Cell Broadcast: BBK introduces all-clear messages
Warning messages via Cell Broadcast have existed in Germany since 2023. Now the BBK has also introduced all-clear messages.
Smartphone with warning message
(Image: Simone Hogan/Shutterstock.com)
In response to the flood disaster in the Ahr region of North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate in the summer of 2021, but also due to EU Regulation 2018/1972, the Cell Broadcast system was introduced in Germany in February 2023. However, until now, there was no function for issuing an all-clear message after the end of a danger or a test alarm. As of November 25, citizens have also received all-clear messages via the mobile service, announced the Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance (BBK), which is responsible for the function.
BBK expands Cell Broadcast
As the BBK writes in its announcement, this innovation represents another "milestone in the further development of Cell Broadcast and the German warning system." The technical implementation was carried out by the BBK and was accompanied by an "intensive test phase with mobile network operators."
During the test phase, "the technical requirements for the Cell Broadcast all-clear function within the federal warning system and the systems of the mobile network operators (Deutsche Telekom, Vodafone, o2/TelefĂłnica, and 1&1) were extensively tested," it further states.
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BBK President Ralph Tiesler commented on the expansion of the Cell Broadcast function: "The continuous expansion of our warning systems is central to modern civil protection. With the new all-clear function, Cell Broadcast becomes even more reliable and strengthens people's orientation in crisis situations."
Goes beyond requirements
The BBK emphasizes that the all-clear function via Cell Broadcast is neither part of the technical guideline DE-Alert nor the "European Public Warning System" (EU-Alert), which is binding for all EU member states.
This means that not only are the legal frameworks met, but the new function also goes beyond them "for the greatest possible protection of the population." According to the BBK, a warning always includes an all-clear message that clarifies when a danger has passed.
Cell Broadcast is a unidirectional warning message. A so-called SMS-CB can be sent either to the entire network, regionally, or to a single mobile cell. Unlike a classic SMS, the SMS-CB is sent simultaneously to all mobile phones within a radio cell that are ready to receive. This way, millions of mobile phones and smartphones can be reached simultaneously – even with heavily utilized networks.
(afl)
