[EAS] EAS in the County?

[Sean Donelan]

On Thu, 6 Jun 2019, Adrienne Abbott wrote:
> It's not easy to read a map while you're tooling down the highway in a
> rented car in a rainstorm, wondering if that message on the radio applies to
> you. Don't even think about looking at the WEA message on your cell phone...

Smartphones and in-car navigation systems have an advantage: they include 
GPS and the device knows where it is -- even if the user doesn't. The 
device can receive the alert details in digital form. It can process the 
alert and inform the user when the device is inside or outside the warning 
area, which implies the user of the device is also inside or outside of 
the warning area.

The downside is cost.  Are public alerts and warnings only for people rich 
enough to afford those smart devices?

Not an issue for advertisers and entertainment which drives most venture 
capital in silicon valley, because advertisers only care about people 
with enough disposable income to pay for entertainment.  Public alerts are 
a public service, which has a different business model.