FireChat Alerts lets organisations broadcast messages even when networks fail | tech$features | Hindustan Times

Open Garden has announced that it’s going to showcase FireChat Alerts at the United Nations World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul on May 23-24, 2016. Alerts, a new feature on the FireChat app promises to keep smartphones connected even when networks fail during disasters or network congestion. The technology will allow organisations and individuals to transmit messages even when there’s no signal on their smartphones. “FireChat Alerts is a new app for mobile devices and the web, designed for government organisations, NGOs and media to broadcast and disseminate ‘one-to-very-many’ alerts to mobile devices within a specific geographical area and period of time. It acts as a resilient large-scale broadcasting system, reaching people’s smartphones to deliver text and visual information including early warning, emergency and health advisories, as well as weather and traffic information,” said Open Garden.

FireChat has been growing rapidly in Philippines because of networks being unreliable during typhoons. But that’s not the only place FireChat has come to the rescue of those stranded in a disaster and disconnected from help because of network failure. During the Kashmir floods of 2015 and even the Chennai floods, FireChat was used for people to stay in touch and assist rescue efforts. Even during the march to condemn the Charlie Hebdo attack in France and Hong Kong protest of 2014, FireChat was the only way protestors could communicated. While networks get congested due to too many people gathering a small area, FireChat gets stronger and more efficient.