Fewer phones than expected emergency alert compatible: official

OTTAWA — Those in charge of the wireless emergency alert system overestimated how many Canadians had compatible phones that allow them to receive the alerts, Patrick Tanguy, assistant deputy minister of emergency management and programs at Public Safety Canada said Monday. “We should maybe have put more emphasis ... on the question of phone compatibility,” he told the Senate defence committee, speaking in French. “I think we underestimated that aspect.” Tanguy said in a brief interview following his appearance at the committee that those behind the Alert Ready system -- Public Safety Canada, Pelmorex Corp., and wireless providers -- thought more devices would be be able to receive alerts than turned out to be the case. “Some phones were not compatible where we had expected them to be compatible,” he said. “We were not expecting that in some cases that it could be maybe 50 per cent of the phones not getting the alert because they were not compatible.” Only newer phones running on LTE networks can receive the alerts. Initial tests of the system that took place in May didn’t go smoothly, with a series of errors, while a glitch affecting phones purchased in the United States also caught Public Safety off guard. Tanguy said those behind the Alert Ready system should have been more clear to Canadians that compatibility could be an issue. He noted that problem should resolve in time, given that the CRTC has implemented rules that specify, as of April 2018, that half of the devices providers sell have to be compatible. That requirement goes up to 100 per cent in April 2019. “It’s going to take some time before we get there, but we will get there eventually,” he said. Tanguy added that one important aspect to emphasize to Canadians is the need to keep their smartphone’s software updated. He said that was “one of the factors explaining why some were not able to receive those alerts on their phone.” Kurt Eby, director of regulatory and government relations at Pelmorex, told the committee in a later appearance that initial estimates were that about 60 to 65 per cent of phones would work with the alert system. He said because Canadian are buying new phones that can receive alerts, “more and more phones every single day are compatible.” Monday’s committee meeting took place only days after tornadoes hit Ottawa region Friday evening. Tanguay said the wireless alerts with a warning that went out before the tornadoes touched down demonstrate that it’s working. The committee also heard from the CRTC’s chief consumer officer Scott Shortliffe that more than 100 alerts had been issued as of late August in various parts of Canada since the tests in May. But Shortliffe said that doesn’t mean all problems have been ironed out. “The system is still very new and new challenges can ” he said, noting an Amber alert in Saskatchewan was delayed for three hours last week even though previous alerts in the province had worked. “The commission is following up to determine what happened in this specific situation, but it’s instances like this that demonstrate the importance of continued testing,” Shortliffe said. — With reporting by Anja Karadeglija at akarad@thewirereport.ca and editing by Kyle Duggan at kduggan@thewirereport.ca

Fewer phones than expected emergency alert compatible: official

News | September 24, 2018

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Fewer phones than expected emergency alert compatible: official

News | September 24, 2018

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