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Technology issues plague Wireless Emergency Alerts system
Posted
February 7, 2023
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February 7, 2023
469
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17:25Now PlayingSteve Staeger joins Chris Bianchi to talk about why emergency alerts are sometimes sent to far too many people and why that matters.
An investigation in the Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) system found that technical limitations mean alerts often go a bit beyond their intended area.
Newer phones can be geo-targeted within a tenth of a mile. They receive an alert from the cell tower they’re currently tied to, compare the alert’s geographic information with their location and decide whether to display the alert.
Older phones, or phones with location services turned off, are not as precise. About 40% of cell phones in the U.S. still have this older technology, according to cell industry trade group CTIA, making so-called “bleedover” or “over-alerting” a common, even anticipated, occurrence with WEA.
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