Overview
HSL Mobileās AlertBroadcast solution is an effective two-way SMS alert system between a controller and a team. Send an SMS broadcast to alert a team in an emergency situation or with time critical information. Broadcasts can be sent simply by sending an SMS from your mobile.
Obtaining an AlertBroadcast account
Using AlertBroadcast requires an Advanced Services account from HSL Mobile.
Once an application for service has been processed, clients receive their broadcast and alert numbers, and HSL Mobile Client Support Site (CSS) portal login details to manage their account.
Benefits of AlertBroadcast
This service is a simple yet highly effective communication tool which enables clients to send critical alert notifications to their team members quickly and reliably.
- Solution is easy to use and effective
- Quickly and dependably send alert notifications to team members
- Replies to alerts can be received by controller
- No internet connection required
Example Uses
- Call out emergency team members (e.g. search and rescue)
- Notify foreign nationals of security developments within the country (e.g. embassy)
- Contact school staff and parents of pupils to notify of school closure
- Update field sales teams of immediate pricing fluctuations, sales results or product availability issues
Features
ā¢ Messages can be sent as SMS and without the need for an Internet connection
ā¢ Broadcast to team members is immediate and within a handful of seconds from when message is sent by controller
ā¢ An AlertBroadcast account can have multiple broadcast/alert numbers to support multiple teams
ā¢ Team members can reply or create a new message to be sent to the controller
ā¢ Highly reliable managed SMS service
ā¢ 24x7 telephone and email support available
ā¢ Service levels to suit customer needs
Support
If you require any assistance in using AlertBroadcast, our Support team is available to help you. They can be contacted by telephone on +44(0)1506605260 or 01506605260 option 2 or by email to support@hslmobile.com.
1. Roles
Using the HSL Mobile Client Support Site (CSS) at https://clients.haysystems.com/CSS/ the client administrator will maintain two separate distribution lists of mobile numbers for:
- the current Controller, and
- Team Members.
The Controller is the mobile number of the person who sends messages using AlertBroadcast to the Team Members. Team Members are the mobile numbers of the people who are to receive messages from the Controller.
2. AlertBroadcast's service numbers
HSL Mobile allocates two mobile phone numbers to the client for use with their AlertBroadcast account: a āBroadcastā number and an āAlertā number. These numbers are described below:
ā¢ āBroadcastā number ā the mobile number to which a Controller sends a message for delivery (or ābroadcastā) to all intended recipients (i.e. mobile numbers of Team Members).
ā¢ āAlertā number ā the mobile number from where team members will receive broadcasts from the Controller and can respond back to the Controller via that number.
3. Sending a message using AlertBroadcast
The current controller sends the message they wish the Team Members to receive to the Broadcast number. On receiving the message from the controller via the Broadcast number, AlertBroadcast will check the controller's number against the Controller and Team Members distribution lists to ensure that they are in at least one of those lists. Diagram 1a shows the message being sent by the Controller to the Broadcast number.
If the sender of the message received by the Broadcast number is not the current Controller or a Team Member then the message is ignored and is not broadcast to the Team Members.
Diagram 1a - controller sends message to broadcast number
A message sent by the current Controller to the Broadcast number will then immediately be re-sent without change to all the mobile numbers in the Team Members list (as shown in diagram 1b below). Team members will see the Alert number as the sender of these messages.
Diagram 1b - controller's message is sent from alert number to team
Any replies by team members to the Alert number will be sent automatically to the current controllerās mobile phone number (as shown in diagram 2 below).
Diagram 2 - reply (or new message) from team member to controller
All SMS messages sent and received can be logged with date, time, source and destination mobile number and message content. Logs are then visible to the clientās administrators via the CSS.
4. Changing team members and controller
When entering mobile numbers into these lists the number should be specified in international format and start with the country code. In the case of UK number 07765 123 456 this number would be entered as 447765123456.
Using the Controller's mobile phone (optional)
Team members can be added and removed from the āSMS broadcast recipientsā list by sending text commands from the Controller's mobile phone to the "Broadcast" number.
To add a person to the list send the word "ADD" followed by their mobile number and name:
ADD 447700123456 Mark
To remove a person from the list send the word "REMOVE" followed by their mobile number:
REMOVE 447700123456
Using the Client Support Site (CSS) at https://clients.haysystems.com/CSS/
The CSS allows the list of team members to be edited and also is a means of selecting the current controller. URL and login details for the CSS will be provided once the account is set up. Please note that Usernames and Passwords will also be issued at this time, but separately.
To access the distribution lists, move to the Services section and click on āDistribution Listsā. This will reveal your list for āSMS broadcast recipientsā and your āCurrent controller.ā
ā¢ The intended broadcast recipients are listed in the SMS broadcast recipients list.
ā¢ The current controller, to whom all messages sent to the āAlertā number will be sent, is listed in the Current controller list.
5. Changing the Controller - using a mobile
The current controller can also be automatically set by any mobile number in the Team Members list who sends a message to the Broadcast number. Their message will be sent to Team Members and also set them as the new Controller. This is the default behaviour and can be changed on request to HSL Support. A message can optionally be sent to the old Controller to advise that they are no longer the Controller.
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