Download Is SMS Ready for SOS?

Is SMS Ready for SOS?
Terry McCabe
Airwide Solutions

Market leader in next generation mobile messaging and mobile internet
infrastructure, applications and solutions

Developing innovative, high-performance messaging
solutions since 1992

We are an industry leader in innovation, performance,
quality and customer flexibility

Serving more than 120 mobile operators in 48
countries

Leader in mobile security solutions (EIR)
53 systems in 46 operators

Strong regional presence in EMEA, Asia and
Americas

Market share leader in key strategic components
Confidential ~ Not for copy or distribution without written consent of Airwide Solutions
Global Presence – Local Experience
Espoo
Montreal
Burlington
Reading
Madrid
Atlanta
Dubai
Gurgaon
Bangkok
Kuala Lumpur
Singapore
Jakarta
Johannesburg
Santiago
Confidential ~ Not for copy or distribution without written consent of Airwide Solutions
Sydney
What do we consider an Emergency?
Natural Disasters
- Severe weather
- Tsunami
- Volcanoes
- H5N1 flu, SARS
Manmade Crises
- Terrorism
- Campus or workplace
shootings
- Child abduction
- Food/Drug contamination
Confidential ~ Not for copy or distribution without written consent of Airwide Solutions
What is the role of Mobile Devices?
Cellphones make Everyone Contactable

Penetration rates high and increasing
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Always on – Always connected

Network coverage greater than 90%
Benefits of Cellphone over other means

Personal and immediate

Demands attention and response

Allows 2-way communication
Confidential ~ Not for copy or distribution without written consent of Airwide Solutions
What makes SMS particularly effective?
Well understood and Ubiquitous

All mobile devices support SMS today

Network agnostic
- CDMA
- TDMA
- GSM

Viral nature of SMS messaging
Mature and reliable Technology

Not dependant on deployment of “next new thing”

Will continue to be supported long into the future
Share infrastructure with Mobile Marketing

Common technology, different usage model
Confidential ~ Not for copy or distribution without written consent of Airwide Solutions
Global experience – Local applicability
What have we learned elsewhere?

Many examples of different use models and approaches

Concrete cases of lives saved and property protected
Some examples…

Mountain rescue triggered by SMS

Emergency responders alerted by SMS
(www.sms-responder.com)

Other Mountaineers alerted to respond by SMS
Confidential ~ Not for copy or distribution without written consent of Airwide Solutions
More examples from around the globe…

Emergency Alert System operated by FEMA

FCC has approved nationwide cellphone
alerts integrated with emergency alert system

To be online by 2010
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Many universities in the the US have alert services
since the tragedy at Virginia Tech last year
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Commercial Tsunami warning SMS alert services

cwarn.org / www.tsunami-alarm-system.com
Confidential ~ Not for copy or distribution without written consent of Airwide Solutions
Why should the Mobile Industry participate?
Because it re-enforces positive potential of technology

This shows commitment to social responsibility

Deepens the sense in which customers trust the service

Confirms association between operator brand and safety
Introduces positive images of mobile messaging

Balances the “bad news” stories of spam, abuse, bullying
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Creates association between device and immediate
access to valuable data

As new delivery channels open up, these can be used
- MMS for Amber alert
- Location information to refine warnings
- WAP Push for detailed information
- Push-to-Talk to connect emergency responders
Confidential ~ Not for copy or distribution without written consent of Airwide Solutions
So what are the enablers are needed?
Burst messaging capability to reach subscribers quickly

Delivery platform that will support thousands of deliveries per second
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Network connectivity that will allow this to operate without congestion
Prioritization of Emergency messages over other traffic
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Prioritize and deliver emergency messages rapidly
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Maintain some person to person capacity also
Source alert and warning information from a trusted source

Using per-nation, pan-Caribbean, and global sources
Lists of communities for campus and enterprise environments
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Resort or Visitor specific programs
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Create lists from CRM systems
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Notification mechanisms for volunteer responders and civil defense
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Use roamer network registration to include visitors to the mechanism
Confidential ~ Not for copy or distribution without written consent of Airwide Solutions
What makes this possible now?
Network and technology evolution

Possible to create and maintain significant “non-commercial” capacity

COTS hardware and IP based Sigtran connectivity break traditional barriers
Campaign Management technologies developed for Mobile Marketing

Reusing the solutions developed for mobile marketing for particular application

Avoid the association with “spam” and the issues of “opt-out”
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Collecting the data from “welcome” to roamers builds additional lists
Location technology in the network

Whether it be GPS based or network timing based location is now maturing

Emergency applications of the technology remove privacy barriers
Public awareness and Government activity

Many high-profile civil emergencies over the past 10 years
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Governmental desire both locally and globally to be proactive
Confidential ~ Not for copy or distribution without written consent of Airwide Solutions
Example of Messaging and Location Integration
1) Create an alert
list via GUI
2) Target alerts to
a specific
location
(fetch locations)
SMSC
Campaign
Manager
3) After location is
selected, opted-in
subscribers are fetched
(MSISDNs)
MMSC
4) Push the alerts
to the gateway
for delivery
WAP Push
Confidential ~ Not for copy or distribution without written consent of Airwide Solutions
Gateway Mobile
Location Centre
GMLC
Alternative and Supporting Technologies
Cell Broadcast

Suited to getting information out quickly, but indiscriminate and limited

Lack of subscriber awareness and poor experience on the device and device may ignore message
MMS Content delivery for appropriate services

Enriched information delivery – graphics and text

Enhanced “Amber alert” to speed the recovery of lost children

Concerns over network congestion in 2.5G networks

Poor user experience on device and device may be configured not to download messages
Campaign management

Creation and maintenance of subscriber lists is an overhead

Must ensure that they are not abused and misused – never mix marketing messages with safety
Mobile Internet and WAP

May be a useful supplement to SMS or MMS (links embedded in the message – additional detail)

Charging and roaming issues will be barriers to easy deployment

Network capacity issues as with MMS until 3G networks in place
Confidential ~ Not for copy or distribution without written consent of Airwide Solutions
SMS as a tool to address emergencies
Built from

Existing, standard products

Already familiar to the general population

Uses tools than can be reused for commercial purposes when not needed for emergencies
Simple and effective

Create a partnership with government agencies such as CDERA
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Engage public organizations in the creation and management of alert specific lists
Supported by flexible, high performance technologies
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Emergency use above regular licence limits for platforms
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Full power of platforms available when needed

Regionally shared approach through and organization such as CANTO possible to manage
cost
Confidential ~ Not for copy or distribution without written consent of Airwide Solutions
Summary
SMS is an excellent means to support the population through a crisis…
People are already using SMS on an ad-hoc basis to deal with personal
and public emergencies…
So let’s capitalize on the tool we have for the community's benefit…
To take the theme of this conference…
lets “Connect the Caribbean” with SMS
Confidential ~ Not for copy or distribution without written consent of Airwide Solutions
Thank You
Terry McCabe (416) 830 8117
David Fisher (404) 402 4900
Carlos Guio (416) 618 1372