Patent ID: 8368530
Filing Date: 2013-02-05
Classification: G08B,H04W

Abstract:
1. A method comprising: providing, at a network-based emergency broadcast information database, emergency broadcast information, wherein the emergency broadcast information comprises information about available broadcast technologies, information about emergency broadcast channels associated with each available broadcast technology, and information concerning which broadcast technologies or networks are supported by a first portable device; receiving, at the first portable device, the emergency broadcast information from the network-based emergency broadcast information database, the first portable device including storage, at least one telephony processor, and at least one broadcast processor; storing, by the first portable device, the emergency broadcast information in the storage of the first portable device; providing, at the network-based emergency broadcast information database, an update to the emergency broadcast information, wherein the update to the emergency broadcast information comprises updated information about available broadcast technologies, updated information about emergency broadcast channels associated with each available broadcast technology, and updated information concerning which broadcast technologies or networks are supported by the first portable device; receiving, at the first portable device, the update to the emergency broadcast information from the network-based emergency broadcast information database; storing, by the first portable device, the update to the emergency broadcast information in the storage of the first portable device; receiving, at the first portable device, a user setting, the user setting instructing the broadcast processor of the first portable device not to engage in emergency broadcast monitoring; notifying, by an emergency alert network, an emergency alert interface service that an emergency alert is being broadcast; notifying, by the emergency alert interface service, a telephony network that the emergency alert is being broadcast using broadcast technologies; transmitting, by the telephony network, to the first portable device an indicator bit on a telephony network control channel, the indicator bit indicating either that the emergency alert is being broadcast or that the emergency alert is not being broadcast, wherein information on the control channel is directed to the first portable device in the cellular network; receiving, at the first portable device, the indicator bit, wherein the indicator bit is received after the emergency broadcast information has been received and stored by the first portable device; enforcing the user defined settings associated with the first portable device by the telephony processor when the indicator bit indicates that the emergency alert is not being broadcast; requesting, by the telephony processor of the first portable device, the emergency broadcast information from the storage of the first portable device when the indicator bit indicates that the emergency alert is being broadcast; receiving, at the telephony processor, the requested emergency broadcast information from the storage of the first portable device; overriding the user defined settings associated with the first portable device to enable emergency broadcast monitoring on the first portable device by the telephony processor when the indicator bit indicates that the emergency alert is being broadcast; utilizing, by the telephony processor, the stored emergency broadcast information and the update to the emergency broadcast information to tune to a broadcast channel of a broadcast network upon overriding the user defined settings associated with the first portable device to enable emergency broadcast monitoring by a broadcast processor; receiving, at the broadcast processor, an emergency broadcast from the emergency alert network; outputting, by the broadcast processor, at least a portion of the emergency broadcast associated with the emergency alert on the first portable device; and reverting back to the user defined settings on the first portable device after a predefined period of time has expired on the first portable device.