Mobile phone alert test today
May 10, 2018, 5:07 am
Mobile phones in Manitoba and Saskatchewan will vibrate and ring with a sound like an ambulance during a trial run of a new nationwide emergency public alerting system that takes advantage of cell phone use.
Wireless providers will send a test alert — it sounds similar to an ambulance alarm — to every compatible mobile device connected to an LTE network in most provinces including Manitoba and Saskatchewan, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission announced Monday.
Going forward, these alerts will be issued by emergency management officials and federal, provincial or territorial governments to warn people of imminent safety threats such as tornadoes or Amber Alerts.
But first, the government wants to the test the system to ensure it works properly and to familiarize Canadians with the alerting method.
The test is scheduled for 1:55 this afternoon
