The reason for the introduction of cell broadcast in Germany was the severe storm in North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate in July 2021, which killed dozens. The flood disaster had shown that the warning apps and classic sirens were not sufficient to warn the population of the danger across the board. Cell broadcast is already in use in other EU countries.
After the accident in the Ahr Valley and other affected areas, a discussion ignited as to why the introduction of cell broadcast is taking so long. However, the legislator had given the providers and smartphone manufacturers involved a deadline of February 2023 to technically implement the warning system.
In order for people in Germany to be able to receive the warnings, a mobile phone or smartphone that is compatible with Cell Broadcast must be switched on and ready to receive. In the case of smartphones, the warning system is used on Apple iPhones with the operating system versions iOS 16, 15.7.1 and 15.6.1. Devices with the Google operating system Android are compatible from version 11.