Patent ID: 7617287

Claim:
A method of providing an emergency alert message describing an emergency situation, comprising: selecting, by an alert originator, a geographical location for the alert message to encompass; determining, from a cellular network database, those cellular networks that cover the geographical location selected by the alert originator, each of the cellular networks containing a server for launching messages, and each of the cellular networks containing at least one of a Visitor Location Register and a Home Location Register database containing phone numbers respectively corresponding to wireless devices presently within the selected geographical location; sending, by said alert originator, an emergency alert message to the server of each of the determined cellular networks that cover the geographical location, the emergency alert message sent by said alert originator containing instructions for causing each of the cellular networks to query its at least one Visitor Location Register and Home Location Register databases to determine those wireless device phone numbers presently within the selected geographical location, and thereafter to initiate and deliver the emergency alert message to the determined wireless devices presently within the selected geographical location; wherein the at least one Visitor Location Register and Home Location Register databases being constantly updated in real time so that the phone number of a wireless device that roams into the selected geographical location is contained in at least one of the Visitor Location Register and Home Location Register databases and a phone number of a wireless device that roams out of the selected geographical area is not contained in the at least one Visitor Location Register and Home Location databases.