Government to test emergency alert system in nationwide test sent to mobile phones

[rebbonk]

Government to test emergency alert system in nationwide test sent to mobile phones

The new emergency alert system will be used to warn people about events such as extreme weather

The government has launched a new emergency alert system that will send a siren-like alert to mobile phones.

The system will give the government and emergency services the ability to send a message directly to mobile phones when there is a risk to life. When your device receives the alert it will vibrate and play a loud siren-like sound for up to 10 seconds.

The siren will be accompanied by a notification on your home screen, which you will have to acknowledge before you can use other features. The notification may include telephone numbers or website links containing further information.

The new system, which will go live on Sunday 23 April, should allow the government and emergency services to get urgent messages quickly to nearly 90 per cent of mobile phones in a defined area. Any compatible device within range will receive the message.

The alerts can only be sent by authorised government and emergency services users. The alerts will always include the details of the area impacted and will provide instructions about how best to respond, including links to gov.uk/alerts, which will provide further information.

The messages will be broadcast from cell towers near the emergency, ensuring that they are secure, free to receive and one-way. People’s privacy will not be affected as the alerts do not reveal anyone’s location or collect personal data.  

Members of the public should receive the alert about four to 10 seconds after it has been sent. By contrast, SMS messages can take days to release when sent to the entire population and will not be received by people from outside the UK.

People who do not want to receive these alerts can opt out of them in their device settings. The system has already been successfully tested in East Suffolk and Reading, prior to the planned national test. A survey of people conducted after the tests found that 88 per cent wished to receive the alerts in the future.

Emergency alerts will be used very rarely since they will only be sent when there is an immediate risk to people’s lives. Many people might not receive any messages for months or years at a time. They will initially focus on the most serious severe weather-related incidents, including flooding and possible wildfires.

Announcing the launch of the system, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Oliver Dowden MP, said: “We are strengthening our national resilience with a new emergency alerts system, to deal with a wide range of threats – from flooding to wildfires.

“It will revolutionise our ability to warn and inform people who are in immediate danger, and help us keep people safe. As we've seen in the US and elsewhere, the buzz of a phone can save a life.”

The chair of the National Fire Chiefs Council, Mark Hardingham, also welcomed the system’s launch. “Together with every fire and rescue service in the country, I’m looking forward to having emergency alerts available to help us to do our jobs and to help communities in the event of emergencies.

“We’ve seen this type of system in action elsewhere across the world and we look forward to having the facility here in the UK – by working together with fire services and partners we want this system to help us to help you be as safe as you can if a crisis does hit.”

Source: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/emergency-alert-system-test-phones-b2303467.html

I personally object to this and see it as yet more nannying from an ever-encroaching state that seeks to take evermore control of my life.

They will initially focus on the most serious severe weather-related incidents, including flooding and possible wildfires.

Watch that creep upwards at a rapid rate of knots!

If you wish to opt-out...

Search your phone settings for ‘emergency alerts’. Turn off ‘severe alerts’ and ‘extreme alerts’.

[dutchman]

It's bad enough having constant reminders from O2, usually when I'm trying to catch up on sleep.

[dutchman]

Government Emergency Alert test to take place on the 23 April



On Sunday 23 April at 3pm the UK Government will be testing their new Emergency Alert System.

​The Emergency Alert sounds like a loud siren and will come directly from your phone. At the same time a message will be displayed on your screen to tell you about the situation and how best to respond.

As this is a national test it will affect everyone with a compatible phone regardless of location. The alert will also still sound if your phone is on silent.

This system has been created to enable the Government and Emergency Services to contact people via their mobile phone in the event of emergencies, such as severe flooding.

In normal circumstances, Emergency Alerts are sent to all compatible mobile phones within an area of risk. They don't track your location, need your phone number, or collect personal data.

If you are experiencing domestic abuse and have a secret/second phone, then the charity Refuge have created a video guiding you through the ways you can disable alerts. That can be watched on their YouTube Channel.

The Government strongly recommend that most people do not opt out of the service, as it is intended to warn you when lives are in danger.

To find out more about Emergency Alerts, visit the Government website.

If you have been victim of sexual assault or abuse in Coventry, please contact the Police on 101 or 999 if your life is in immediate danger. More details about the support available for victims can be found on the Safe to Talk website.

[rebbonk]

The Government strongly recommend that most people do not opt out of the service, as it is intended to warn you when lives are in danger.

The government hasn't got a damned clue and will panic over nothing, scaring half the country witless.

[dutchman]

Hearing aid users warned to disconnect them before emergency alerts

Thousands of hearing aid users have been advised to disconnect their devices to avoid the Government’s new emergency alert system damaging their ears.

At 3pm on Sunday, mobile phones will play a siren and display a message about the service in a nationwide test designed to ensure it can be activated in a real emergency.

Hearing charities have warned the alert could startle people who have mobile phones connected to their hearing aids, as well as anyone with tinnitus or wearing headphones.

Franki Oliver, an audiology manager at the Royal National Institute for Deaf People, said the volume of the alert “may be uncomfortable for people using hearing aids that connect to a phone via Bluetooth” and he advised users to “disconnect your hearing aids from Bluetooth before the emergency alert test”.

The alert, which will start at 3pm and last until the phone user switches it off, could be played directly into the ears of a person wearing Bluetooth hearing aids.

Thousands of deaf people use these devices to hear their mobile phones and computers, and in some areas they are available on the NHS.

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents has advised Britons not to use power tools or climb ladders at 3pm, in case the alert startles them.

Drivers have been told not to allow the alert to distract them on the road – even though using a mobile phone while driving a car is illegal.

[rebbonk]

[rebbonk]

[rebbonk]

another government-sponsored IT cock-up!

A review will be conducted to find out why a “very small proportion of mobile users” did not receive the test of a new national emergency alert system on Sunday.

The Cabinet Office said the “vast majority of compatible phones” received the alert as part of what was said to be the biggest public communications exercise carried out in the UK.

But the Government department said it was aware that the 10- second alarm and message notification was not delivered to some mobile phones.

Customers on the Three mobile phone network were among those to report not receiving the communication test.

The network provider said it would be working with the UK Government to understand what had happened.

A small number of people have also taken to social media to flag that they have not been able to make or receive calls since the 3pm alarm went off on their device.

The Cabinet Office stated that engineers had not spotted a trend of phone functions failing to work afterwards, but said officials were in the early stages of analysing the results of the trial run.

Once established, the emergency alert system is designed to warn the public if there is a danger to life nearby.

In future, a similarly loud notification and message will be sent to those the UK Government is seeking to reach.

The system is intended to be used in life-threatening situations including flooding and wildfires.

A UK Government spokesman said: “We have effectively completed the test of the UK-wide Emergency Alerts system, the biggest public communications exercise of its kind ever done.

“We are working with mobile network operators to review the outcome and any lessons learned.”

In a statement, a spokesman for Three said: “We are aware that a number of customers have not received the test alert.

“We are working closely with the Government to understand why and ensure it doesn’t happen when the system is in use.”

The loud alarm was planned to ring at 3pm on all devices that were using 4G and 5G networks in the UK.

For millions of phone users, the siren sounded for 10 seconds and displayed a message notifying phone users that no action was needed in response to the test.

Some smartphones also read out the message aloud to recipients.

On social media following the test, some users reported receiving the message a minute or so early, or even receiving repeat alerts.

Others said their phone received the notification after they switched it back on, having been off at 3pm.

Phones that were powered down or switched to airplane mode were not expected to sound.

Speaking before the test, Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden conceded the drill could be “annoying”, but that it had the potential to save people’s lives once rolled out.

He told Sky News that the trial run was a “bit like when the fire alarm goes off at work”.

“It’s a bit irritating at the time but in the future people could be grateful for it because in a real emergency, this could be the sound that saves your life,” he told Sky News.

The Cabinet minister denied the new system was an example of nanny state interference, telling the BBC he did not accept “that characterisation”.

People who do not wish to receive future alerts will be able to opt out using their device settings but officials hope the life-saving potential of the messages means users will keep them on.

The test message that appeared on phones said: “This is a test of Emergency Alerts, a new UK Government service that will warn you if there’s a life-threatening emergency nearby.

“In a real emergency, follow the instructions in the alert to keep yourself and others safe.

“Visit gov.uk/alerts for more information.

“This is a test. You do not need to take any action.”

The Cabinet Office confirmed there was a spelling error in the Welsh language version of the alert text that was sent out.

For the translation of the English phrase “others safe”, the message reportedly read “eraill yn Vogel” when it should have said “eraill yn ddiogel”.

“A technical error caused one word in the Welsh language version of the emergency test alert to be misspelt,” a Government spokesman said.

“The fact that this occurred in a test alert will mean we can rectify it in future.”

The entertainment and sport sectors had been planning how to guard against disruption to large events when the test went off.

The London Marathon, Premier League football matches and matinee theatre performances were all taking place when the 3pm alert sounded.

Source: https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/cabinet-office-uk-government-government-people-oliver-dowden-b1076114.html

This was carried out by Fujitsu, the very same company that was at the heart of the Post Office scandal where people committed suicide and went to prison because nobody would admit that the IT was not up to scratch!

[dutchman]

Didn't hear a thing myself, not a peep!