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Did you get the B.C. emergency alert in Terrace?

B.C. had first round of emergency alert testing on cellphones, radio and broadcast
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B.C. completed its first round of testing for a new nationwide emergency alert system on Wednesday, but not everyone got the message.

In the Terrace Standard office only one out of four phones monitored received the test.

The alert was scheduled to go off on cellphones with an LTE connection, radio and broadcast TV platforms at 1:55 p.m. PST.

British Columbians took to social media with mixed reviews. Some with Android phones reported getting the text message a whole two minutes later than what was planned.

Others said they didn’t receive a text message at all, while their colleagues or neighbours on different mobile providers had no problems.

Not all broadcast TV platforms showed the alert, either.

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission ordered wireless providers to implement the alert system to distribute warnings of imminent safety threats, such as tornadoes, floods, Amber Alerts or terrorist threats earlier this year.

Mobile users in Ontario and Quebec were supposed to receive alerts on their devices Monday as part of a test of the regulator-mandated warning system, which was supposed to be fully in place by April 6.

No alerts were registered on devices in Quebec, while only some mobile subscribers in Ontario received the signal.

Why your cell phone may have not received the alert:

Alert Ready, the company behind the alert system, issued a list of reasons why some may not receive the alert on their phone.

Not all cellphones are compatable with the system, according to the company. Phone users can check their compatability based off certain wireless carriers online.

Other reasons could be because a mobile device has to be connected to LTE – which involves turning cellular data on in settings – even while connected to WiFi.

TELUS tech support staff also suggested that those who didn’t receieve the alert may need to update their phone software.

And for those who received a “presidential alert,” that’s because the phone was purchased in the U.S., according to Alert Ready.

Black Press Media has reached out to Emergency Management BC for comment.


@ashwadhwani
ashley.wadhwani@bpdigital.ca

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About the Author: Ashley Wadhwani-Smith

I began my journalistic journey at Black Press Media as a community reporter in my hometown of Maple Ridge, B.C.
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