December 23, 2005
Quake-alarm cell phone to be tested
The Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry in Japan plans to develop an emergency-broadcast system capable of automatically turning on cell phones so it can send a warning alarm and information to them in case of a major earthquake or other natural disaster, informs Daily Yomiuri.
The ministry is planning to start testing the system, which uses a digital terrestrial television broadcasting signal, before March 31, and it hopes to be able to put it into practice within a few years.d.
Cell phone users would receive useful data, including information about disasters, and evacuation instructions and routes. The ministry believes SMS would help people evacuate a disaster area safely and, in doing so, prevent a disaster situation from worsening.
The ministry plans to test the system in Sapporo in April 2006, piggybacking a new broadcasting system, called One Seg, that is being set up to enable television programs to be played on cell phones.
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