Sprint Nextel begins testing emergency alerts

Sprint Nextel Corp. has become the first national mobile-phone operator to embrace targeted emergency-alert technology, choosing SquareLoop Inc.’s solution for testing in Contra Costa County, Calif., in advance of a wide-scale deployment on the No. 3 carrier’s CDMA and iDEN wireless networks.
“Sprint is excited to be the first wireless carrier to offer its customers the full capabilities of the SquareLoop technology,” said Chris Hackett, VP of Public Sector Sales Programs at Sprint Nextel. “This partnership reflects Sprint’s commitment to improve the customer experience by optimizing the delivery path for critical public-safety text alerts to Sprint customers, allowing them to reliably receive these alerts when and where they are most needed.”
SquareLoop, led by former wireless industry association chief Tom Stroup, said its local-based technology enables public- and private-sector officials to send geographically targeted messages to subscribers based on their actual location. SquareLoop said its offering raises no privacy concerns, unlike other location-services applications, because the Reston, Va.-based firm’s technology rests in the handset. The company said other features of its offering include special alert tones, support for multiple languages, message groups and a text-to-speech version that allows delivery of a message as an audio file.
“SquareLoop’s geographically targeted alert system increases the relevancy of every mobile alert sent and the chances of that message being acted upon,” said Tom Stroup, CEO of SquareLoop. “We are pleased to work with Sprint to implement a new standard for emergency messaging that enables location-based delivery of messages without the need for tracking wireless subscribers.”
The Federal Communications Communication is working with industry to develop technical standards for mobile-phone warning systems, but the legislation underlying that effort gives cellular carriers the option of whether to offer such service to subscribers.
“Contra Costa County offers one of the finest public warning systems in the country and the addition of SquareLoop’s capabilities is the next big step to ensure the safety of our residents,” said Art Botterell, Community Warning System manager for the Office of the Sheriff of Contra Costa County. “We now have even greater ability to communicate with specific information and in specific locations, without compromising the privacy of our citizens.”