"WEA" Wireless Emergency Alerts ...

[Nolan Kienitz]

WEA notifications being pushed to smartphones now. Carriers are doing such in some sort of phased rollout. I'm using AT&T and I got two of them this past Monday.

The "Presidential Alert" hasn't made it to my iPhone yet.

WEA rollout information from FCC

From a bill passed by Congress I believe as part of the WARN Act.

[Neal Lewis]

I just upgraded to the iphone 5. For the first time the other day I got about 8 emergency notifications about flash flooding. The alert tone is pretty serious and scared the bejesus out of me. I'd like to be able to turn if off.

[Richard Moore]

I just upgraded to the iphone 5. For the first time the other day I got about 8 emergency notifications about flash flooding. The alert tone is pretty serious and scared the bejesus out of me. I'd like to be able to turn if off.

Settings, Notifications, scroll to bottom where you will find Government Alerts.

[rkenney]

I get those, 'the sky is falling' alerts.

The one I like is the poor air quality alert which then goes on to tell you it's a nice day to exercise outdoors.

Go figure, just don't breathe!

[Neal Lewis]

OK. Thanks Richard. Turned off the AMBER alert too.

[Erby]

Sure: It's FREE (Right, I'm paying for it somewhere, somehow.)

How much will consumers pay to receive WEA?

Alerts are free. Customers do not pay to receive WEA.

But hey, we can block some of the WEAs!

Can consumers block WEAs?

Partially. Participating wireless carriers may offer subscribers with WEA-capable handsets the ability to block alerts involving imminent threats to safety of life and/or AMBER Alerts; however, consumers cannot block emergency alerts issued by the President

http://www.fcc.gov/guides/wireless-emergency-alerts-wea