Anton,

It is my understanding that ACCOLC (Access Overload Control) has not been
implemented to date in a UK major incident for health. The risks of
implementation, even for the emergency services, are considerable.

John Black

-----Original Message-----
From: [log in to unmask]
[mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: 03 January 2004 18:48
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Text messaging for Major Incident Callout

Standard procedure at large major incidents is for the mobile telephone
network(s) to be disabled bar numbers which are logged before-hand in
conjunction with the police.  This enables the emergency services to use the
network without interference from the public overloading the masts.

Anton
Staffs

In message  <[log in to unmask]> Mick Molloy
<[log in to unmask]> writes:
> On 02/01/2004 12:30, "Andrew Hobart" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> > Do any of the list members have any knowledge or experience of the use
of=
>  text
> > messaging systems to send a group message to mobile phones (not
necessari=
> ly on
> > the same network)?
> >=20
> > In the event of a major incident it is very time consuming to make
indivi=
> dual
> > telephone calls to contact staff not on duty.
> >=20
> > We currently have the facility to putout a group aircall message to
pager=
> s but
> > most of us do not carry these if not actually on call.
> >=20
> > However many people carry personal mobile phones all the time.
> >=20
> > =20
> >=20
> > Any ideas?
> >=20
> > =20
> >=20
> > Andrew Hobart
> >=20
> > A&E Consultant East London
> >=20
> > =20
> >=20
>
> Andrew=20
> there are a number of commercial companies who offer this service. Most of
> the main network providers can set this up for you from a database on your
> own computer, the mobiles do not necessarily have to be on the same
network=
> .
> There is obviously a set up cost and I was quoted from
=E2=82=AC1500-=E2=82=AC5000 ( di=
> vide
> by 1.5 or so for sterling).
> The EMS paging system could work out to be quite expensive to set up
>
> Alternatively if you want to do it without significant set up costs then
> hooya.com is a company in finland which has run our service for a number
of
> years. You have to upload the list of names yourself to a section of their
> database which is web based. You can then set up a number of lists for
> individual sections of your total database.
>
> In a major disaster setting you would probably be contacting all staff
with
> a request to come to work and possibly section heads with messages
specific
> to tem and where they should report to.
>
> We have found it very good for the commercial setting we use it in,
problem=
> s
> were generally rectified very quickly with a 24 hour contact person at
thei=
> r
> end.
>
> Using the traditional phone system at the time of a major incident can be
a
> mess as it can become overloaded quickly resulting in calls not being put
> through. Automated call systems will not get over this problem, they will
> just keep redialling adding to the congestion on the network.
>
> For anyone who has worked at mass gatherings such as concerts the cellular
> network can also get clogged up quite easily with large numbers of people
> trying to dial at the same time, such as ringing home when their favourite
> band comes on.
>
> The bonus of the SMS service is that if there is a problem with the
network=
> ,
> congestion or whatever, when this is even temporarily relieved the text
wil=
> l
> get through and your cohort should be ready to spring into action.
>
> The only major problem we have found with the SMS service is that you
canno=
> t
> be sure that=20
>
> * the recipient has their phone turned on
> * they are able to use the text service ( strange but many people never
use
> it)
> * that even if the phone is on whether they have read the message or not.
>
> Some of those problems we could not crack, one work around was to put our
> own numbers on the list then at least we knew when the message should have
> been received.
>
> The cost of the hooya service for non-commercial use is 4 cent ( 2.4p) or
s=
> o
> per message. For commercial use it is about 7 cent. You need a credit card
> and to purchase credits in advance in blocks from 100 up
>
>
> Alternatively there is a service available from cork, softtouch
technologie=
> s
> who designed a secondary service for us. If you want more information
> contact me off list.
>
> Hope all was well for christmas.
>
> Mick Molloy