2008 Woodie Awards
National Text Messaging Unrealistic
Our Opinion
Issue date: 4/15/08 Section: Commentary
Federal regulators approved a plan to begin a national text message alert system on Thursday. The government has caught on to the text message alert trend, just as many colleges around the nation have.
This is a terrible plan that will not work, and if it somehow does, it probably won't work well. UConn has had numerous troubles with the system and only around 16,000 people are signed up for it. It is unthinkable to sign an entire nation up for a plan that failed with less people.
The plan would use three types of messages in case of a national emergency. One would be a message from the president concerning a terrorist attack or something of the like. Another would regard "imminent threats" such as a natural disaster. The last would include child abductions or Amber Alerts. The plan is looking to be in place by 2010.
According to The New York Times, the plan was created from the Warning Alert and Response Network Act, a 2006 federal law that requires upgrades to the emergency alert system. The government believes that text messages are the best way to mass communicate in case of an emergency. However, the plan has proved nothing but faulty in past experience. The government should realize that even if they utilize this plan, they need an alternate system in case the text message system fail, which is likely.
Even with a vibration cadence delivery system that is supposed to involve an audio signature that delivers the messages quickly, the system does not look promising. Although customers can opt in and may not be charged for the costs, thousands of people won't be able to receive the message because of the same problems that UConn encountered. The vendors that will control the messages are voluntary so the plan is not even complete. Certain vendors are better than others and if the vendor is not adequate and thousands of people don't get the message, the system will be futile.
There are probably better methods of mass communication and although the concept is great idea, the venue may not be the best. Methods like television or even computers have a better chance of alerting the public to an emergency. Although cell phones are ubiquitous, they're not necessarily reliable. The government needs to find an alert system that is both functional and common, and cell phones may not be the right system for that.
The federal plan to install this alert system is shortsighted. The government will have to use other alert systems beyond the text messages to reach people. The text message system with all its flaws does not seem to be the best way to alert the nation during a true emergency.
This is a terrible plan that will not work, and if it somehow does, it probably won't work well. UConn has had numerous troubles with the system and only around 16,000 people are signed up for it. It is unthinkable to sign an entire nation up for a plan that failed with less people.
The plan would use three types of messages in case of a national emergency. One would be a message from the president concerning a terrorist attack or something of the like. Another would regard "imminent threats" such as a natural disaster. The last would include child abductions or Amber Alerts. The plan is looking to be in place by 2010.
According to The New York Times, the plan was created from the Warning Alert and Response Network Act, a 2006 federal law that requires upgrades to the emergency alert system. The government believes that text messages are the best way to mass communicate in case of an emergency. However, the plan has proved nothing but faulty in past experience. The government should realize that even if they utilize this plan, they need an alternate system in case the text message system fail, which is likely.
Even with a vibration cadence delivery system that is supposed to involve an audio signature that delivers the messages quickly, the system does not look promising. Although customers can opt in and may not be charged for the costs, thousands of people won't be able to receive the message because of the same problems that UConn encountered. The vendors that will control the messages are voluntary so the plan is not even complete. Certain vendors are better than others and if the vendor is not adequate and thousands of people don't get the message, the system will be futile.
There are probably better methods of mass communication and although the concept is great idea, the venue may not be the best. Methods like television or even computers have a better chance of alerting the public to an emergency. Although cell phones are ubiquitous, they're not necessarily reliable. The government needs to find an alert system that is both functional and common, and cell phones may not be the right system for that.
The federal plan to install this alert system is shortsighted. The government will have to use other alert systems beyond the text messages to reach people. The text message system with all its flaws does not seem to be the best way to alert the nation during a true emergency.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Rick Bowen
posted 4/15/08 @ 11:02 AM EST
The delivery of text messages can be reliable if the enity sending the text messages has gone through the proper provisioning of the short codes, is auditied by the carriers and the carriers are compensated for that access. (Continued…)
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