A new text service developed by the government is being trialled on May 25 to residents in east Suffolk. The SOS text alert will warn the public of emergencies including floods, fires and terrorist attacks are.
The Daily Mail reports that if the pilot later this month is successful, it will be available across the UK later this year. It states:
Messages will be received within 10 seconds of transmission, and will extend to mobiles which enter the area later.
As the system uses cell towers in the vicinity of the area, messages are free to receive and do not give away the location of the person receiving the message.
When alerted, the mobile phone receiving the notification is said to give a loud tone and vibration to convey the urgency of the situation.
A similar system has been used in earthquake zones in the U.S, Canada, south Korea, Japan, the Netherlands and New Zealand.
There have been occasions when a similar service goes wrong. In 2018, people living in Hawaii were sent a ballistic missile alert via their phones, and over television and radio.
Residents waited nearly 40 minutes before state officials retracted the message, which advised residents to seek shelter, blaming a miscommunication during a drill.
Leave a Reply