CellCast Says EAS on Cellphones Easy to Pull Off
CellCast Communications says that, contrary to the arguments of carriers, most of the U.S. public could be reached with emergency messages using technology that requires only a small adjustment to their handsets. The small Houston-based firm has sold the technology to Einstein Wireless in Wis., which will soon use it to broadcast warnings to subscribers.
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Meanwhile, FCC Chmn. Martin’s office appears to be putting the finishing touches on an order on EAS requirements for wireless carriers. Industry and Commission sources predict a vote at the Sept. agenda meeting.
Paul Klein, COO of CellCast, told us the technology works by “broadcasting through the phone using an ability that’s resident in most handsets.” The Netherlands, where there’s a pilot of the technology, decided to require cell broadcasting for subscribers there. The EU requires that within 2 years carriers be able to broadcast emergency alerts to handsets.
Most U.S. carriers have resisted his company’s message so far, Klein said. “They think of SMS as 2 way communications, like you and I are in a chatroom, because they're in the telephone business,” he said. “Given the way they do SMS and given the amount of bandwidth they need to do it, they're right. SMS messaging is slow. Carriers don’t like this because they have a 2-way message paradigm and they have a lot of false beliefs about whether it can be done.” Klein said his company is reaching out to other carriers. “The carriers are coming in kicking and screaming on this but it’s not true that it can’t be done. It can be done on their phones,” he said: “We could be their best friend.”
Klein said officials from FEMA and from the emergency office of N.Y. Mayor Michael Bloomberg witnessed Einstein’s use of the technology during a pilot project. “Cell broadcasting is the quickest method to alert people of an approaching disaster and to direct toward safety,” said Greg Selig, senior dir.-operations & engineering at Einstein Wireless.