{"id":487,"date":"2011-05-11T18:29:49","date_gmt":"2011-05-11T18:29:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mema\/?p=487"},"modified":"2011-05-11T18:29:49","modified_gmt":"2011-05-11T18:29:49","slug":"new-york-city-unveils-first-in-the-nation-public-safety-system-enabled-mobile-devices-will-receive-emergency-alerts-at-critical-moments-with-potentially-life-saving-messages","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mdem\/2011\/05\/11\/new-york-city-unveils-first-in-the-nation-public-safety-system-enabled-mobile-devices-will-receive-emergency-alerts-at-critical-moments-with-potentially-life-saving-messages\/","title":{"rendered":"New York City Unveils First in the Nation Public Safety System; Enabled Mobile Devices Will Receive Emergency Alerts at Critical Moments with Potentially Life Saving Messages"},"content":{"rendered":"

NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg, FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, and top executives from AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile & Verizon announce PLAN at World Trade Center site in New York City<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n


\n<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

New York, N.Y. — Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Craig Fugate, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski, top executives from AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon and others convened at the World Trade Center site 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, at least two\u00a0calendar\u00a0quarters before the rest of the nation.<\/p>\n

PLAN ensures that emergency alerts will not get stalled by\u00a0user\u00a0congestion, which can happen with standard mobile voice and texting services. Authorized government officials can send messages, which participating wireless providers then push\u00a0using their cell towers\u00a0to enabled mobile devices in a targeted geographic area.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn both the public and private sectors, I\u2019ve always believed in the need to harness technology in new ways, including ways that its designers hadn\u2019t anticipated. The City\u2019s opt-in Notify NYC system is a great example of that: it alerts people to dangers and delays via email and mobile devices, and it has become a national model of emergency communication,\u201d\u00a0<\/strong>said New York City Michael Bloomberg.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut given the kinds of threats made against New York City at the World Trade Center, Times Square, and other places popular with visitors and tourists, we\u2019ll be even safer when authorities can broadcast warnings to everyone in a geographic area regardless of where they came from or bought their phone,\u201d Mayor Bloomberg continued. \u201cI want to congratulate FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski and FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate for this quantum leap forward in using technology to help keep people safe.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFollowing the devastating tornadoes in the Southeast, we are witnessing yet again the critical role the public plays as part of our nation\u2019s 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\u2019s way when a threat exists,\u201d said FEMA Administrator Fugate. \u201cThis new technology could become a lifeline for millions of Americans and is another tool that will strengthen our nation\u2019s resilience against all hazards.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCommunications technology \u2013 and in particular mobile broadband \u2013 has the potential to revolutionize emergency response,\u201d said FCC Chairman Genachowski. \u201cOur communications networks need to be reliable and resilient in times of emergency.\u00a0 The FCC is working with carriers to ensure that they are.\u201d<\/p>\n

When\u00a0PLAN is\u00a0operational, customers in an area affected by an emergency\u00a0who\u00a0have\u00a0a PLAN-capable mobile device will receive an alert of ninety characters or less. Consumers will receive three types of alerts from PLAN: (1) alerts issued by the President; (2) alerts involving imminent threats to safety of life; and (3) Amber Alerts. Participating carriers may allow subscribers to block all but Presidential alerts.<\/p>\n

In 2006, Congress passed the Warning, Alert and Response Network (WARN) Act, requiring\u00a0carriers\u00a0that choose to participate\u00a0to activate PLAN technology by a deadline determined by the FCC, which is April 2012.\u00a0 Participants that will offer PLAN at least two\u00a0calendar\u00a0quarters ahead of schedule in New York City are AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon. \u00a0Ninety percent of New York subscribers who have a PLAN-capable mobile device\u00a0in these cities\u00a0will be\u00a0able to receive PLAN alerts by the end of 2011.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

For more information on PLAN visit\u00a0blog.fema.gov\/2011\/05\/plan-another-part-of-publics-emergency.html<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg, FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, and top executives from AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile & Verizon announce PLAN at World Trade Center site in New York City New York, N.Y. — Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Craig Fugate, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski, top executives from  Read the Rest…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[90,105,107,197,208],"class_list":["post-487","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-eas","tag-fcc","tag-fema","tag-nyc","tag-plan"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t