Blog | News & Information on Wireless Services & Telecommunications
Posted: 07/23/10 by Jonathan Spalter
Lost your home to flooding, a tornado or other disaster? If you have a smartphone and a wireless connection, help just got a lot easier.
This week, the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) unveiled an addition to its mobile site allowing disaster victims to apply for assistance directly from their smartphone. FEMA's rationale is clear: In a life-threatening emergency, seconds count. Residents are more likely to have a mobile phone on their person, or may have just enough time to grab one before heading to safety.
"More and more, I think we are reorienting our focus... to really developing tools that are useful to you in a mobile environment," FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate told Politico's Morning Tech.
(You can watch him run a demo of the new mobile site on multiple PDAs here.)
Fugate added that FEMA is exploring additional ways to deliver services via mobile and GPS technology. The agency already processes an average of about 40 percent of disaster applications online; this seems like a common-sense way to further streamline FEMA's operations.
Furthermore, FEMA's announcement is a timely reminder of the lifesaving capabilities of mobile communications. Five years ago next month, Hurricane Katrina slammed into Louisiana. The government's disjointed response in assisting the maintenance and repair of mobile communication links contributed significantly to the extended chaos.
Three years later, look at the improvement: During Hurricane Gustav, wireless technology provided real-time communication links vital to the rescue efforts. Among the examples, Tulane University kept more than 10,000 students aware of storm developments through Twitter. Mobile users accessed Gustav-related pages on social network sites such as Ning for real-time news alerts, on-site posts, and videos.
Looking to the future, mobile platforms are already linking voice, video, IM, and other data for first responders at federal, state and local levels. Just think how first responders could use mobile phones and GPS to organize a large-scale rescue operation with a location-based networking application (example: BrightKite), which would allow authorities to divide a region into smaller areas, directing volunteers in each one as necessary.
This would be particularly helpful in the aftermath of a serious earthquake. As reported last week in The Orange County Register, a new early-alert system in the O.C. could give residents up to 70 seconds warning of a major San Andreas earthquake. Through the use of mobile apps, that would be enough time to slow high-speed trains, shut down power plant generators and take other precautionary steps.
The augmented incorporation of mobile technologies into government-led relief efforts is already saving lives and resources. In the five years since the devastating aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, wireless has grown up as an industry, with the government recognizing the powerful organizational capabilities immediate access to mobile technology affords Americans stuck in disaster areas. FEMA's recent addition to its mobile site is one of many demonstrations that the government takes seriously the positive ramifications of amplifying its use of mobile devices, which are now inextricably linked with the day-to-day lives of Americans.
This article was orginally published on Huffington Post.
Posted: 05/27/10 by Mobile Future Team
So far, cell phones have been able to handle three of the five senses — seeing for the blind, listening to music and identifying the song and vibrating to let us know that we have a call or text message. Soon, a fourth sense may be added to that list: smell.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is funding research that will allow cell phones to "sniff out" poisonous gasses and alert users to potentially deadly smells.
In a few years, who knows — maybe your phone will be able to smell the best pizza in town and direct you to it.
Posted: 04/30/10 by Mobile Future Team
Two hikers in Garin Regional Park, east of San Francisco, found out just how helpful their cell phone could be when they got lost after dark in a rugged area.
Using the GPS coordinates from the hiker's cell phone, a California Highway Patrol helicopter was able to identify their location and rescue the pair.
Lt. Dave Dubowy, a patrol watch commander in the Bay Area said:
"We tell people to always have a cell phone with [them]. Technology is wonderful now. The GPS capabilities make our jobs so much easier."
According to Dubowy, at least one hiker a week will get lost during peak months. He suggests that if you get lost while hiking, you should call 911 immediately for help. If you cannot find a signal, Dubowy recommends climbing to a higher elevation.
"Stay put after you've contacted police," Dubowy said. "It's easier for us to find you, rather than have you stumbling around in the dark."
Posted: 04/27/10 by Hiram 'Art' Contreras
Pew released a new study looking at how teens use cell phones. While much of the findings are somewhat obvious, what is interesting is how different groups and constituencies can apply the technology to communicate and connect with teens about various issues, including public safety and crime prevention.
“Fully 72% of all teens — or 88% of teen cell phone users — send text messages, up from 51% in 2006. Among all teens, text messaging has now overtaken every other common form of interaction with their friends.”
The recent Pew study clearly shows why law enforcement should pursue a strategy that encourages teens to use their cell phones to report crime. Since their social activities move them into various venues, more often than not, these young adults are very aware of crime incidents. The fact that teens are comfortable in using their cell phones and there is an assurance that their identity will be kept confidential can help law enforcement and the general public realize a great benefit. After all, it is only through an involved citizenry that government can assure a safe environment for its citizens.
You can read more of the report’s findings here.
Posted: 03/01/10 by Mobile Future Team
Earlier this year, mobile users donated more than $40 million via text messages to help Haiti's earthquake victims. Now our friends at the Mobile Giving Foundation, who spearheaded the texts-for-Haiti effort, are doing the same for the Chileans. All you need to do is text "Chile" to a five-digit number and you can make a donation of $5 or $10 to Habitat for Humanity, the Salvation Army or World Vision.
For more information, click here.
Posted: 02/23/10 by Mobile Future Team
“Along with the State Department, the Pentagon and aid groups, as well as Haiti’s leading cellphone carrier and countless volunteers, the Coast Guard is part of an emergency contact network for Haitians to send text messages requesting aid.”
Amid all the destruction, according to this New York Times report, mobile phones are helping aid workers’ rescue efforts in Haiti. The decision to focus on text messaging resulted from the damage Haiti’s telecommunications system suffered from the earthquake. Broken transmitters and overloaded networks made telephone calls nearly impossible. However, text messaging was still available.
Among the successes according to a Coast Guard volunteer cited by The Times, text messaging helped identify a tent city that the American military and relief workers were previously unaware of.
Posted: 01/20/10 by Mobile Future Team
Out of the devastation in Haiti have come extraordinary stories of survival. One amazing first-person account is of Dan Woolley, a Denver-native, who found himself trapped beneath the rubble of his hotel in Port-au-Prince. The tool that saved his life? His iPhone. Through his wireless connection he was able assess his injuries and diagnosis a broken leg.
Woolley used the light from his iPhone to show him his injuries and diagnosed it properly as a broken foot. Then, he used the instructions from the app to treat the excessive bleeding from cuts on his legs and the back of his head.
Furthermore, he was able to figure out his location within the building using GPS and find an elevator shaft—which lead him to safety. A true testament of personal ingenuity in the face of catastrophe.
Posted: 01/05/10
Ever see a pothole or a tree that's fallen in the road and think, "Someone ought to fix that"?
Well, if you're in Washington, DC, you're in luck. All you need to do is snap a photo with your PDA and using the city's DC 311 mobile app, pair it with a GPS location. You then upload it into a local government database. This also works for graffiti, broken parking meters and any other public nuisance.
Other cities from New York to San Francisco have also moved to harness the power of mobile consumers. The practical result, as CNN reports is that:
[T]ech geeks transform banal local government spreadsheets about train schedules, complaint systems, potholes, street lamp repairs and city garbage into useful applications for mobile phones and the Web. The aim is to let citizens report problems to their governments more easily and accurately; and to put public information, which otherwise may be buried in file cabinets and Excel files, at the fingertips of taxpayers.
San Francisco and other cities are trying to develop a national standard for municipal government data. That way, a mobile app that tracks, say, bus service in San Francisco could also be used in any other city. That could enable cities that cannot afford to develop their own mobile apps to benefit.
Posted: 02/11/09 by Molly Kocour
If you have a grandmother or grandfather, especially if they're living alone, here's a better option for Valentine's gift than roses or chocolates: a mobile phone. If the power goes out in Grandpa's house during a snowstorm or if Grandma's car conks out when she's driving home at night, a mobile phone could be a lifeline.
Granted, many of the small handsets on the market might not be easy to operate in dim lighting. But as Katherine Boehret reports in the
Mossberg Corner [Link] of today's Wall Street Journal, companies are
taking notice. Plantronics just came out with a mobile handset especially for seniors - big screen, large numbers, not a lot of confusing extra buttons. The handset will work on different carriers' networks.
Another option is the Jitterbug, also designed for seniors. You can't surf the Internet but for phone calling, including the urgent 911, it couldn't be easier.
True, a mobile phone won't float around the house like balloons but for their (and your) peace-of-mind, it's a much better option.
Posted: 12/16/08 by Jonathan Spalter
The incoming Obama-Biden Administration is pledging "a new level of transparency, accountability and participation for America's citizens." It's also promising greater international cooperation to solve common problems.
So here's a suggestion to the administration's incoming CTOs and CIOs that can address both worthy goals simultaneously: Start implementing the kinds of technology-based constituent outreach and services at home that other nations have successfully used for years.
Start with wireless. Several governments and political parties around the world have successfully adopted mobile technologies to deliver important services and improve constituent communication. Their success should serve as models for the Obama-Biden administration. Here's a sampling:
- The Department of Labor in the Philippines sends information via SMS to job seekers about domestic and international job openings.
- In South Africa, the Democratic Government leader launched an SMS-based service to keep in contact with voters, allowing them to vote on issues and ask questions in real time to government leaders.
- Using two-way SMS communication, the New Zealand Labour Party encourages constituents to question Members of Parliament wirelessly. Answers are sent via SMS and posted online.
- The government of Singapore offers numerous mobile features through its "e-citizen" campaign including SMS alerts about passport renewal, tax renewal, election information, and real time crime alerts.
Earlier this week, the Associated Press reported about using mobile phones to keep Americans informed about the spread of the flu, both through a WAP-based mobile site, and through opt-in SMS alerts offering information from the Center for Disease Control (CDC).
Of course SMS technology does have its limitations. It can't be relied upon to deliver time-sensitive alerts to a large number of phones simultaneously, and the traffic volumes created by widespread adoption of SMS messaging mean that new texting technologies will be needed before new messaging applications can be deployed. The Federal Communications Commission has been working with the public safety community and the wireless industry to develop a new system, using a new technology, for reliably sending emergency alerts from federal, state, and local government to wireless devices.
With so many opportunities to embrace wireless technologies, the Obama-Biden administration should look to these and other successful programs around the world as models for similar programs in the U.S.
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Tags: Broadband, GPS, Mobile Future, Mobile Future Board, Jonathan Spalter, Mobile Phone, Public Safety, Smartphone, Text message, Wireless Devices, Wireless Innovation