an e-mail to the phone, which the person can reply to with a photo included.
Well fellow MoPocket readers, you will be happy to read that I just survived my first earthquake… and I am a bit shaken up (no pun intended). IDK about you, but the first thing I like to do when I am in a car accident or some other event that is upsetting, I like to call home and chat with my dad and apperently I am not the only one. No big surprise here, but after the 5.4 rumble, the phone system was maxed out.
