TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — After quickly announcing it would be cutting ties with the company behind the early morning alert mistakenly sent to residents’ phones earlier this month, the state is now extending its deadline to terminate the contract.
Florida’s Division of Emergency Management (FDEM) intended to officially sever ties with software company Everbridge by the end of June.
But now, the contract end date has been extended to the end of the year, FDEM spokesperson Alecia Collins confirmed to 10 Tampa Bay.
Everbridge was notified by the state on Thursday, according to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission filing, which also includes an option to extend the contract an additional six months beyond the new deadline.
The initial June deadline – as hurricane season is getting underway – would’ve resulted in a lapse in service as the state works to line up a new vendor, according to Collins. She also said the contract can be terminated earlier if the state is able to secure a vendor before the December deadline.
The emergency test alert was sent to Florida residents’ mobile phones at 4:45 a.m. ET on April 20, blaring a loud tone and startling people out of bed. A message appearing on screens read: "TEST - This is a TEST of the Emergency Alert System. No action is required."
It was later determined the test was sent by mistake, intended only for TV during the early morning hour.
Gov. Ron DeSantis called the mistake "a completely inappropriate use of this system" and vowed to bring accountability to whoever was responsible.
In a statement, the software company called the incident an "unfortunate procedural error."
“We have a long history of supporting the State of Florida and the Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM) dating back to 2016,” Everbridge Vice President of Corporate Communication Jeff Young said at the time. “We identified an unfortunate procedural human error in this monthly test that we are investigating. As mentioned by FDEM, we too regret the inconvenience this test caused the residents of Florida earlier this morning. We are committed to the State of Florida and to FDEM as a partner.”
The company’s CEO David Wagner also later publicly apologized.