Emergency alert system bugs and flaws

As an emergency support system worker, and as a security maven, and as a data and communications expert, I have been interested in the emergency alert system since they first started to try and put it together.  I have been interested to know the limitations and flaws that have been fairly consistent throughout.

This morning I got an emergency alert.  It wasn't very helpful, and it wasn't very informative.  And the reason that it wasn't either helpful or informative, turns on some of the flaws in limitations of the system itself.

I have, over time and the various tests that have been done with the system, noted that not all phones are capable of receiving the alerts.  And, indeed, at times I have noted that certain providers do not provide the alerts.  But the biggest limiting factor seems to be that, even if your phone can receive the alerts, and even if your provider provides the alerts, you don't get the alerts unless you have a data plan.  You can have unlimited voice communications, and you can have unlimited text communications, and if you don't have a data plan you do not get the alerts.  Any of them.

I have one phone which does not have a data plan, and so, even though it is with a provider which definitely does provide emergency alert service, I never get any emergency alerts on that phone at all.  I have another phone, identical, and, even though it is with a rather cheap provider, because I do have a data plan with this provider (even if it's rather limited), I do sometimes get emergency alerts on that phone.

I stress the "sometimes."

This morning as I was walking up to do my garden volunteering, I got an emergency alert.  As I say, it wasn't particularly useful or helpful.  It informed me that the incident was no longer considered a threat and confirmed, someone unhelpfully and not particularly comfortingly, that there was in fact just a single suspect.  No further details were provided.  The details had been provided on an earlier message, which I had not received up until that point.  I had not received that earlier alert because I had been at home.  And this brings up yet another limitation of the emergency alert system.

The emergency alert system not only requires that you be that you have a data plan with your provider, but that you be using that data plan at the time the emergency alert is issued.  If, for example, you are at home, and your phone preferentially connects to wifi (instead of the cellular providers dta plan) in order to reduce drain on your data quota, or reduce data charges (when you are doing application updates or streaming, for example), then you do not receive the emergency alerts while you are connected to wifi.  This also happens if you are connected to a hotspot.  As long as you are not using the cell company's data plan you do not get the emergency alerts.

Your mileage may, of course, vary.  This is what happens with my provider, in my area.  It is not inherent in the emergency alert system.  It would be simple enough for the emergency alert system to use text messaging or even just straight management channels, to alert the emergency alert app to check wifi for emergency alerts for the area.  It would be a simple and fairly minor tweak to correct this bug in the system.  That would eliminate this problem of not being able to receive emergency alerts.  Some providers, or some emergency management systems, may have done it already.  But obviously not those in my area.