T-Mobile surprises subscribers after testing 'Presidential Alert' system early
NOVEMBER 5, 2011 BY MIKE FLACY
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Occurring on early Friday, a handful of T-Mobile customers were treated to a test of the Personal Localized Alert Network (PLAN) that occurred before any scheduled public test. Originally reported by Lance Ulanoff over at Mashable, the test involved a startling noise that played on his HTC Radar 4G that was similar to the alert siren heard when the Emergency Broadcast System is tested on a television, likely taking T-Mobile customers by surprise. Upon checking the screen of the HTC Radar 4G, Ulanoff discovered the words "Presidential Alert" as well as "Test" sent in the format of a text message. T-Mobile issued a statement on late Friday that apologized for the mistake and mentioned that the test was supposed to be distributed to a small group of beta testers.
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