UCAC Paper No. 1/2009
Essential Government Announcement
by Short Message Service
1
15 January 2009
Past Incidents
•
•
, the
a
z
n
e
influ
To dispel rumours of HK being a SARS-infected City spread of ounces tha
nt the rtment ann hools an
e
v
April 2003
e
r
To p ion Depa
ary sc er Holi
m
i
r
t
p
To clarify rumours from the Internet about SARS in HK
East
Educa ergartens,
t
r
a
t
s
ar 20
l
l
d
M
i
n
A short message is sent to mobile phone users
w
i
h
t
k
s
8
all
chool 2008) till 2
s
l
a
i
spec
h Mar
t
3
1
(
today
Influenza spread prevention
12th March 2008
Early start of School Easter Holidays
A short message is sent to mobile phone users
•
ong
K
g
n
o
ce: H hartered
i
t
o
N
ment take the c
n
r
e
v
today
y
Go
a
g
n
m
o
K
nts
eside ck to Hong 0....
r
Evacuation of HK residents in Thailand
ba
9:0
flight ber 2) at 1
several days in early December 2008
m
(Dece
Informing recipients about the chartered flights schedule
Short messages sent to mobile phone numbers provided by enquirers as
well as all HK mobile phone outbound roamers in Thailand
Cooperation between
OFTA & Mobile Network Operators
2
OFTA
Bureaux
& Depts
Process - established since August 2008
Officer in charge to provide a message of
<=70 Chinese characters in length
Process Activation of Essential
Government Announcement
by SMS
Mobile Network
Operators
OFTA personnel to contact pre-assigned
personnel of each Mobile Network Operator
Each Mobile Network Operator to arrange
delivery of the prescribed short message.
Mobile Network Operators to send the message during prespecified time interval and report SMS statistics to the Government.
3
Process - cont'
OFTA liaises with the relevant Bureau and/or
Government Department, and coordinates with Mobile
Network Operators for disseminating the Essential
Government Announcement by Short Message Service
Normal Process:
Short message dissemination to HK mobile phone users, to
supplement TV and Radio broadcast of Essential Government
Announcement
Special Circumstances:
Short message dissemination to HK mobile phone outbound
roamers whom are identified with the help of Mobile Network
Operators
4
Characteristics and Limitations
•
Service offered by Mobile Network Operators voluntarily
(not required by licence conditions)
•
A single message to all recipients
•
Limitation of message length
<= 70 Chinese characters (or 160 English alpha-numeric characters)
•
Lead time for activating the dissemination process
~1 hour during office hours
more time is needed outside office hours
•
Limitation of SMS network bandwidth
Each Mobile Network Operator has its own limitation in processing SMS
A Mobile Network Operator may take several or up to ten hours for dissemination
of a single message to all subscribers
Dissemination of messages should avoid busy hours (e.g. when Typhoon
Warning Signal No.8 is being hoisted)
5
SMS to all mobile users takes time, Government
Departments may setup lists for target groups
• Government Departments to self-manage pre-set name
lists
Names to be grouped or categorized
Name list can be modified or updated anytime
• Messages to target recipients only
Message Delivery Confirmation feature can be adopted
International SMS can be used to contact HK residents using overseas mobile numbers
• Language variety
Avoid sending Chinese short messages to non-Chinese readers
• Prompt activation of the dissemination process
Reduce the number of steps in the process
Direct activation of message dissemination by message initiator
• Possible applications
Education Bureau to send announcement to schools
Social Welfare Department to inform concerned organization/individuals
Immigration Department to registered help seekers
6
SMS Solutions
- directly provided by Mobile Network Operators
• SMS for Individual Subscription Account
Web-interface for initiation of short messages
On-line phonebook feature
Grouping of numbers may be allowed
Messages can be sent to tens of people or more
• SMS for a large number of recipients
Computer software interface for initiation of short messages
Software installation is required
Web-interface, or Message forwarding by pre-assigned numbers
Dedicated System (SMS Gateway)
• Government Departments can directly request more
details about the SMS solutions/services from the
Mobile Network Operators
7
Summary
• OFTA continues to coordinate with Mobile Network
Operators to disseminate Essential Government
Announcements when required
• Government Departments are recommended to directly
set up their message announcement procedures /
systems
To accelerate the process by skipping the coordination steps
To effectively send messages to target recipients only
To be flexibile in message content and language
• OFTA will provide advices and assistance to
Government Departments
8
Thank you!
Any question?
9