Why Your Phone Will Sound an Alarm on Wednesday

Veuer

On October 4th at 2:20 p.m. ET, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Communications Commission will conduct a nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) and Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA). EAS impacts radios and TVs, while WEA affects cell phones.

Transcript

00:00 On Wednesday, October 4th at 2.20pm Eastern Time, your cell phone, radio and television

00:07 will sound an alarm from the United States Department of Homeland Security and the Federal

00:13 Communications Commission.

00:15 The goal of the nationwide test of the emergency alert system and wireless emergency alerts

00:21 is to ensure effective public emergency warnings.

00:25 Cell phones with participating providers will get an alert with a text message saying, "This

00:29 is a test of the National Wireless Emergency Alert System.

00:33 No action is needed."

00:35 This is the seventh EAS test since 2011 and the second WEA test for consumer cell phones

00:43 with the most recent test occurring in 2021.

00:46 The EAS, established in 1997, allows the American public to be addressed within 10 minutes of

00:54 an emergency.

00:55 The system evolved from earlier emergency broadcast efforts, like the one that aimed

00:59 to warn Americans about potential nuclear threats during the Cold War.

01:04 (upbeat music)

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