FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to the field of message broadcasting systems and more specifically to the field of message broadcasting systems receiving the message to be broadcasted from remote sources.
DEFINITIONS
Telecommunication network A telecommunications network is a network of telecommunication links and nodes interconnected to transmit data from one part of the network to another.
Mobile device: A portable device enabled to communicate with other devices in a telecommunication network for the transfer of data. Examples of communication device include , but are not limited to, voice phone, cordless phone, mobile phone. Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), pager, notebook PC, ultra-mobile PC.
Fixed line telephone: A telephone device in a public switched telephone network (PSTN) enabled to communicate with other devices of a telecommunication network.
User: Any person using a mobile device or fixed line telephone to communicate of a telecommunication network.
BACKGROUND
There could be several circumstances when broadcasting a message become necessary in a specific geographical location. The message could be an announcement related to natural calamities (for e.g. fire, tsunami, flood, hurricane, and earthquake), national emergency (for e.g. war, riots, and curfew), advertisements (promoting products and services) and the like. The objective of such announcements is to inform the potentially affected people about the event in advance.
Common systems that broadcast emergency messages include the use of loudspeakers for the purpose. The message is generally announced by a person (announcer) present at the site where the announcement is being made. The announcer speaks through a microphone and the message is heard by the targeted persons. A major drawback in the system is that it requires an announcer to be present at the time and location of the outbreak of the emergency to communicate

the emergency message. In case the announcer is not present or can not be contacted, chances are that the message can not reach the targeted people.
Other methods of broadcasting emergency messages include the conventional methods of sending radio signals. These radio signals contain emergency messages. These emergency messages can be received by the targeted people on their radio or television sets. A major drawback in this method is the essential requirement for the radio or television set to be switched on at the transmission time to make the receipt of the emergency message possible. Many a times, it may happen that neither the radio set nor the television set of a targeted recipient is switched on. This may lead to the failure of communication of the emergency message to all the targeted people.
US patent number US6510207 B1 titled 'Voice Messaging System Storage for Emergency Alert System Warnings discloses a system which receives and decodes Emergency Alert Signals. The message contained in the signals is then recorded in the voice message system (e.g. answering machine). The message thus, lends itself to be recorded. The system further allows either simultaneous recording and playback or playback at a later time. The system may also, emulate a phone call and play the emergency message after the phone has been answered.
A major limitation of the system is that a person must install such a system at his/her home or office to be warned of an impending emergency. There are circumstances when the emergency message must be broadcasted without loss of time. For example, message of outbreak of a war or a calamity like tsunami must be broadcasted with least delay to minimize casualties. In such cases, generating an Emergency Alert Signal containing the emergency message may result in loss of crucial time.
US publication number 2005/0013418 A1 titled 'Emergency Notification Systems', discloses a method by which potential victims of danger can be contacted over their telephone to transmit message regarding an impending danger. The system comprises a Central Emergency Coordination Centre (CECC) which receives information specific to the nature and location of the emergency. This is communicated to the concerned Regional Emergency Coordination Centre (RECC). The RECCs which receive the emergency message have a list of telephone numbers of the people who are likely to be affected by the emergency. These

RECCs call the concerned telephone numbers and transmits the message. If the telephone line is busy, the message is re-queued till the message is delivered.
The abovementioned method and system ensure the broadcast of emergency messages to the concerned people who have a telephone connection. Although, the reach of the telecommunication Infrastructure has been rapidly increasing, not all people have access to telephones, especially in the rural areas. Thus, an emergency message may not reach all the people who are likely to be affected by an emergency.
In cases when the emergency message must be broadcasted without any delay, generating an emergency message, feeding the message in a central server, transmitting the emergency message to regional servers and eventually broadcasting it to the concerned people can be time consuming. This may prove detrimental to the lives of a large number of people.
Hence, there is a need to broadcast an emergency message to all the concerned people as quickly as possible. Furthermore, the system needs to be automated to minimize human intervention and make the process faster.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A system and method for broadcasting an announcement message using a telecommunication network. The system comprises a sending terminal to send the announcement notification, a base terminal to receive the announcement notification and acquire the announcement message from the announcement notification and an announcement terminal to announce the announcement message to the targeted audience. The base terminal is equipped with a GPS device to track its position and a diagnostic apparatus to identify problems, if any with the announcement terminal.
In an embodiment of the invention, a user calls the base terminal. The announcement message is communicated to the base terminal during the call. The announcement message is received and announced simultaneously to the targeted audience.
In another embodiment of the invention, the user sends a push message, for example an SMS, to the base terminal. The SMS comprises the address (eg URL) from where the announcement message can be retrieved. The base terminal accesses the address and downloads the file containing the announcement

message. The announcement message is announced through the announcement terminal to the targeted audience.
In another embodiment of the invention, the user calls the base terminal. During the call, the announcement message, time when the announcement has to be played and number of times the announcement message has to be played is communicated to the base terminal. Based on this information, the announcement message is announced through the announcement terminal to the targeted audience.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a block diagram depicting the environment in which the system of the invention works, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 2 is a flowchart depicting the steps involved in the broadcasting of an announcement message using a telecommunication network, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 3A is a block diagram depicting the base terminal, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 38 is a block diagram depicting the base terminal, in accordance with an alternative embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 4 is a flowchart depicting the steps involved in the broadcasting of an announcement message using a telecommunication network, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention; and
FIG. 5 is a flowchart depicting the steps involved in the broadcasting of an announcement message in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The present invention discloses a method and a system for broadcasting an announcement message over a telecommunication network.
In an embodiment of the invention a user calls the system over the telecommunication network. The announcement message communicated to the system by the user can be received and announced at the same time by the system. This is also called live announcement of the announcement message.

In another embodiment of the invention, the user may send a push message for example, an SMS comprising information of an address (for example a URL) from where the announcement message to be announced can be retrieved.
In another embodiment of the invention, the user may call a voice portal and store the announcement message. Information regarding the time when the announcement message has to be announced and the number of times the announcement message has to be announced is also stored. Thereafter, at the specified time of play, the announcement message is announced by the system.
Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to the like elements throughout. The embodiments are described below in order to explain the present invention by referring to the figures.
Announcement is the process in which the message to be announced is transmitted to a targeted audience. The announcement notification triggers the announcement of an announcement message. The announcement message is a message that informs targeted audience of any advertisement, upcoming event, danger resulting from any natural calamity (tsunami, flood, hurricane, earthquake, fire etc) or national emergency (riots, war, curfew etc.). The targeted audience may be audience who maybe interested in the advertisement or the upcoming event. In case of a natural calamity or national emergency, the targeted audience may be the audience who are likely to be affected by the natural calamity or the national emergency. The announcement message may also inform the targeted audience of responsive actions that should/can be pursued. For example, in case of an advertisement of a product, the announcement message may comprise necessary details of the product. In case of any natural calamity/national emergency, the announcement message may comprise the nature of the natural calamity/the national emergency, regions that may be affected by it, details of the actions needed to be performed to escape it. The announcement message may also comprise information about the announcement of an upcoming announcement message.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram depicting the environment in which the system of the invention works, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.
Environment 100 comprises sending terminal 102a, sending terminal 102b, a central exchange 104, a base terminal 106, one or more announcement terminals 108 and an operator module 110. Sending terminal 102a, sending terminal 102b,

central exchange 104 and base terminal 106 form a part of a telecommunication network. A user sends an announcement notification from sending terminal 102a. The announcement notification is routed through central exchange 104 to base terminal 106. Sending terminal 102a may be a mobile phone or a fixed line phone or a VoIP enabled computer terminal. The user may communicate an announcement message from sending terminal 102a to sending terminal 102b. Sending terminal 102b sends the announcement notification to base terminal 106 through central exchange 104 for the announcement of the announcement message communicated to sending terminal 102b by sending terminal 102a. In an embodiment of the invention, sending terminal 102b is a voice portal. The user calls sending terminal 102b from sending terminal 102a and uploads the announcement message at sending terminal 102b. Thereafter, sending terminal 102b sends an announcement notification to base terminal 106 for the announcement of the announcement message.
Central exchange 104 establishes a connection between sending terminal 102a and base terminal 106, sending terminal 102a and sending terminal 102b and sending terminal 120b and base terminal 106.
Base terminal 106 receives the announcement notification from sending terminal 102a and 102b. Based upon the announcement notification, base terminal 106 receives the announcement message from sending terminal 102a and sending terminal 102b or retrieves the announcement message from an address specified in the announcement notification. Base terminal 106 routes the announcement message to one or more announcement terminals 108. Functioning of a plurality of modules in base terminal 106 will be explained in greater detail in conjunction with FIG. 3. Base terminal 106 is powered by a switch-mode power supply which is well known in the art.
Announcement terminal 108 announces the announcement message to the targeted audience. In an embodiment of the invention, announcement terminal 108 is a system comprising an amplifier and a loudspeaker. However, announcement terminal 108 can play either of an audio message or a video message. In an embodiment of the invention, announcement terminal 108 is at the same physical location as base terminal 106. In another embodiment of the invention, announcement terminal 108 is at a remote location from base terminal 106.

Operator module 110 receives feedback from base terminal 106. The feedback is regarding the functioning of the plurality of modules of base terminal 106. The feedback may also be regarding the general environment at base terminal 106 and any tampering that is being done with base terminal 106 or announcement terminal 108.
FIG. 2 is a flowchart depicting the steps involved in the broadcasting of an announcement message using a telecommunication network in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.
At step 202, an announcement notification is received by base terminal 106 over a telecommunication network. In an embodiment of the invention, the announcement notification is a call from the user of sending terminal 102a. In another embodiment of the invention, the announcement notification is a call from sending terminal 102b. In another embodiment of the invention, the announcement notification is a push message sent by the user of sending terminal 102a.
At step 204, base terminal 106 verifies that the announcement notification is received from an authorized source. The step of verification will be explained in greater detail in FIG. 6.
At the step 206, the announcement message is announced by announcement terminal 108. In an embodiment of the invention, the announcement notification is a call from sending terminal 102a or sending terminal 102b. The announcement message is communicated to the base terminal 106 during the call. The announcement message is directly routed from base terminal 106 to announcement terminal 108 from where it is announced. In another embodiment of the invention, the announcement notification is a call from sending terminal 102a. The announcement message is communicated to base terminal 106 during the call. The announcement message is stored by base terminal 106 to be retrieved and announced at a later time. In another embodiment of the invention, the announcement notification is a push message from sending terminal 102a. The push message comprises the address from where the announcement notification can be retrieved. The address may be that of an URL on the web server. Base terminal 106 establishes a connection with the address through central exchange 104. The announcement message is retrieved from the address by base terminal 106 and routed to announcement terminal 108 from where it is announced.

FIG. 3A is a block diagram depicting the base terminal, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
Base terminal 106 comprises receiving terminal 302, central processor 304, switch on/off relay 306, GPRS module 308, storage device 310, message player 312, positioning module 314 and diagnostic apparatus 316.
Receiving terminal 302 receives the announcement notification. Receiving terminal 302 is capable of handling calls and push messages. Receiving terminal 302 is capable of connecting to central exchange 104 and hence become a part of the telecommunication network. In an embodiment of the invention, receiving terminal 302 is a mobile phone connected to the telephone network. Receiving terminal 302 comprises a speaker like any phone from where the announcement message that is being received can be heard.
Central processor 304 controls the overall functioning of base terminal 106. When an announcement notification lands on receiving terminal 302, central processor 304 verifies that the announcement notification has been received from an authorized source. When the announcement notification is a call from the user of sending terminal 102a, central processor 304 identifies if the announcement message has to be announced as it being received or if it has to be stored and played later at a specified time. Information regarding the time when the announcement has to be played and the number of times it has to be played is stored in central processor 304. When the announcement notification is a push message comprising an address from where the announcement message can be retrieved, central processor 304 acquires the address from the push message. Other functionalities of central processor 304 will be clear with the explanation of the functionalities of other components of base terminal 106.
Switch on/off relay 306 alters the power supply of announcement message 108 based on the announcement notification. In an embodiment of the invention, the announcement notification is a call from the user of sending terminal 102a who wants the announcement message to be announced as it is being received at base terminal 106. Central processor 304 sends a signal to switch on/off relay 306. On receiving the signal, switch on/off relay 306 switches on the power supply of announcement terminal 108. In another embodiment of the invention, the announcement notification is a call from the user of sending terminal 102b who wants the announcement message to be stored and played later at a specified time.

The information regarding the time when the announcement message has to be played and the number of times the announcement message has to be played is stored in central processor 304. Based on this information, central processor sends a signal to switch on/off terminal 306 when the announcement message has to be announced. On receiving the signal, switch on/off terminal 306 switches on the power supply of announcement terminal 108. In another embodiment of the invention, the announcement notification is a call from sending terminal 102b. Central processor 304 identifies that the announcement notification is being received from sending terminal 102b. Central processor 304 sends a signal to switch on/off relay. On receiving the signal, switch on/off terminal 306 switches on the power supply of announcement terminal 108. In another embodiment of the invention, the announcement notification is a push message comprising the address from where the announcement message can be retrieved. The information regarding the time when the announcement message has to be announced and the number of times the announcement message has to be announced can be retrieved from the announcement notification or the address. Based on this information, central processor sends a signal to switch on/off terminal 306 when, the announcement message has to be announced. On receiving the signal, switch on/off terminal 306 switches on the power supply of announcement terminal 108.
GPRS module 308 establishes a connection between central processor 304 and a web server through central exchange 104. In an embodiment of the invention, the announcement notification is a push message comprising the address from where the announcement message can be retrieved. On receiving the push message, central exchange 304 acquires the address from the push message. Central processor 304 signals GPRS module 308 to connect to the address. GPRS module 308 establishes a connection with the web server through central exchange 104 to access the address. In an embodiment of the invention, the GPRS module may be a part of receiving terminal 302.
Storage device 310 stores the announcement message which has to be announced at a later time. Message player 312 plays the announcement message stored in storage device 310. Based on the information stored in central processor 304 regarding the time when the announcement message has to be announced and the number of times the announcement message has to be announced, central

processor 304 signals message player 312 to retrieve the announcement message from storage device 310 and play it to announcement terminal 108.
Positioning module 314 comprises a GPS device and an accelerometer. The GPS module helps in determining the position of base terminal 106. This is helpful in determining the current position as well as the path followed by the base terminal when it is moving from one place to other making announcements. The accelerometer determines if there are any shocks or vibrations at the base terminal 106. If base terminal 106 is tampered, accelerometer identifies the shocks or vibrations resulting from the tampering. In an embodiment of the invention, announcement terminal 108 is at the same physical location as base terminal 106. The accelerometer installed in base terminal 106 can identify any tampering with either base terminal 106 or announcement terminal 108. In another embodiment of the invention, announcement terminal 108 is at a remote location from base terminal 106. A separate accelerometer is installed at both base terminal 106 and announcement terminal 108 to identify any tampering with either of them.
Diagnostic apparatus 316 is connected to each of the plurality of components of base terminal 106. Diagnostic apparatus 316 checks continuously that all components of base terminal 106 are working properly. Any problem in the functionality of any of the components is identified by diagnostic module 316. For example, if announcement terminal 108 is down or announcement terminal 108 is tampered or base terminal 106 is tampered, the problem is identified by diagnostic apparatus 316. The problem is reported by diagnostic apparatus 316 to operator module 110. When a problem is reported to operator module 110, an appropriate corrective action can be taken by the operator of the system.
In an embodiment of the invention, base terminal 106 further comprises a camera and microphone connected to operator module 110, which give a continuous feedback on the kind of environment at base terminal 106 to operator module 110. Further, any tampering or any other kind of disturbance can be easily identified at the operator module 110 from the continuous feedback obtained from the camera and microphone. The continuous feedback could be stored as a media file for monitoring.
FIG. 3B is a block diagram depicting the base terminal, in accordance with an alternative embodiment of the present invention.
In this embodiment of the invention, GPRS module 308, storage device 310, message player 312 and positioning module 314 are parts of receiving terminal 302

as shown in FIG 3B. The functionalities of each of the components remain same as described above for FIG 3A.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart depicting the steps involved in the broadcasting of an announcement message using a telecommunication network in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.
At step 402, an announcement notification is received at receiving terminal 302. In an embodiment of the invention, the announcement notification may be a call from a user of sending terminal 102a to receiving terminal 302. In another embodiment of the invention, the announcement notification is a push message sent by the user of sending terminal 102a. The push message comprises an address from where the announcement message can be retrieved. In another embodiment of the invention, the user of sending terminal 102a calls sending terminal 102b and uploads the announcement message at the sending terminal 102b. Information regarding the time when the announcement message has to be announced and number of times the announcement message has to be announced is also uploaded at sending terminal 102b. In an embodiment of the invention, sending terminal 102b is an Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS)-enabled voice portal. The user of sending terminal 102a calls the voice portal and uploads the announcement message to be announced at the voice portal. The IVRS at the voice portal asks the user to upload information regarding the time when the announcement message has to be announced and the number of times the announcement message has to be announced. This information may be entered by the user of sending terminal 102a by sending DTMF signals by pressing keys on the sending terminal 102a. In another embodiment of the invention, the information can be entered by voice signals or any other form of such signals known in the art. Based upon this information, sending terminal 102b identifies when the announcement message has to be announced. The announcement message is filtered before it can be communicated to base terminal 106 for announcement. This is to ensure that only relevant messages reach the targeted audience and to avoid misuse of the system. Filtering of the announcement messages could be achieved by using automatic content filters known in the art or could be done manually by the operator. When the announcement message has to be announced, sending terminal 102b makes a call to receiving terminal 302. This call is the announcement notification sent by sending terminal 102b.

At step 404, central processor 304 checks for the authorization level of the source of the announcement notification. The source of the announcement notification is either sending terminal 102a or sending terminal 102b. There is a plurality of phone numbers stored in central processor 304 which have a high authorization level. A user making an announcement notification from such a phone number is authorized to communicate the announcement message without any further verification. In an embodiment of the invention, the sending terminal 102b has a high authorization level because the announcement messaged stored in sending terminal 102b is already filtered. Any phone number which is not amongst the high authorization level phone numbers will have a low authorization level. In an embodiment of the invention, if an announcement notification is being received by receiving terminal 302 from a source having a low authorization level and at the same time another announcement notification is in queue from a source having a high authorization level, the announcement notification from the source having high authorization level is given preference over the source having a low authorization level. This may be carried out by a JAVA/Symbian application which is well known in the prior art. The announcement notification from the source of high authorization level is received whereas the announcement notification from the source having low authorization level can be either terminated or put on hold or the announcement message from such source can be stored. On receiving an announcement notification from phone numbers having low authorization level, central processor 304 asks the user to enter a security code. In an embodiment of the invention, the user enters the security code by pressing keys on sending terminal 102a.
At step 406, central processor receives the security code entered by the user. In an embodiment of the invention, the security code is received as DTMF signals generated by the user by pressing keys on sending terminal 102a. In another embodiment of the invention, the security code can be sent by voice signals or any other form of such signals known in the art. At step 408, central processor 304 verifies that the security code entered by the user is valid from a database of security codes which are valid. In an embodiment of the invention, the announcement notification is a push message. For such a case, the push message comprises the security code. The validity of the security code is checked by central processor 304 from the database of security codes which are valid.

At step 410, the announcement message is received. In an embodiment of the invention, the announcement notification is a call from the user of sending terminal 102a. During the call, the user communicates the announcement message to receiving terminal 302. in another embodiment of the invention, the announcement notification is a call from sending terminal 102b. Sending terminal 102b communicates the announcement message to receiving terminal 102b. In another embodiment of the invention, the announcement notification is a push message comprising the address from where the announcement message can be retrieved. Central processor 304 directs GPRS module 308 to connect to the web server through central exchange 104. After the connection with the web server has been set up, central processor 304 acquires the address from where the announcement message can be received, accesses the web server and downloads the announcement message.
At step 412, central processor 304 determines if the announcement message has to be announced as it is being received or should it be stored and announced later. In an embodiment of the invention, the announcement notification is a call from the user of sending terminal 102a. Central processor 304 asks the user if the user wants to announce the announcement message real time or if the user wants the announcement message to be stored and announced later. A corresponding key on sending terminal 102a is pressed by the user. For example, central processor may ask the user to press 1 if the user wants to announce the announcement message as it is being received at receiving terminal 302 or press 2 if the user wants to store the announcement message and get it announced later. In an embodiment of the invention, the announcement notification is a push message and the announcement message is retrieved from the address acquired from the push message. The information regarding the time when the announcement message has to be announced and number of times the announcement message has to be announced can be a part of the push message or can be acquired from the address from where the announcement message has been received. In another embodiment of the invention, the announcement message is stored at sending terminal 102b. Along with the announcement message the information regarding the time when the announcement message has to be announced and the number of times the announcement message has to be announced is also stored at sending terminal 102b. At the specified time of announcement of the announcement message, an

announcement notification is sent by sending terminal 102b. In such an embodiment, an announcement notification from sending terminal 102b triggers the live announcement of the announcement message communicated by sending terminal 102b.
At step 414, central processor signals storage device 310 to store the announcement message received at receiving terminal 302 or downloaded by central processor 304 from the web server. The announcement message that is being received at receiving terminal 302 is routed from the speaker of receiving terminal 302 to storage device 310.
The information regarding the time when the announcement message has to be announced and number of times the announcement message has to be announced is acquired from the user or from the web server, is stored in central processor 304. At step 416 at the specified time of play, central processor 304 signals message player to retrieve and play the announcement message.
At step 418, central processor 304 signals switch on/off relay to alter the power supply of announcement terminal 108. Since an announcement has to be made, announcement terminal needs to be switched on. Upon receiving a signal from central processor 304, switch on/off relay switches on the power supply for announcement terminal 108. In an embodiment of the invention the power supply could be housed inside receiving terminal 302.
At step 420, the announcement message is announced by announcement terminal 108. In certain embodiments of the invention, when the announcement message has to be announced as it being received by receiving terminal 302, the announcement message from the speaker of receiving terminal 302 is routed to announcement terminal 108 directly. In case there is a delay in switching on announcement terminal 108, during the time of delay, the announcement message that is being received is buffered. During the buffering period, the announcement message that is being received at receiving terminal 302 is acquired from the speaker of receiving terminal 302 and stored in storage device 310. As soon as announcement terminal is switched on, the announcement message stored in storage device 310 is retrieved and played by message player 312. This is routed to announcement terminal 108 to be played. In other embodiments, the announcement message played by message player 312 is routed to announcement terminal 108.

At step 422, central processor 304 signals switch on/off relay to switch off the power supply of announcement terminal 108.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart depicting the steps involved in the broadcasting of an announcement message in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.
At step 502, central processor 304 signals GPRS module 308 at predetermined intervals of time to connect to the web server. From a predetermined address, central processor 304 checks for any new announcement message that has to be broadcasted. At step 504, any new announcement message to be announced is pulled by central processor 304. Information regarding the time of announcement and number of times it has to be announced is also pulled and stored by central processor 304. The announcement message is stored in storage device 310. At step 506, at the specified time of play, the announcement message is retrieved and played by message player upon receiving a signal from central processor 304. The announcement message is routed to announcement terminal 108. Central processor 304 signals switch on/off relay 306 to switch on the power supply for announcement terminal 108. The announcement message is announced by announcement terminal 108. Thereafter, central processor 304 signals switch on/off relay 306 to switch off the power supply for announcement terminal 108.
The disclosed invention meets the objectives of broadcasting an announcement message using a telecommunication network. A user can easily broadcast an announcement message to a targeted audience using a mobile phone or fixed line telephone, thus making the process of broadcasting easier and quicker.
For the purpose of explanation of the invention, announcement refers to the transmission of the announcement message from announcement terminal 108 to the targeted audience. Broadcasting refers to all the processes from receiving an announcement notification for an announcement message up to the step of announcement of the announcement message by announcement terminal 108. Further, it should be apparent to a person skilled in the art that system elements used in the invention are well known in the art, hence other known system elements could also be used in the invention for the same purpose without departing from the scope of the invention.
In the preferred embodiment, a system for broadcasting an announcement message using a telecommunication network, the system shall comprise the following:-

a) a sending terminal, the sending terminal sending an announcement notification over the telecommunication network;
b) a base terminal, the base terminal receiving the announcement notification and the announcement message based on the announcement notification;
c) an announcement terminal, the announcement terminal announcing the announcement message; and
d) a switch on/off relay, the switch on/off relay altering power supply of the announcement terminal based on the announcement notification.
The sending terminal of the system as per the invention shall have at least one of a fixed line telephone, a mobile phone, a VoIP enabled-computer terminal and a voice portal operable over the telecommunication network.
The announcement notification of the system as per the invention shall have at least one of a call and a push message.
The push message of the system as per the invention shall comprise an address from where the announcement message can be retrieved, the address being accessible by the base terminal.
The base terminal of the system as per the invention shall comprise a GPRS module to access the address from where the announcement message is received.
The base terminal of the system as per the invention shall comprise a storage device, the storage device storing the announcement message and a message player, the message player playing the announcement message stored by the storage device.
The base terminal of the system as per the invention shall have further comprise a diagnostic apparatus, the diagnostic apparatus diagnosing the functioning of the base terminal.
The base terminal of the system as per the invention shall also further comprise a positioning module, the positioning module comprising a GPS device and an accelerometer.
The announcement terminal of the system as per the invention shall be configured to announce at least one of an audio message and a video message, in another embodiment, a method of broadcasting an announcement message using a telecommunication network shall comprise the following steps.

a) receiving an announcement notification over a telecommunication network;
b) verifying that the announcement notification has been received from an authorized source; and
c) announcing the announcement message.
The announcement notification of the present system of the invention shall have at least one of a call and a push message.
The verifying step of the method as per the invention shall further comprise the following steps namely
a) checking the authorization level of the source of the announcement notification;
b) receiving a security code based on the authorization level of the source of the announcement notification;
c) verifying the validity of the security code.
The method as per the invention shall further also comprise the following steps namely
a) acquiring an address where the announcement message is stored based on the announcement notification;
b) retrieving the announcement message from the address.
The method as per the invention shall further comprise the following steps namely
a) storing the announcement message;
b) retrieving the announcement message at time of when the announcement message has to be announced; and
c) playing the announcement message.
The method as per the invention shall further comprise the following steps .namely
a) receiving the announcement message at a voice portal over the telecommunication network;
b) filtering the announcement message; and
c) sending the announcement notification from the voice portal over the telecommunication network.
A method of broadcasting an announcement message as per the invention shall further comprise the steps as follows as.

a) checking an address for the announcement message at specified intervals of time;
b) pulling the announcement message from the address; and
c) announcing the announcement message pulled from the address.
While examples embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described, It will be clear that the invention is not limited to these embodiments only. Numerous modifications, changes, variations, substitutions and equivalents will be apparent to those skilled In the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the Invention as described in the claims.