All UK smartphones will sound an alarm later this month in emergency testing.
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Most mobile phones in the UK will sound an alarm for 10 seconds later this month as the government tests a new emergency alert system.
The siren will sound at 3pm local time on April 23 and last about 10 seconds on all 4G and 5G mobile phones.
The system is designed to broadcast emergency messages to areas in danger, such as if there is severe flooding or wildfires. Similar systems have been adopted in other countries, including the United States, Canada, and Japan.
The government said the dates were chosen to avoid disruption of major events such as the London Marathon and major football matches.
The government said the system would only be used “very rarely”, and warnings would only be sent out when there was an “immediate risk” to people’s lives.
“It could be the sound that saves your life,” Oliver Dowden, a UK government minister, said in an interview. Press Release.
