Nixle is a very popular alerting site for local emergencies. Nixle sends alerts for traffic problems, severe weather, missing children and a host of other community emergencies. Because you register your location it is very good at sending you only alerts that pertain to your area. BUT, in spite of claims that the service is free, IT IS NOT! I noticed a strange charge on my cell phone bill, called "Enhanced Messaging". When I called NexTel they told me it was billed from a third party. I had it blocked (that was a three-month adventure!), and Nixle alerts stopped coming to my phone. And my Nixle profile page now indiocated my phone is blocked.
The hidden charge is buried in the terms of use under "cell phone charges" indicating you are responsible for charges by your mobile carrier. They don't mention that they will use the carrier to add charges to your phone. They do in order to send SMS messages to a phone. I found a way around this, signing up using my phone's e-mail address instead of my own, and not entering a "Cell Phone number" (whoich would incur charges). It results in EVERY message coming to my phone rather than just the important alerts, but it works. You may already have "Enhanced Messaging" if you use SMS for other things, so this might not apply to everyone. But it did to me and I'm spreading the word. If you sign up, look for new charges on your cell bill.
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