The Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency will don the role of aggregator and gateway for a nationwide mobile phone alert system.

While it has yet to be designed or engineered as part of a framework created by the Federal Communications Commission, the Alert Aggregator/Gateway system will be able to verify that federal, state and local emergency alerts are sent by authorized senders. These alerts will be transmitted to commercial wireless carriers for them to send to their subscribers in specific geographic areas.

"With the American public increasingly relying on wireless communications in everyday life, it is essential that we support and advance new ways to share critical time-sensitive information with them in times of crises," said FCC chairman Kevin J. Martin in a statement from Washington.

"The ability to deliver accurate and timely warnings and alerts through cell phones and other mobile devices is an important next step in our efforts to help ensure that the American public has the information they need to take action to protect themselves and their families prior to, and during, disasters and other emergencies," he said.

The FCC in April adopted rules for the delivery of commercial mobile alerts to the public during emergencies (see story).

Per the agency's Commercial Mobile Alert System's First Report and Order, U.S. wireless carriers will be able to send timely and accurate alerts, warnings and critical information to consumers' mobile phones during disasters and other emergencies.

Working on specifications
FEMA, which has handled national crises such as the post-Hurricane Katrina rescue effort, will work with the Department of Homeland Security's science and technology scientists as well as the FCC on technical details to make the nationwide mobile alert system operational.

One particular issue that needs to be worked out is to create technical specifications that will allow emergency alerts to override and preempt non-emergency mobile traffic.

In its announcement, FEMA said it will interface, but not interfere, with existing state and local alerting systems.

Moreover, the states will determine and identify individuals who have the authority to send alerts for their specific jurisdictions.

The Commercial Mobile Alert System, as this alerts notification process is called, was mandated by the Warning Alert Response Network.

Consumers can expect to get three types of messages through their mobile phones and devices from participating carriers.

The first is Presidential Alerts, where national emergency-related alerts are delivered to the U.S. public that would preempt any other pending alerts.

Imminent Threat Alerts is the next category. This reflects alerts with information on emergencies that may pose an imminent risk to people's lives or well-being.

Finally, there's the Child Abduction Emergency/AMBER Alerts. These alerts are related to missing or endangered children due to an abduction or runaway situation.

"As the Commission noted in the CMAS First Report and Order, the existence of a federally administered Alert Aggregator and Alert Gateway is critical to the participation of wireless carriers in the Commercial Mobile Alert System," Mr. Martin said in the statement.