Early Mobile Alert System Seen as Key to Saving Lives in Future Emergencies

March 31st, 2006

The host to the largest mobile community in the world (www.sms.ac/corporate) has begun working with foreign governments in the hope that an early warning system can be created using mobile communication. SMS.ac contends that a mobile communication-based alert system could potentially save thousands of lives in the wake of a future tsunami, earthquake, fire or other emergency.

SMS.ac's (www.sms.ac) chairman and chief executive officer, Michael Pousti, says that the technology for a global warning system is already in place. "SMS.ac currently possesses the ability to send wireless communications to millions of mobile phone users in upwards of 170 countries," said Pousti. "Cooperation is now required from government officials to implement a rapid-response alert system that can save lives, today. In that vein, SMS.ac is contacting various governmental agencies to see what can be done to put mobile alert systems in place, in the near-term."

Discussions with government officials in Indonesia, India and others are underway to explore what immediate steps can be taken for countrywide rollout of a mobile emergency warning system. Pousti asserts that deaths from tsunamis, earthquakes, fires and other disasters might be drastically reduced with the introduction of a mobile-based warning system. The SMS.ac CEO states that alerts sent to mobile handsets would be far more effective and timely than traditional warning systems currently employed.

"Televisions, computers and radios are not always on and certainly not a reliable form of alert," said Pousti. "However, a recent survey of 50,345 SMS.ac members demonstrated that 87.3 percent of respondents keep their mobile phones with them and powered-up at all times. SMS.ac technology and connectivity make it possible right now to simultaneously alert large populations to danger at any time, wherever they may be. That kind of accessibility is not possible with any other medium or with any other company."

In a report published in London on Thursday by the UN Millennium Project Task Force on Science, Technology and Innovation, lead author Colestous Juma raised the question of whether scientific projects such as tsunami early warning systems are being given enough attention.

"The terrible devastation caused by the tsunamis last week raises the question of whether enough was invested in adopting existing technologies which could have reduced the scale of the disaster," Juma said. "In a knowledge-based economy, leaders and governments increasingly need science advisors to make effective use of emerging technologies."