ALERTMADISON FAQS
What is AlertMadison?
AlertMadison is another communication tool for City staff to use to send emergency alerts, notifications and updates. In the event of a Notification Alert, such as a Declared Snow Emergency, you will be able to receive important alerts on your cell phone. All you have to do is sign up at My.cityofmadison.com.
When the AlertMadison administrator sends an alert, you will receive it through your cell phone. Read these messages promptly and follow the instructions. Additional notification may follow so keep your cell phone near you.
AlertMadison is powered by WENS (Wireless Emergency Notification System) technology, created by Inspiron Logistics.
How does the AlertMadison work?
When an alert is sent out, you will receive a text message to your registered cell phone. You may receive several AlertMadison text message notifications on your cell phone. (text message costs may apply; check with your service provider). Read these messages promptly and follow the instructions. After a message is sent, go to the additional information on the applicable City home page.
Who covers the cost of the alert?
There may be a cost per message for the receipt of a message, depending on your carrier's cell phone package. Please consult your carrier to determine what those costs may be. The City of Madison is not responsible for any such charges. Such charges are your personal responsibility.
Who sends out alerts?
Authorized personnel within the City of Madison will send out alerts. These alerts may go out to everyone in AlertMadison or to selected groups of individuals, depending on the type of alert.
What type of alerts will I receive?
You will only receive notifications that you have signed up for with AlertMadison such as a Declared Snow Emergency, Metro Transit Bus Detour Alert. To view all offered alerts, visit the current available alerts page.
Will I receive ads or SPAM on my phone?
No. Inspiron Logistics, the company behind the Wireless Emergency Notification System (WENS) does not tolerate spam text or email messages. Inspiron Logistics maintains an anti-spam policy as part of the compliance to operate with Tier 1 provisioning with all of the major North American carriers. Tier 1 provisioning is only granted to top emergency officials and the WENS system. This means that when the mobile networks are completely congested, the only messages allowed to go through are those with Tier 1 provisioning as a matter of priority.
Will my cell phone receive text messaging alerts?
AlertMadison uses the text messaging feature of your cell phone to deliver alerts. All cell phone carriers offer text messaging (costs may apply). Nearly all phones purchased within the past few years are text messaging capable. If you are unsure, contact your carrier to ask about text messaging.
What if I change my mobile carrier and receive service through another company?
Nothing. You will still receive alerts so long as you have the same phone number.
What happens if I change my phone number?
You will need to re-register so that you can resume receiving alerts.
What is text messaging and how do I sign up for it?
Text messages are short messages sent to your phone, similar to receiving a page. Each message contains between 100 and 160 characters, or about 10 words, depending upon your carrier. An example of a text message is the notification you receive on your phone when you have new voicemail. You may receive several AlertMadison text message notifications on your cell phone (text message costs may apply; check with your service provider).
Many carriers activate the service automatically. You should check with your carrier to make sure your text messaging is active.
How can I stop receiving the alerts?
It is your responsibility to sign-up for the service and maintains current information. You may choose to unsubscribe to this service at anytime. Please allow up to three days for processing of your request. Please note that when you unsubscribe from AlertMadison, you will be unsubscribing from all the of alerts that you had previously signed-up to receive.
- You can unsubscribe to AlertMadison through your My City of Madison account
What are the AlertMadison Terms of Participation?
Before you can sign-up for AlertMadison, you must agree to the Terms of Participation.