Don't be surprised if you get a text message from the White House on Wednesday.The government is testing a new nationwide alert system that would let presidents send out emergency messages to phones all over the country.The Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Federal Communications Commission will test Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) and the Emergency Alert System (EAS) on Wednesday, Oct. 3.The WEA test alert will be sent to cell phones connected to participating wireless providers at 2:18 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, FEMA officials said. The nationwide alert hear on radio and television broadcasts, cable systems, satellite radios, television providers, and wireline video providers had similar tones at the beginning of the test and follwed with this message:

"This is a test of the National Wireless Emergency Alert System. WKAR chief engineer Gary Blievernicht says “the point of the test is to find out if the system works, where any problems are, identify them, and to mitigate them over the course of time.”

The cell phone text will include a “presidential alert” header along with a message explaining that this is a test and that no action is needed. According to the statement, the dual test “will assess the operational readiness of the infrastructure for distribution of a national message and determine whether improvements are needed.”

It will be the first national WEA test, and the fourth nationwide test of EAS, the statement said. This system was developed by broadcast and cable operators under voluntary cooperation with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Federal Communications Commission and local authorities to keep you informed in the event of an emergency. • The new national public alert test system for your cellphone failed its first test in Quebec
• Emergency alert test going out to mobile phones nationwide

During the test broadcasting period, FEMA said, WEA compatible cell phones “that are switched on, in range of an active cell tower, and whose wireless provider participates in WEA should be capable of receiving the test message.”

It said cell phones should get the message only once. In a statement alerting people to the test, FEMA said, “The purpose of the test is to ensure that EAS and WEA are both effective means of warning the public about emergencies, particularly those on the national level.” So at 2:18 p.m. if you have your cell phone turned on and you are within range of an active cell tower, and your wireless provider participates in the WEA system, you’ll receive the following message:

The message will appear only once and once you receive it you can safely dismiss it–this time. The test for this year was originally scheduled for September 20 but it was postponed because of the need to respond to hurricane Florence.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency sends its first ever "Presidential Alert", a Wireless Emergency Alerts test message, at 2:18 pm EDT (18:18 UTC) to most cell phones in the United States.