Federal Amber Alert System

The Commercial Mobile Alert System, which is a federally supervised cell phone alert service, is one step closer to becoming a reality as regulators release the final rules for how mobile phone companies must use the service. The system, which is called CMAS for short, is a way for mobile service providers to send out mass text messages in three instances: presidential alerts, imminent threat alerts (i.e. hurricanes and terrorist attacks), and Amber alerts. The major mobile phone companies, Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint are already on board and should begin rollout sometime in 2010.

The system has its origins in the Warning, Alert, and Response Network (WARN) Act, a bill Congress passed in 2006 as part of a larger port security bill. It allocated $106 million to create the voluntary, national emergency alert system.

Since then, the FCC has been working with wireless carriers as part of the Commercial Service Alert Advisory Committee (CMSAAC) to develop recommendations for how to execute CMAS. The FCC adopted an initial framework for CMAS in April and adopted further rules for educational and public broadcasting stations in July.

With time being the biggest issue in regards to a missing child, any way to get Amber alerts into the hands of the general public is a big step into finding that child as quickly as possible.