The mayor of Mexico City is planning a warning system that will send alerts to mobile phone users just before an earthquake strikes.
The quake-prone capital suffered a massive 8.1 magnitude earthquake in September 1985, killing thousands when buildings were leveled across the city just as people got ready for work and school.
“I think we will have it in place soon, because it is not too complex. We want it to be in place before September,” said Mayor Marcelo Ebrard.
Ebrard has adopted social media like Twitter to communicate with citizens whenever there is a strong quake or streets are flooded after storms. The government is in talks with telecom service providers to make the alert happen.
The network of Telcel (News - Alert), the largest cell phone brand in Mexico, allowed for this kind of quake alerts to users, according to news reports.
Ebrard did not share the name of companies which would be included in his quake alert plan for wireless phones. The city already has an alert broadcast through radio seconds before a quake hits, but it doesn't always trigger on time.
Mexico's telecom market will expand at a CAGR of 7.9 percent over the next five years to generate $34.9 billion in 2015, according to a new report from Pyramid Research. The growth is due to radio-access migration from 2.5 to 3G platforms, spectrum auction winners, and the entry of a new player increasing competition
The need for coverage and affordable prices leads the government to promote competition in the mobile segment with much more intensity. Two spectrum auctions took place in 2010, and the most important outcome is the entry of new player Televisa-Nextel, according to the report.
In other news from January, the municipal government in Mexico City will inaugurate clinics providing free medical attention on its subway, which transports 4 million passengers a day.The purpose of the service is to provide people with “free attention for the prevention and diagnosis of illnesses without having to interrupt their everyday routines,” Mayor Marcelo Ebrard said at the announcement of the program.
Rajani Baburajan is a contributing editor for TMCnet. To read more of Rajani's articles, please visit her columnist page.Edited by
Jennifer Russell
