Lindy Alert costs a small fraction of what municipalities pay for their alert services. Having someone that lives in our neighborhood rather than a dispatcher in Missoula is advantageous!
The Lindy Alert service is an example of using Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS). Lindy Alert rents the equipment and software on an "as needed basis". Rather than having to purchase servers, rent a building, pay for the building's air conditioning, electricity, and IT personel to manage servers etc....it gets way too expensive!!! That's why DialMyCalls (DMC) is an affordable alert service.
What local governments pay for alert services:
Missoula County, Montana:
Missoula pays $21,000 / year for county wide mass notifications service through Rave Mobile Alerts. In addition, the county pays $10,000/year in 2021 Prices for Smart Prepare, a.k.a "I am responding" a two-way emergency service for emergency and quick response personnel.
Although Bill C. is registered with Rave Alert from Missoula County, he never received a text warning him about an armed robbery on Guest Ranch Road only a few blocks away as he was driving by on Hwy. 83. That's because his "home" address was outside an arbitrary "polygon" drawn on a map by law enforcement. The robbery was close to where he was and ATT cell phone coverage is excellent for miles around.
So beware that County Rave Alerts are subjective and based on law enforcement officers or others that don't necessarily know whether cell phone coverage is good or bad. They also have no way of knowing where the text phone subscribers happen to be. Therefore You may or may not be alerted.
In comparison, the Lindy Alert will be sent to everyone that is signed up: landline and text phones no matter where you happen to be. Read about the robbery and high-speed chase: Pathfinder Article
Evacuees Describe Flathead Lake Fire August 3rd, 2021 Missoulian
No one had warned McKain to evacuate. She immediately called the sheriff’s office and told them her address.
“And he went, ‘get out now!’” McKain said.
Survivors said they were not warned.
Mobile County Alabama, Buys Emergency Notification System
$38,800 first year then $34,000 each subsequent year.
Summit County Colorado Reverse 911 Cost
$15,000 to set up then $1,300 / month in recurring monthly fees.
Calling All Citizens
The overall cost of a reverse 911 system varies depending on what features a department selects. Carmel, Indiana, for example, spent about $29,000 to buy and install the hardware and software. After that, the city will pay $13,700 annually. DuPage County also spent around $30,000 to install the equipment in 1996, and has since been spending around $11,000 annually. But a system can also cost as much as $69,000, which is what Austin paid to install its system this April. The city estimates it will cost about $16,000 annually.
Black Hills Pioneer
The cost is just under $7,000 a year for 12,500 minutes, said Rafferty.
Note: It's diffficult to find out what counties pay for reverse 911 or alert services. Very little is published and takes lots of research to find out.