We have been talking about cell broadcasting since 2007, at least. The technology has been used in the US before, but it appears this was the first time it was used to catch a suspect.
Frank DiGirolamo was stepping out of a Manhattan deli on 37th Street and Seventh Avenue on his way to work when the alert went out. “All of a sudden, I heard the phones from people walking in every direction,” he said. “Even the fruit stand guy’s went off.”
There are three broad types of alerts in the national system: emergency alerts for storms and other threats to public safety; so-called Amber Alerts, which seek to enlist people in a search for an abducted child; and those issued by the president. Cellphone users can opt to block all but the presidential alerts.
To date, the president has not sent an alert using the system.
It is congestion free, as we have kept repeating. No queues., all get the message at the same time. Mobile networks in Sri Lanka and many other countries are CB ready.
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