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New Brunswick says public alert capability for wireless devices coming in April

Canadians will soon be able to receive emergency alerts on their wireless devices. Global News

New Brunswick announced on Tuesday that wireless devices in the province will be able to receive public alerts starting on April 6.

The province says that Alert Ready, the national alert system, will be able to deliver messages to devices such as smartphones and will give New Brunswickers another way to keep informed during an emergency situation.

The new alerts will be available Canada-wide on April 6.

READ MORE: Could Canadian authorities accidentally send a false emergency alert to people’s phones? Not yet

The province says that there will be no need to sign up to receive alert and that there is no fee for the service or app to download. Instead, push alerts will be sent “as needed” to deliver critical information.

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New Brunswick says that the alerts function as one-way, life-saving announcements and will not be used to collect data about the owner of a wireless device, the owner’s location or the owner’s devices.

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The province says the service will be used to alert citizens for any number of reasons, including severe weather or natural disasters. Situations which would require a evacuation would trigger a notification under the Alert Ready system.

WATCH: Wireless emergency alerts coming to Alberta April 6

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Wireless emergency alerts coming to Alberta April 6

Although the Alert Ready is now adopting wireless alerts it will continue to be broadcast on television on radio.

According to New Brunswick, the first wireless test alert of the system will be sent on May 9 at 6:55 p.m.

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