New Alert System

The FCC is announcing plans today to offer emergency text alerts for hurricanes, tornadoes and other disasters to people in areas where there is imminent danger. It's part of a new network called Personal Localized Alerting Network, or PLAN. Four cellular providers (AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon) are volunteering to start the service by April of next year. Some phones, (newer iPhones and Android phones) already have the circuitry required to receive PLAN alerts. Some users will be able to get a software upgrade to activate the service.