News

Personal Localized Alerting Network Unveiled in New York

Published Date: 05.24.2011

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Julius Genachowski, Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator W. Craig Fugate, top executives from AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon, and others convened at the World Trade Center site on May 10 to announce PLAN - the Personal Localized Alerting Network.

PLAN is a free service that will allow customers with an enabled mobile device to receive geographically-targeted, text-like messages alerting them of imminent threats to safety in their area. This service will be available in New York City by the end of 2011, several months before the rest of the nation.

PLAN ensures that emergency alerts will not get stalled by user congestion, which can happen with standard mobile voice and texting services. Authorized government officials can send messages, which participating wireless providers then push using their cell towers to enabled mobile devices in a targeted geographic area.

“Communications technology – and in particular mobile broadband – has the potential to revolutionize emergency response,” said FCC Chairman Genachowski. “Our communications networks need to be reliable and resilient in times of emergency. The FCC is working with carriers to ensure that they are.”

“Following the devastating tornadoes in the Southeast, we are witnessing yet again the critical role the public plays as part of our nation’s emergency management team. Making sure that they 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 Administrator Fugate. “This new technology could become a lifeline for millions of Americans and is another tool that will strengthen our nation’s resilience against all hazards.”

When PLAN is operational, customers in an area affected by an emergency who have a PLAN-capable mobile device will receive an alert of ninety characters or less. Consumers will receive three types of alerts from PLAN: alerts issued by the President; alerts involving imminent threats to safety of life; and Amber Alerts. Participating carriers may allow subscribers to block all but Presidential alerts.

In 2006, Congress passed the Warning, Alert and Response Network (WARN) Act, requiring carriers that choose to participate to activate PLAN technology by a deadline determined by the FCC, which is April 2012. Participants that will offer PLAN at least two calendar quarters ahead of schedule in New York City are AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon. Ninety percent of New York subscribers who have a PLAN-capable mobile device in these cities will be able to receive PLAN alerts by the end of 2011.

For more information on PLAN, visit the FCC web site at www.fcc.gov.

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