Technology fail as people in Quebec don't get alert aimed at mobile system

First fail of new national alert system as people in Quebec don't get first test message

QUEBEC CITY, QUE. (NEWS 1130) – It appears there was a glitch in the new National Public Alert System known as Alert Ready. A test of the system took place this morning in Quebec as the technology is rolled out nation-wide, but it didn’t go as planned.

A CRTC spokesperson says a glitch in the alert system for mobile devices affected that entire province.

The agency says the problem didn’t originate with cellphone service providers, instead explaining the snafu appears to have occurred between emergency management in Quebec and Pelmorex Corp. which operates the system.

“The alerts are actually coming from the emergency management in the region and then it goes to Pelmorex,” explains the CRTC’s Patricia Valladao.

In an email to The Canadian Press, Pelmorex issued a statement explaining what happened.

“A space incorrectly included in the coding prevented the Alert Ready System from sending the Quebec test message to compatible wireless devices earlier this morning,” it read, adding the misconfiguration was quickly corrected.

The statement also pointed out the Quebec test “did broadcast successfully on TV and radio.”

Test signals had been scheduled to be sent to millions of mobile users in Quebec around mid-morning.

Valladao pointed out at least it was just a test and not a real emergency. “That’s why they were running tests — to see if something went wrong,” she said.

Depending on settings, users with compatible devices connected to an LTE network would hear a tone similar to an ambulance alarm or feel a vibration for eight seconds. Devices that are turned off won’t receive the signal but phone users will hear their conversations interrupted by a sound similar to a call-waiting tone.

LISTEN: If you hear this tone on TV, radio or on your mobile phone, you should pay attention and take action right away

The tests are being conducted after the CRTC ordered wireless providers to implement the system to distribute warnings of imminent safety threats such as tornadoes, floods, Amber Alerts or terrorist threats.

A similar system is already used in the United States and made headlines earlier this year when an emergency official in Hawaii mistakenly sent an alert about a potential incoming ballistic missile.

“The CRTC has no insights with respect to what occurred in Hawaii, other than what has been reported in the media,” the regulator said.

However, it added that Canada has safeguards in place to prevent false signals from being distributed to mobile devices.

Unlike wireless emergency alerts issued in the United States, Canada’s system requires a specific vibration cadence, alert tone and banner to notify users of an emergency.

Here are the scheduled times for the tests. All times are local:

Monday

Ontario 1:55 p.m.

Wednesday

British Columbia 1:55 p.m.

Yukon 1:30 p.m.

Northwest Territories 1:55 p.m.

Alberta 1:55 p.m.

Saskatchewan 1:55 p.m.

Manitoba 1:55 p.m.

Newfoundland and Labrador 1:55 p.m.

Nova Scotia 1:55 p.m.

Prince Edward Island 1:55 p.m.

New-Brunswick 6:55 p.m.

As well, the emergency alerts are not text, or SMS, messages, but are distributed using what’s known as cell broadcast technology. The messages can’t be tracked by service providers so they can’t tell who has or has not received the alert, the CRTC said.