After more than five years of planning, a first-of-its-kind national cell phone alert system is coming to the city.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg was joined this morning by city and federal official to announce the details of the new Personal Localized Alerting Network, or PLAN system.

The technology effort will send emergency messages to cell phones in case of a terrorist attack, natural disaster or other serious threat.

You won’t have to sign up to get the free alerts, but a special chip is required to allow your phone to receive them.

Some smartphones already have the chip, and starting next year all new phones will have it.

Officials say the alerts won’t be held up, even if the network is congested.

“If people need to take action, the system can transmit instructions clearly, accurately, and in a timely manner, which is something that could save countless lives,” said Mayor Bloomberg.

Those experiences taught us all and they certainly gave me a deep appreciation of the necessity of communications technologies in times of crisis and times of disaster,” said FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski.

The service will be available in the city and in Washington by the end of the year.

(Source: NY1)