Advanced Telecom Services Introduces Bulk SMS Text Message Emergency Alerts to University Students
A notable event took place on the telecom industry front today when Philadelphia (PR Web) – Advanced Telecom Services made an announcement that it is now offering its mobile products for bulk messaging and emergency text (SMS) message alerts. This is an important development considering that during emergencies, SMS alerts are often the best ways of reaching out to the people and making important announcements. Moreover, 84% of the Americans have their Mobile Phones Handy 24 hours a day. Also, almost 94% among all the text messages sent are read immediately unlike e-mail and other modes of communication.
Text messaging has become the undisputed choice as mode of communication for teenagers including young adults. Almost 49% of the members of the age group of 15 to 24 say their choice of a cell phone is determined to a large extent by the text messaging features the cell phone offers. It is not surprising then, that almost 48% among all the written communication between the members of this particular age group commonly is done through text messaging.
Entities for public safety and administrative leaders have had to face a lot of flak, with regards to the things that should have been undertaken in a different way to prevent all the unforeseen horrors of the Virginia Tech tragedy. One report after the other have slammed these authorities for the failure to use more effective means, than e mail, to notify and alert the students and also teachers who, at that time, were heading towards the campus.
Bob Bentz, director of marketing at Wayne, Pennsylvania-based Advanced Telecom Services remarked that the Virginia Tech tragedy had many schools and other institutions on the look out for a better method for informing students and staff in case of such a tragedy taking place in the premises of their school. He further added that emergency messages (SMS) alerts could be the most quick and often the only reliable way for getting to their staff and students.
Bentz was quoted saying that his company could train the users on the method of using the TXTLaunchPad of five minutes time, adding that it was very easy to operate the features of the system.
A database of the students, staff phone numbers, their carriers has to be maintained by the school. In case of any unforeseen happening, the system alerts the students and staff by sending thousands of text messages simultaneously.
Bent said that he knew the dangers of promoting his product in the aftermath of the Virginia Tech incident. He said that he did not prefer to be projected as making an effort to benefit from the unforeseen tragedy that took place at Blacksburg. He added that after a heated debate, a decision was taken that if his product could save someone’s life then he would be more than glad to accept all criticism that was thrown towards him in this context.
Advanced Telecom Services and Spark Network Services, its subsidiary, have been mobile and data content service providers for over ten years now.
