A test of Manitoba and Saskatchewan’s text alert systems earlier this month didn’t go as planned.
According to a statement released by the Manitoba Ministry of Infrastructure on May 9, about 60 per cent of Manitoba cell phones received the alert – a far cry from the 100 per cent mark that was hoped for.
The ministry said the issue was not on the government’s end, saying the service used to send the mass alert showed 100 per cent of phones were sent the alerts. Blame for the dropped alerts was assigned to some cell phone providers for not properly sending the messages out to consumers.
A similar situation was reported on both sides of the border. While some phones in Saskatchewan and Manitoba received alerts from their respective provinces, others received nothing. At least one Flin Flon customer reported receiving warning messages from both provinces.
Meanwhile, in Quebec, almost no cell phone users reported receiving alert messages.
The text alert systems are operated individually by each province, but operate under the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC).
Three more alert message tests are planned for later this year. Alert systems in Manitoba and Saskatchewan will be tested again on June 20, Sept. 19 and Dec. 19. The tests will only be run on television and radio service – no additional text alert tests are planned for this year as of May 16.
