Technology To Send SMS Messages Is A Key Component In Disaster Relief

It's a little known fact that you can send SMS messages from your wireless communication device even if your cellular signal is not strong enough to make a voice call.

That's because text messages sent through the SMS wireless gateway use a different technology than voice messages use. That fact hasn't been overlooked by public and private disaster relief agencies and first responders who are increasingly relying on their ability to send SMS messages as a tool to mobilize disaster relief personnel and coordinate disaster relief operations.

The ability to send SMS messages really proved its worth during Hurricane Katrina, which all but wiped out the U.S. city of New Orleans, Louisiana and spread devastation that caused billions of dollars worth of damage and took over a thousand lives across that portion of the United States.

The U.S.Coast Guard depended heavily on their ability to send SMS text messages, when the message traffic on their radio communications system became too heavy, to coordinate their life-saving rescues by sending SMS messages directly to helicopter crewmen.

Military and civilian police, as well as National Guard and Federal troops, relied on cell phones to send SMS messages to coordinate patrol, rescue and anti-looting operations when it was discovered that each agency's hand-held radios were incompatible with those of other agencies.

Another major use for instant messaging during that terrible crisis was the ability for disaster relief personnel to send SMS text messages as a way of communicating with their family and loved ones who were at home worrying about their wellbeing in the field.

Even the American Red Cross turned to SMS and text messaging to mobilize their thousands of volunteers and to coordinate feeding and shelter operations across four U.S. States.

According to the people at SMS4pro.com, a company known for developing easy-to-use software libraries and applications that make the ability to send SMS text messages as easy as sending e-mail, "SMS is more reliable than either voice or e-mail communications because it doesn't rely on the availability of voice channels or the existence of mail servers to send SMS messages."

Even when used for sending bulk SMS messages, each message is handed off to the wireless gateway where it travels to the recipient's cell phone on the wireless carrier's control channel. The main purpose of the control channel is to keep the cellular network updated on a cell phone's location and its current status. It's the fact that the control channel is usually up and running, even when the voice channel is not, that makes the ability to send SMS text messages possible even under adverse conditions.