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"T-Mobile scared me, and likely thousands of other subscribers when it inadvertently conducted a test of a new cellphone-based emergency alert system this morning.\nI'd had the new HTC Radar 4G smartphone for just 12 hours when it started to make the oddest sound. The phone was in my pocket and I heard what sounded like a siren. It was a bit like the emergency alert noise your TV or radio makes right before a test of the \"Emergency Broadcast System.\" I pulled out the phone and saw this message on screen: Presidential Alert. Underneath, in smaller letters, were the time and the word \"Test.\"  Slightly confused, maybe a little alarmed, I took a photo of the phone's screen and then tweeted it out in hopes that someone would know what it's all about.\nA half hour later, the phone did it again, this time adding repeated vibrations \u2014 as if it were getting a call. No one was calling me; I simply had the same alert message. I checked a few news sites to make sure Armageddon was not underway and then started looking for details about text-based emergency alert systems. Eventually I found stories about PLAN or Personal Localized Alert Network. This is a new national cellphone, text-based emergency alert system that, according to the FEMA, allows  \"customers who own an enabled mobile device to receive geographically targeted, text-like messages alerting them of imminent threats to safety in their area.\"  \nPLAN is geographically enabled, meaning that you only get alerts for your area, and the alerts will arrive to you \u2014 and all other carrier subscribers \u2014 whether or not you've signed up for them. In the case of a national or even local emergency like a tornado or terrorist threat, this is undoubtedly a good thing.\nVirtually all major carriers have signed on to support the service, which is designed to complement FEMA and FCC's Emergency Alert System (it used to be called the \"Emergency Broadcast System\"). That's the same federal system that runs those familiar emergency alert tests on your TVs and radios. Carriers like Verizon, AT&amp;T, Sprint and T-Mobile have committed to being ready to work with the system by April 2012. Not all phones are ready to work with PLAN, and some carriers will reportedly have to push out software updates to existing customers' phones. This HTC Radar 4G, though, is definitely ready to go.\nThe new nationwide Emergency Alert System (EAS) is scheduled for a test next week, but that only effects TV and radio (cable TV, satellite radio, satellite TV and \"wireline video services\") alerts. PLAN has no scheduled tests, though it's clear that carriers like T-Mobile could be testing PLAN right now. \nLate Friday, T-Mobile offered this explanation:\nToday's test was part of ongoing work to support Personal Localized Alerting Network Plan (PLAN) and is not related to next week's nationwide Emergency Alert System test.  Prior to today, test alerts have been limited to a group of beta users who were notified they would occasionally receive these messages.  Today\u2019s test alert unintentionally went out to a broader group of customers. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused and have taken measures to prevent this from occurring in the future. For your reference, additional information on PLAN can be found here.\nEditor's Note: The FCC reached out to Mashable to clarify that while complementary, PLAN and the EAS are not part of the same system. We have adjusted the text to reflect this information\nT-Mobile customers: Did you get the test? Were you surprised, confused, scared? What does everyone think of the new PLAN system? Tell us everything in the comments."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2011/11/04/t-mobile-tests-plan-early/>