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Emergency mobile alerts, principle of operation and compatibility, effect on non-phone devices

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Dear Cabinet Office,
Please clarify the following information about the emergency alert systems you plan to trial on April 23rd 2023.

1. What would the effect be on devices which are NOT phones but do have SIM cards, such as mobile broadband hotspots or some types of smart meters and even some modern cars, will the alerts risk disrupting any services on them given that such devices will typically not be able to acknowledge alerts
2. What would the effect be on older non-smart phones, some information indicates that on smart phones the alerts would cause the phone to freeze until acknowledged, would such a freeze happen on non-smart-phones in a way which could not be released from
3. Please fully clarify the principle of operation, is it effectively just a mass SMS text sent to all phones within a given radius of particular place, or does it use data type connectvity instead
4. Will power cycling a device clear an arrived emergency alert if the alert cannot be cleared by acknowledgement
5. During the earlier local trials of the system were there any incidences of non-smart phones, or non-phone devices using SIM cards and mobile networks (2G, 3G, 4G or 5G) being affected by the alerts.

Thank you,
Dr R P

FOI Team Mailbox, Cabinet Office

Dear Dr R P,

Thank you for your email.

Unfortunately your email does not constitute a valid request for
information as outlined in section 8(1)(c) of the Freedom of Information
Act 2000. The Act does not require public authorities to create new
information or to provide opinion or explanation in order to respond to a
request or query. The purpose of the Act is to consider the confirmation
or provision of recorded information that already exists. Advice on how to
make a valid request can be accessed on the Information Commissioner’s
website at: [1]https://ico.org.uk/for-the-public/offici...

Alternatively, if you would like your email treated as correspondence, you
can contact the Cabinet Office by accessing its web form at the following
website: [2]https://www.gov.uk/guidance/contact-the-...

Yours sincerely,

Freedom of Information Team

Cabinet Office

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Dear FOI Team Mailbox,
Thank you for your prompt response. However I cannot believe that you do not have the information I am requesting.

Particularly as regards point 5, whether during the localised trials of the system you got any reports of disruption of service or other undesirable consequences caused to non-phone SIM-containing equipment when alerts were sent out.

I understand my initial request may have seemed overly lengthy and detailed, but surely you possess information about whether any reports reached you of service disruption to mobile broadband, smart metering, connected vehicles... when you were trialling the alert system in local test areas.

If such information did not reach you, who would have it reached, can you please provide a contact email so I can sent this FOI to them instead.

Thank you,

Dr R P

FOI Team Mailbox, Cabinet Office

Dear R P

Thank you for your email.

The Freedom of Information Act does not require us to create new
information or explanations to answer a request. As such your request does
not constitute a valid request as outlined in section 8(1)(c) of the
Freedom of Information Act 2000.

If you would like your email treated as correspondence, you can contact
the Cabinet Office by accessing its web form at the following website:
[1]https://www.gov.uk/guidance/contact-the-...

Yours sincerely,

Freedom of Information Team

Cabinet Office

show quoted sections

We don't know whether the most recent response to this request contains information or not – if you are Dr R P please sign in and let everyone know.