The U.S. government and the New York local authorities will soon have access to contact people directly on their cellphones. This technology will allow officials to alert people who are facing a looming problem. Officials said that they can contact individuals even in the midst of a chaos that may jam communication lines.

The Mayor of New York, Michael Bloomberg, said on Tuesday that the emergency alert system will solely be used during emergencies, for critical messages from the United States president, and to widen search for children who are missing or have been abducted – Amber Alerts. Craig Fugate administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Chairman Julius Genachowski of the Federal Communications Commission accompanied the mayor during the announcement.

The system is scheduled to launch towards the end of this year both in Washington D.C. and New York City. It is, however, expected to spread all throughout the United States in the next couple of years. Everyone’s cellphone will have to be changed with something with an encrypted chip that will allow them to receive the special messages.

Genachowski said in the press conference that all wireless carriers are expected to participate in the said program. Major players in the industry, such as AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, and Verizon, attended the press conference.

It was also highlighted in the press conference that cellphone users have the option not to receive notifications about Amber Alerts and from local officers, but they cannot turn off presidential messages.

Gilberto Palma, maintenance supervisor in the World Financial Center, said that people from his office will be very pleased with this innovation as they are still shaken by 9/11.