Israel plans missile strike alert system using nation's cell phone network
TEL AVIV — Israel's military's Home Front Command has devised a missile alert
network based on cellular phones.
In May 2009, the command successfully
tested the network in the Turning Point-3 exercise.
"We realize that most of the people in the country have cellular
phones," Lt. Col. Uri Perez, head of the command's Teleprocessing and
Warning platoon, said.
Perez said the command has sought to exploit the huge cellular phone
coverage in Israel, with nine million phones for seven million civilians, Middle East Newsline reported. He
said the command would be able to warn residents of any area threatened with
a missile strike.
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"The chance to receive a warning is very likely, and it's a very
personal thing that no matter your whereabouts, your cellular phone is with
you," Perez said. "Therefore, we are moving in this direction."
Officials said the early-warning missile alert system would be
operational in 2011. They said cellular phone providers already possessed
the technology, and would be directed to sell only phones capable of being
integrated in the network.
The Home Front Command has been using the Red Dawn missile warning
alert for communities vulnerable to attack from the Gaza Strip. Red Dawn
has been connected to sirens that provide a warning of at least 20 seconds
of an incoming short-range missile.
"When I look at the cellular warning system, I can conclude that it is a
very efficient tool," Perez said. "It is meant to be an addition to the
radio and sirens, not a replacement,"
