Cell Broadcast System
Why you will get a warning on your cell phone in the next few days
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Germany would like to introduce a nationwide warning system, the so-called cell broadcast. Mobile phone owners will therefore be made aware of the service in the coming days.
An SMS out of the blue and then not even from a contact on your own list? This can feel pretty uncomfortable, but it doesn’t have to in this case. The new warning system should soon ensure more safety throughout Germany and be used in the event of disasters. Here we explain how this works and what else you need to know.
All mobile phone users in Germany get the message
The mobile phone providers Vodafone, Deutsche Telekom and Telefónica (O2) will be sending an SMS to all mobile phone owners in the coming days. First of all, it’s just an announcement to prepare for the actual test, according to the Tagesschau. The nationwide test, which is to be carried out in all 294 districts and 106 urban districts, will only take place on the nationwide warning day, December 8th.
Humans don’t have to do anything else
With the Cell Broadcast System, no app needs to be downloaded. So no preparation is required on your part. Unlike an SMS, a cell broadcast warning addresses all devices in a radio cell that are ready to receive, similar to radio reception, the cellphone provider Vodafone explains in a statement. The message then appears directly on the start screen, together with a loud sound signal depending on the warning level.
In this way, users are definitely aware of a warning such as a storm, fire or natural disaster and can act accordingly. In addition, information for citizens or links to more detailed information can also be sent. Another plus: local radio cells for limited messages are also possible, which only reach a certain area.
Flood disaster was reason for introduction
Cell broadcast is already in use in other EU countries. The violent storms in North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate in July 2021, in which numerous people died, were now the reason for an introduction in Germany, according to the Tagesschau. Because sirens and warning apps would not have sufficiently warned the population in the event of a disaster.
On the nationwide warning day on November 8th, a warning signal of the highest warning level is to be sent out by the Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance (BKK) to compatible cell phones (smartphone and conventional cell phone). Such high-level messages cannot be turned off by users. As the Tagesschau reports, the operating system versions iOS 16, 15.7.1 and 15.6.1 are required for the warning system on Apple’s iPhone. Devices with the Google operating system Android are compatible from version 11.
However, the system is still in the testing phase, as the BKK reports. The introduction has not yet been fully completed and full operation is not yet planned. So that this can start in good time, the actors involved would now further expand the necessary applications and technical facilities for use. The cell broadcast warning channel is to be activated at the end of February 2023 for the warning bodies in the federal modular warning system (MoWaS).
Source used: Tagesschau.de, vodafone.de, Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance