Moment emergency alert test goes off at London Marathon
Millions of people across the country received the first-ever nationwide test of the government’s new emergency alert system today.
While the alert was scheduled to go out at 3pm, many mobile phone users complained that they received the alert at 2.59pm – startling or scaring them because it went off earlier than expected.
The Independent understands it happened because the alert had to go through different infrastructure used by mobile operators – which don’t all operate at the same speed.
A government source said they always expected it to be “around 3pm” because of the differences in the operators’ networks.
Meanwhile, some Britons said they received the alert after 3pm, while others did not receive it at all.
Customers on the Three mobile phone network were among those to report not receiving the communication test.
In a statement posted on Twitter, the company said it is aware a number of customers did not receive the alert, and it is working with the government to prevent this in the future.
The Cabinet Office said it would be reviewing the outcome of the UK-wide test of the new emergency alert system.
