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Today Sprint publicly announced the launch of a new functionality for its network: Wireless Emergency Alerts, which is the term many wireless carriers are using for the Commercial Mobile Alert Service (CMAS) / Personal Localized Alerting Network (PLAN). The announcement comes as FEMA prepares for the nationwide deployment of CMAS in April 2012. Sprint describes the WEA/CMAS capability as follows:
Wireless Emergency Alerts allow the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to accept and deliver warning messages to wireless networks from the president of the United States, the National Weather Service and state and local emergency operations centers. Sprint customers will be able to effectively and accurately receive warnings and safety information via text alerts to mobile phones that are equipped with the enabling software and based on their geographic location.
The announcement also mentions the upcoming testing of the CMAS system in New York City:
Later this year, Sprint will conduct the nation’s first test of Wireless Emergency Alerts in New York City, along with the New York City Office of Emergency Management, the Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Directorate, and FEMA. The test will deliver a series of different geo-targeted wireless alerts to multiple Sprint mobile phones strategically located in Brooklyn, The Bronx, Manhattan, Queens and Staten Island.
Prior to this official announcement, Sprint had posted an FAQ page providing information on which handsets are currently CMAS-enabled (12 in total) and how customers can activate CMAS on their devices.
Other carriers have posted customer-focused information about CMAS ahead of the 2012 deployment date:
- Verizon has posted an extensive FAQ explaining CMAS. The carrier currently has seven CMAS-ready devices, which can receive alerts in New York City and Washington, D.C., and will be able to receive alerts in more locations next year.
- AT&T has also posted an FAQ, outlining the NYC and DC markets where CMAS is available (same as Verizon). According to the site, AT&T’s first CMAS-ready device is expected to come to market by the end of 2011.
The fact that carriers are providing this information is even more important in light of recent stories of customers’ having received CMAS-like messages on their iPhones and iPads. Since we published that story, customers with T-Mobile have reported similar messages. Without a doubt, many customers will look to their carriers for more information on CMAS between now and the deployment of this system.
