Blasted out by cell towers nationwide over a 30-minute period, the message was expected to reach some 225 million people in an unprecedented federal exercise. Was kind of annoying. Others reported getting the notifications pushed to their smartwatches, as still others took the opportunity to crack jokes.
Earlier this year, panic spread on Hawaii after an erroneous alert went out to residents warning of a “ballistic missile threat inbound.” The message said, “this is not a drill.” The false warning was amid the height of tensions between the US and North Korea, which at the time was regularly testing its ballistic missiles as part of its nuclear weapons program. No action is needed.” The presidential alert is like those, only it goes to virtually every cell phone in the country, and you can't turn it off. The FEMA official said that in past, smaller tests, about 75% of phones received the alert. “THIS IS A TEST of the National Wireless Emergency Alert System. The test was originally scheduled for September but was postponed as FEMA responded to Hurricane Florence.
If you were looking at another piece of glowing glass -- like your television -- during the test, you may have seen the alert there, too.
The system is run by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which says all of the country's major cell phone carriers participate. But presidential alerts have yet to be tested. And while Americans can choose not to receive weather and AMBER alerts, they cannot opt out of presidential ones. But the system isn’t perfect. [Confused about those emergency cellphone alerts? Update: with a new date, following bad weather on the US east coast. “Presidential Alert,” the message read. I survived. The Federal Emergency Management Agency will next month test a new “presidential alert” system that will allow the president to send a message to every phone in the US. Despite its name, the presidential alert was not issued by President Trump directly. A subsequent investigation by the Federal Communications Commission found that the staffer responsible for the message had thought an attack was truly underway, having misinterpreted a drill. Using the Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) system, anyone with cell service should receive the message to their phone. No action is required.". Keep supporting great journalism by turning off your ad blocker. But in general, the process calls for the president — or his representative — to authorize FEMA to send an alert on the White House’s behalf. This system was developed by broadcast and cable operators in voluntary cooperation with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Federal Communications Commission, and local authorities to keep you informed in the event of an emergency. Yet the same technology that has helped connect millions of people also has the potential to cause chaos at Internet speeds. The presidential alert is designed to let the White House inform the entire country almost instantly of grave public emergencies, such as a terrorist attack or an invasion, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Came through, buzzed like mad and also pushed to my Apple Watch. Reporter focusing on telecommunications, media, and competition. Minutes before the alert was sent out, a federal judge in New York rejected a lawsuit by three people who claimed that the presidential alert violated the First and Fourth Amendments, because Americans could not opt out. Emergency alerts aren’t new and warning systems have long been used — and tested — in the US to alert citizens of local and state incidents, like AMBER alerts for missing children and severe weather events that may result in danger to or loss of life. The federal government is required by law to test its alerting systems every three years.
Many cellphone users may be familiar with alerts they receive as warnings about flash flooding or missing children.
These presidential alerts are solely at the discretion of the president and can be sent for any reason, but experts have shown little concern that the system may be abused. TODAY (10/3): At 2:18 PM EDT, we will be testing the Wireless Emergency Alert system nationwide. No action is needed.".
We've seen Amber Alerts for missing children and weather alerts for incoming thunderstorms or tornadoes.
FEMA officials have said the Hawaii incident played no role in the scheduling of Wednesday’s test. The buzz and tone have the same feel and sound as those used for the Amber and weather alerts. Here’s how they work. The Emergency Alert System (EAS) is a national public warning system that allows the president to address the American people within 10 minutes during a national emergency.
Some said they had received the notification repeatedly, some as often as three to nine times. The message was also scheduled to appear on some smartwatches connected to cell phones, FEMA said.
Wednesday’s test of the Wireless Emergency Alerts system is the first time that emergency management officials have used the nationwide alerting capabilities reserved for the office of the president. Details and solutions emerge for missile threat false alarm in Hawaii, the WARN Act in 2006 under the Bush administration. “THIS IS A TEST of the National Wireless Emergency Alert System. “THIS IS A TEST of the National Wireless Emergency Alert System. Brian Fung covers business and technology for The Washington Post. Not all cellphones may have received Wednesday’s alert, however. No action is needed.”. Confused about those emergency cellphone alerts?
"Presidential Alert," the screen said. (The TV and radio system is tested monthly.).
The FCC said it does not collect data based on the test, though it will ask cell service providers for feedback about how the test went. On ATT in NOVA near Dulles. It's the first time the system has been tested. "Everything is secured, password-protected and then authenticated or checked by two people before that message is sent," the official said.
If you have a cellphone, expect it to buzz and beep loudly this afternoon around 2:18 p.m. EDT. "The President will not originate this alert, say, from his mobile device," a senior FEMA official told reporters on Tuesday. Because the message is meant to include "critical lifesaving information," it's designed to reach as many cell phones as possible, even those that aren't activated or don't have SIM cards.
Not everyone was pleased about the decision to send out the test alert.
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