During Emergency Preparedness Week Public Awareness Tests to be Distributed over Radio, Television and Wireless
OAKVILLE, ON, May 2, 2018 /CNW/ - Government agencies across Canada will be issuing the first annual public awareness tests of Alert Ready's new wireless public alerting capability during Emergency Preparedness Week. Participating provincial and territorial authorities will each distribute one province- or territorial-wide public awareness test message over radio, television and to compatible wireless devices at scheduled times.
| Alert Ready Public Awareness Test Schedule |
||
| Participating Province/Territory* |
Date |
Test Time (Local) |
| Quebec |
May 7 |
9:55 AM |
| Ontario |
May 7 |
1:55 PM |
| Newfoundland and Labrador |
May 9 |
1:55 PM |
| Prince Edward Island |
May 9 |
1:55 PM |
| Nova Scotia |
May 9 |
1:55 PM |
| New Brunswick |
May 9 |
6:55 PM |
| Manitoba |
May 9 |
1:55 PM |
| Saskatchewan |
May 9 |
1:55 PM |
| Alberta |
May 9 |
1:55 PM |
| British Columbia |
May 9 |
1:55 PM |
| Northwest Territories |
May 9 |
1:55 PM |
| Yukon |
May 9 |
1:30 PM |
| * Nunavut is not participating in this test |
All Canadians with compatible wireless devices will receive the test message. The text and audio of the Alert Ready messages will clearly identify them as test alerts. Test messages will also be accompanied by an alert tone – the Canadian Alerting Attention Signal – which will last for eight seconds on compatible wireless devices. Canadians are not required to take any action during the test. Canadians may be required to acknowledge receipt of the alert in order to allow their wireless device to resume normal operation.
Public awareness tests bring attention to the look and sound of emergency alerts. These tests can take place up to five times per year and have been issued since May 2015 over radio and television. The wireless component of Alert Ready is included in all of these tests and will only appear on compatible wireless devices once per year, during Emergency Preparedness Week.
As of April 6, 2018, wireless service providers have been capable of distributing alerts received from authorized authorities warning of threat-to-life situations, such as Amber Alerts or tornado warnings, directly to compatible wireless devices connected to LTE networks. Alert Ready has distributed emergency alerts over TV and radio broadcast since 2015. Alert Ready is free to consumers, and no sign-up or app is required to receive Alert Ready messages on wireless devices.
Emergency Preparedness Week (EP Week) takes place each year during the first full week of May. This national event is coordinated by Public Safety Canada, in close collaboration with the provinces and territories and partners to increase awareness of individual and family preparedness.
Key Facts:
- Wireless public alerting capability was added to the Alert Ready system on April 6, 2018.
- Authorized Provincial and Territorial emergency management organizations can issue up to five provincial or territorial-wide public awareness tests through Alert Ready per year.
- Public test alerts will only be sent to compatible wireless devices once per year, during Emergency Preparedness Week. Test alerts may be broadcast on radio and tv up to five times per year.
- The wireless public alerting component of Alert Ready is tested during all public awareness tests, however, compatible devices will only display the test messages during Emergency Preparedness Week.
For more information, please visit www.alertready.ca.
About Pelmorex Corp.
Pelmorex Corp. is a market leader in operating multi-platform TV, Web and Mobile services in weather-related information categories under the leading brands The Weather Network, MétéoMédia, eltiempo.es and Clima. The company reaches over 58M* users internationally with a focus on North America, Europe and LATAM. It also operates Canada's National Alerting Aggregation and Dissemination System (Alert Ready). Pelmorex has evolved to delivering information networks and data solutions to consumers, advertisers and enterprise clients. It launched the Pelmorex Data Solutions Division in 2016 and acquired Addictive Mobility in 2017. Addictive Mobility operates mobile-first data management services as well as Digital Sales Platforms.
* Source: Global Reach reports 3 month average Dec 2017 – Feb 2018 Gap/Adobe/Numeris Data
SOURCE Pelmorex Corp.
To arrange an interview with Pelmorex Corp., please contact: Madison Francis, FleishmanHillard High Road, 416-644-2276, [email protected]
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