Recently we saw this from the FCC:
… current trends in mobile wireless usage have shown continued evolution from a predominantly voice-driven medium of communication to one based more on data transmissions; for example, from 2009 to 2011, average minutes of use per subscriber per month, a measure of voice usage, continued to decline, while U.S. mobile data traffic increased 270 percent from 2010 to 2011, having more than doubled each year.
In short, text (SMS) is overtaking voice as the preferred method of communication.
But most emergency alert vendors are not keeping up:
First, some alert vendors continue to use email or other gateways, instead of direct SMS access. That saves money, but it delays the message and limits 2-way communication.
Second, registration rates for emergency alerts are still too darn low. We’ve yet to hear of any community which has more than a 10% registration rate. And if folks aren’t registered, their mobile number is not available.
If the emergency alert community is going to get serious about keeping up with the 21st century, we need to do more than offer technology. We need to change human behavior and get people signed up.
