Category: SMS

Trinidad and Tobago To Get Emergency SMS System

January 22, 2010 by Taran Rampersad

I had written previously about the need for Trinidad and Tobago and other nations to have an emergency SMS system in place prior to a disaster. I tweeted it, I tossed it all over Facebook, and I spread the word otherwise as did others. Effectively or ineffectively, I don't know.

On the heels of that, the Trinidad and Tobago Express reports that TSTT is implementing such a system:

...To better be able to cope with disasters, Robinson, said citizens needed to be informed of crisis situations as soon as possible. An SMS texting trial with local telecommunications provider, TSTT, will be unfolded next month, Robinson said. A major project to develop a Wide Area Alert Network (WAAN) is also in the progress of being implemented, he said...

Edmund was nice enough to point the article out to me on Facebook,and he asked ' Have they been working independently or do you think they heard your call and learnt from Haiti 4636?'

I don't know. And really - I don't think it matters... as long as it gets implemented and is usable. Kudos if they get it up before a national disaster. Well, other than continued parliamentary disaster...

So let's wait and see. Personally - I'm happy, but I'm waiting for the actual implementation before I celebrate.

Trinidad and Tobago and [Insert Your Country Here] Needs Emergency SMS

January 19, 2010 by Taran Rampersad

Imagine being trapped under some rubble with only a mobile phone for company. You could be hurt, bleeding, hungry, dehydrated or any combination of the above. If the mobile infrastructure is even partially intact, calling people on the phone would be limited by the likely overload of the mobile system. But SMS messages get queued. They also drain less battery life which, if you're stuck, could be very important in saving your life or the life of someone you love.

Imagine a SMS equivalent of an emergency number (like 999, or 911) you could send a text to - where the right people could get your message quickly. And they could get to you and those you care about more quickly. Simple, isn't it? 

As I mentioned on KnowProSE.com, Haiti now has the number 4636 for emergency SMS messages . It was set up after the fact by a group of volunteers because it was of use in communicating after the earthquake. The mobile phone infrastructure seems to have survived, at least to a noticeable degree. It's under very similar circumstances that one of my own abandoned projects, the Alert Retrieval Cache, was constructed after the South East Asian tsunami. It's basically the same thing - and it's a good idea that keeps popping up independently all over the world. I've even seen it done by UWI students for a contest last year - and they had no idea about the Alert Retrieval Cache concept. Here's a diagram for the reading impaired. {Read more}