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How many more will it take? (Emergency Cell Broadcasting)

[YOUTUBE]5GxbIn893MA[/YOUTUBE]

[Gerofil]

Le mobile... pour détecter les orages

Dans le cadre de l'ouverture au public pendant quelques heures de son centre de R&D, Nokia a présenté un prototype de mobile capable de détecter les orages. Via différents processus de miniaturisation de certains capteurs, il a été possible de les intégrer dans un téléphone. Un programme a également été conçu pour écouter en permanence les bruits ambiants et avertir le mobinaute quelques minutes avant de le début d'un orage. Inutile en Europe, ce programme pourrait devenir très utile dans les pays plus tropicaux où justement les différents orages font encore aujourd'hui de nombreuses victimes.

Mobinaute

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Mobile providers resisting SOS alerts

BERLIN: South Korea, the Netherlands and possibly even tiny Appleton, Wisconsin, are starting to use a little-known but widely available technology called cellular broadcasting to send emergency text messages to mobile phone users threatened by weather, industrial accidents or terrorism.

But the global advance of the mobile phone emergency alerts, which are also being considered by India, Malaysia and Finland, is being resisted by some cellphone operators, who fear government regulation, increased costs and legal liability from false alarms, experts said. Some carriers, they said, are concerned that the technology could undermine the conventional short messaging system, or SMS, which generates the bulk of operators' revenue from wireless data.

"Basically, operators have fought cell broadcasting because they haven't figured out a way to make money from it yet," said Gordon Gow, a lecturer in telecommunications at the London School of Economics.

"But it's really the logical way to extend early warning systems. When you're on a beach, you won't have a TV or radio, but you probably will have a mobile phone."

Cell broadcasting is a standard, but largely unused, part of every GSM and CDMA digital phone network that can transmit uniform text warnings either to all users or to defined regions. It is different from SMS in that the broadcast relays the message indiscriminately to every phone in a cell tower's receiving area, typically a 3.2-kilometer, or 2-mile, radius, without having to know individual phone numbers. A cell broadcast usually causes phones to ring before a 162-character message scrolls across phone displays. Callers must have their phones switched on and have activated the function to receive the messages.

"This is just the beginning," said Mark Wood, a spokesman for the Cellular Emergency Alert Systems Association, a London-based group of engineers and software makers advocating cell broadcasting. "The technology exists in most phones today and is essentially free. It could have helped save lives, for example, in last year's tsunami."

In October, the Netherlands became the first country in Europe to require cell operators to transmit government text warnings via cell broadcasts. The government paid about E2.5 million, or $3 million, to three operators - Vodafone, KPN and Telfort - to equip their networks for cellular broadcasts.

So far, the Dutch system has sent only test messages. But starting Feb. 1, the national weather service will warn cellphone users of imminent flooding or rising ocean tides in threatened areas, said Wim van Setten, executive director of the Dutch Mobile Messaging Platform Association, the public-private organization that is running the program.

"It took us six years to get cellular broadcasting in the Netherlands," Van Setten said. "At first, the operators couldn't see any economic benefit for themselves, so talks dragged on. But we kept up the pressure, kept meeting with them, and eventually they agreed to cooperate."

But so far, most countries have resisted cellular broadcasts, even after disasters.

"The mobile phone is best for peer-to-peer communication," said Gabriel Solomon, a director in London at the GSM Association, which represents 680 operators in 210 countries and territories. "It's not meant for informing the broader public. TV, radio and warning sirens are still the best way."

After two earthquakes killed more than 17,000 people in Turkey in 1999, the country's leading cellphone operator, Turkcell, created an emergency team with the network maker Ericsson to replace cell towers and restore service in devastated regions. But lawmakers did not pursue cellular broadcasts.

"Cell broadcasts don't work when towers are destroyed or rendered inoperable," said Muzaffer Akpinar, the chief executive of Turkcell, which is based in Istanbul.

However, Akpinar said Turkcell would work to equip its network for cell broadcasts, should legislators determine it was needed.

"Cell broadcasting right now is one of the biggest questions facing the industry," Akpinar said.

In May, South Korea became the first country in the world to switch on a nationwide cellular-based emergency system, paying wireless operators to equip their networks for broadcasts.

Since then, the system has been used to warn citizens of heavy snow and other adverse weather or emergencies, said Eunice Paek, an international affairs spokeswoman at the Korean Broadcasting Commission.

"The one issue for us is that cell broadcasts don't reach people when they turn off their phones," she said. The messages are not saved on phones so they will not pop up when turned on later if the alerts have ended.

Resistance from large cellphone operators is the main reason cellular broadcasting has failed to make gains in the United States, even after the government's much-criticized response to Hurricane Katrina, said Douglas Weiser, the head of the U.S. branch of the Cellular Emergency Alert Systems Association, who is based in Tampa, Florida.

Because U.S. carriers paid a combined $80 billion to buy digital mobile licenses from the government in the 1990s, Weiser said, the industry has been largely able to fend off government attempts at regulation. One rural cell carrier, Einstein PCS in Appleton, tested a cell broadcasting system in September and is considering installing one, he said.

Weiser is director of a Tampa company, CellCast Communications, which sells software letting mobile network operators offer location-based services to subscribers who, for example, want to find the nearest restaurant.

CellCast is trying to reach agreements with rural cellphone carriers in parts of the U.S. South and Midwest to transmit text messages from the U.S. Emergency Alert System about tornadoes, hurricanes and other weather threats. Weiser said CellCast aimed to get an agreement by March covering parts of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Oklahoma, Iowa, Wisconsin, Texas, Kansas, Missouri and Maine.

Once the public routinely looks for emergency broadcasts on their cellphones, Weiser said, some cell users may also opt to receive commercial services paid for by advertisers.

One possible service could advise shoppers entering a large store like a Wal-Mart, for example, which items are on sale and where they can be found in the store, Weiser said.

In South Korea and the Netherlands, cell broadcasts are limited by law to government emergencies.

Most of the digital groundwork for cell broadcasting is already in place or can easily be bought, advocates said. In the United States, Weiser said, a digital decoder that costs about $15,000 could take emergency messages from the Federal Communications Commission's Emergency Alert System and transmit them without delay to cellphones in a network's coverage area.

Weiser said some TV and radio broadcasters in the rural states where his company is active are offering to pay for the decoders to broadcast emergency alerts. In exchange, text messages broadcast during emergencies could direct cellphone users to appropriate local stations for further information in cases of severe weather.

Network operators are reluctant to explore the commercial potential of cell broadcasting, Weiser said, because many mistakenly think it will undermine SMS revenue. Because there is no law mandating cellular broadcasting in the United States, Weiser said, the technology must be paid for by advertising.

Cell broadcasts are scattershot, like traditional broadcast television, so calling charges could not pay for any information services offered over the 64,000 different digital broadcast frequencies available on most handsets.

"The problem with cell broadcasting in the U.S. has never been the technology," Weiser said, "it's been a question of political will."

Fonte: http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/01/...s/warnings.php

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Celltick’s Cell Broadcast Centre key to implement new FCC regulations for nationwide Public Warning Service (PWS) rollout

London, 7 October 2008 - Celltick today confirmed that its proven Cell Broadcast Centre (CBC) solution is ideally positioned to support operators looking to implement the new commercial mobile alerting services recommended by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

The Commercial Mobile Alerting System (CMAS) is a new nationwide warning system that utilizes cell phone messaging to alert the public of emergencies. The system is recommended by the FCC due to the increased reliance on mobile communications in times of emergency. The FCC has been working with the carriers as part of the Commercial Service Alert Advisory Committee (CMSAAC) for coming up with the technical requirements for CMAS. By use of open standards-based cell broadcast technology, operators can relay emergency alerts to their subscribers.

Celltick’s robust Cell Broadcast Center (CBC) solution supports the CMAS by ensuring mass distribution of messages with minimal network load, scalable to limitless amounts of subscribers, with an overload-proof system to ensure reliability. It also enables location specific messaging, allowing different messages to be sent to different areas according to the situation’s requirements. Celltick’s CBC has already been successfully utilised during emergencies in the Asian Tsunamis and in Terrorist events in South Asia.

Uniquely, Celltick provides a return-on-investment advantage for operators implementing emergency systems, through its revenue-generating LiveScreen™ Media service. Celltick’s LiveScreen™ Media easily integrates with the cell broadcast solution, allowing operators to generate revenue from mobile phone idle screen advertising and marketing, whilst still being able to broadcast public warnings when required. LiveScreen Media is a managed service that broadcasts targeted mobile content and advertising to millions of mobile phones in more than 25 countries. Using patented technology, LiveScreen transforms the idle screen into an interactive, personalized, location-sensitive media channel.



Stephen Dunford, CEO of Celltick, comments: “During emergencies, people are increasingly relying on wireless telecommunications services and devices to receive critical, time-sensitive information. We have an industry leading mechanism to distribute large-scale information, quickly and securely, when people need it most. We are proud that our cell broadcast technology which is already in use worldwide to provide commercial and emergency services can support the FCC’s goal of distributing emergency information as quickly as possible to the people who need to receive it.”

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Welcome to the CHORIST project web site.

The CHORIST project involves 17 participants from 8 European countries and it is co-funded by the European Commission.



CHORIST will propose solutions to increase rapidity and effectiveness of interventions following natural hazards and industrial accidents, in order to enhance citizens' safety and communications between rescue actors.

Mais Info: http://www.chorist.eu/

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Emissão do Estado do tempo via RDS pela Rádio Orbital:

De louvar tal iniciativa num país onde até o estado do tempo é cobrado pelas operadoras móveis e I.M. Isto sim um serviço de utilidade pública e de valor para o ouvinte.

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Mais um operadora móvel com envio de Alertas à População:



Cell Broadcast (CB) is designed for simultaneous delivery of messages to multiple users in a specific area. Where as the short message service “SMS” is a one-to-one service, Cell Broadcast is a one-to-many geographically focused cellular based system that instantly broadcasts voice, data, or multimedia content to a large number of people. The broadcast range can be varied from a small area to the entire network. Broadcast relays the message indiscriminately to every phone without having to identify and locate individual phone numbers.

For Oman Mobile subscribers, to activate Cell Broadcast for FREE, please follow the instructions below:



Go to menu, select message options
Make Cell Broadcast ON
Subscribe by adding the channel/ topic number you would like to receive as SMS as follows:

What are Channels?

In order to send CB-SMS, we need to define channels/ topics in users’ handsets. The channels that we can define are:

Emergency 001: Through this channel we send emergency requests such as evacuating areas etc.

MADA News 002: Through this channel we send MADA promotions and news.

HAYYAK News 003: Through this channel we send HAYYAK promotions and news.

NAMA News 004: Through this channel we send NAMA promotions and news “special campaigns, rate plans and products”.

Municipality 005: Through this channel we send Municipality information and announcements that are related to the city in which Oman Mobile subscribers reside.

Sports 006: Through this channel we send Oman national teams news.

Tourist Info 007: Through this channel we send mobile messages related to foreign tourists visiting Oman.

Corporation Service 008: Through this channel we send mobile messages related to advertisements and promotions.

Prayer Time 009: Through this channel we broadcast daily prayer’s time and Ramadan announcements.

News 010: Through this channel we broadcast business and international news.

Entertainment 011: Through this channel we broadcast fun and amusement news

Security Market 012: Through this channel we broadcast daily stock and market movers news.

Travel Info 013: Through this channel we broadcast flight and airport related information.

Technology 014: Through this channel we broadcast information technology and communication news.

Governmental 015: Through this channel we broadcast daily government and ministries news

Location Info 050: Through this channel we broadcast the area name where customer is located.

Note:

The promotion is valid until end of December 2008

Business customers including NAMA can use the service for FREE for the first monthly request

Cell Broadcast activation differs from handset to handset

Oman Mobile subscribers can add/ delete any defined channel/ topic number for FREE

The Cell Broadcast service is available in all governorates and regions of Sultanate of Oman

For more information please contact our Corporate contact Centre at 1235

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Cell Broadcast warning service in Japan

In 2008, DoCoMo Japan, will begin a severe-weather and earthquake warning service using the cell broadcast service. Data from the meteorological agency will be broadcast to phones from cell towers.

Included will be earthquake warnings that will flow from a new system introduced earlier this year that attempts to give notice to people in the few seconds between an earthquake striking and the strong shaking waves reaching people.

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BSNL comes up with location-based services in Patna

The BSNL, India has launched location-based cell broadcast services through which vital information and message can be given to all CellOne (post-paid mobile phone) subscribers in a particular or entire service area.

Cell broadcast services can be utilised to provide vital information to CellOne users about any disaster, disaster management measures or any other important information.

The location-based services include fleet management to enable subscribers to know the whereabouts of their vehicles, friends and information relating to whereabouts of users, traffic alert service, city sightseeing, emergency service, public safety, navigation, information regarding weather etc.



CEASA

Welcome to CEASa Nederland

Civil Emergency Alert Services Association is a not-for-profit public safety initiative based in Europe with authorized chapters worldwide. It develops internationally required trust protocols, standards, regulations, and governance for the deployment of the proposed Cell Broadcast public warning system known as Cell@lert™. CEASa sets stringent criteria for authentication of the message, authorization of the sender, and selection of receivers of emergency messages.

The membership of CEASa, which includes individual members, trade group members and sponsors, consists of those parties who wish to see mobile devices used for the purpose of public warning, and those who will be part of the technology chain who will make it possible. There is a growing number of nation states with their own CEASA branches, setting the best practices for each sovereign state, in conjunction with governmental institutes and network operators. All parties are welcome to join.

CEASa is a citizens action initiative. Originally formed in the US, the international branch creates a harmonized international channel-coding scheme, which enables international and cross-border use of Cell Broadcast in a multilingual environment. It also coordinates the allocation of channels for international purposes such as maritime alerts. There are active initiatives taking place in the US, Canada, Australia, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and Germany. Groups are also operating successful cell broadcast initiatives in Holland, South Korea, and Finland.

Networks such as mobile phone companies provide the infrastructure over which messages flow to citizens at risk. These networks will require assurance that only genuine bona fide sources will have access to their customers and that security systems provided by cell broadcast coordinating companies such as Backstream will prevent unauthorized access such as spamming.

User groups such as governmental agencies and citizens groups will want to make sure that any messages are pertinent, proportional and authorized. Accordingly a system of Trust Protocols sets out the Memoranda of Understanding between them.

Backstream is an example of an operating company which will supply the Cell Broadcast Broker (Message Creator and Dispatcher, MCD, is the intellectual property of Backstream), which authenticates users and provides the user-friendly maps and GUI which authorized officials use to input messages.

Who can receive a Cell Broadcast message?

Any one with a cell broadcast enabled mobile will be able to receive cell broadcast messages. It is possible to set up the mobile to only receive certain types of messages, e.g. weather alerts, terrorist threats, missing children etc.

What do I need to do to receive messages?

Identify your cell phone model to determine whether you need only select a feature on your phone or whether you should bring your phone to a Cell@lert authorized dealer.

How many people can receive messages?

There is no limit to how many people can receive a message; any cell broadcast enabled cellular phone within the cell broadcast area will receive the message.

Is Cell Broadcasting the same as Text Messaging?

No. SMS text messages have to be directed to specific cellular phone numbers. With cell broadcasting every cell broadcast-enabled phone in the specified geographical area receives the message. With SMS there is a significant network load when large numbers of messages are being sent, as each phone has to be addressed individually. The network loading with cell broadcasting is roughly equivalent to a SINGLE SMS message no matter how many phones are in the broadcast area.

What does it cost?

Nothing to the user.

How long does it take to send a message?

A message can be created, the geographical area defined and the broadcast started in a matter of a couple of minutes. People within the broadcast area will receive the message almost immediately. If required the message can be set to broadcast for a set time (e.g. 10 minutes) so that phones newly entering the area will also receive the message. Phones will only receive the message once.

Who is allowed to send messages?

Only properly authorized people will be able to start an emergency notification message. These will be people such as police personnel, city authorities, government agencies etc




ICB

The Cell Broadcast is the technology that enables an operator to broadcast a text information to the coverage area of an arbitrarily selected set of base stations. The technology makes it possible to separate information depending on domain subject and develop different channels to provide the simultaneous and independent messages broadcasting. The message is broadcasted at the preset time periods and may be received by any subscriber in the indicated region, if the subscriber has activated the corresponding CB channel on the mobile handset. By these reasons Cell Broadcast seems to resemble the information sources quite popular with modern consumers, such as radio and teletext.

The Cell Broadcast significant advantages over traditional transport systems are:


1. Geographical (territorial) broadcasting localization to the accuracy of the Cell ID: the message may be delivered to subscriber in the given region.

2. High-speed message delivery level: interaction with subscribers is maintained in the mode close to real-time operation mode.

3. Low-level broadcasting resource consumption for an operator: signal channels are not utilized, thus SMS centre load diminishes.

4. Domain subject channels development: the subscriber, who tunes the mobile to a specific channel, receives exactly the messages on the topic of their choice only, e.g. weather forecasts, or traffic jams reports.

5. Inexpensive contact with the subscriber: a content provider and an advertiser get an opportunity to offer their services using both inexpensive and efficient medium.

Interactive Cell Broadcast (ICB) has all the exceptional advantages of Cell Broadcast, yet at the same time is free of its major drawbacks — feedback absence and complicated cellular terminal setting. Nowadays ICB is taking the new efficient media resource, attractive for all of the members of mobile content market as well as advertising market.


i-Cell® (Interactive Cell Broadcast Centre) is designed to create, deliver and promote interactive services.


ICB key features:

Efficient usage of operator network resources for the bulk delivery of online massages to subscribers:

* Point-to-Area broadcasting technology
* Broadcasting termination and resumption depending on the operators' networking resources load

ICB advantages:

* Messages broadcasting to the accuracy of a BTS sector: rising the probability of subscriber's request in response to the online message, stipulated by the delivery of up-to-date content in the right place and at the right time
* Media-planning function support for messages delivery to subscribers:

* Schedule similar to TV or radio schedule
* Anycalendarplanninghorizon




Project cell broadcast

Mais Info: http://cellbroadcast.postbus51.nl/index.cfm