Sprint plans Emergency Alert messaging system in New York City, claims this is only a test

Know those emergency alerts that always seem to crop up when your sports team of choice is about to score a crucial goal? Yeah, well they're headed to a Sprint phone near you, signature auditory tone and all. After successfully testing the service in San Diego last fall, the carrier's gearing up for round two of the FCC and Mayor Bloomberg-approved system in New York City later this year, issuing FEMA alerts from the President, National Weather Service and local emergency operators to over a dozen compliant Android phones. If you're sporting a compatible handset, you can opt-in for the service by either dialing ##CMAS## or selecting the appropriate settings prompt, after which you'll receive geographically-specific texts of up to 90 characters. And don't worry about dismissing these warning messages as any 'ol SMS or racking up additional fees, they'll arrive free-of-charge bearing a unique "vibration cadence" and inbox icon. Curious to see if your phone's made the cut? The skip on past the break for the official PR.

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Sprint plans Emergency Alert messaging system in New York City, claims this is only a test originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 17 Nov 2011 01:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/17/sprint-plans-emergency-alert-messaging-system-in-new-york-city/

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