• In addition to warning apps, radio, TV and digital city display boards, cell broadcast is also being used for the first time
  • The majority of Germans want direct short messages on their cell phones or smartphones

Natural disasters and other crises can pose an immense threat to the population. It is all the more important that, in an emergency, as many affected people as possible are warned. There will be another nationwide warning day on December 8th. The time scheduled for the test warning is 11 a.m. So-called cell broadcasting will also be used for the first time.

“With the system, a message is sent to smartphones within a radio cell and thus locally differentiated - regardless of their mobile phone number and network load. Cell broadcast is a digital contribution to disaster protection and is already being used successfully in other countries such as Japan or the Netherlands,” explains Bitkom Managing Director Dr. Bernhard Rohleder. “In the event of a disaster, people need to be informed quickly and understandably. In the future, the vast majority of them can be reached with cell broadcast. It’s good that the federal and state governments agreed to introduce it last year.”

Already in late summer 2021, after the devastating floods in the Ahr Valley, a broad majority of the population spoke out in favor of cell broadcast (83 percent). Of those who use a cell phone or smartphone themselves, 93 percent wanted such direct information. 90 percent of all respondents also criticized the fact that the federal government had missed the digitization of disaster control.

What exactly is cell broadcast and what requirements must be met? Bitkom answers the most important questions:

What is Cell Broadcast and how does it work?

Cell broadcast is a messaging service similar to SMS in mobile networks. Short text messages are sent to cell phones, for example to warn of dangers as part of disaster control. In contrast to normal SMS, the message is not sent individually from one phone number to another phone number, but rather the message is delivered as a “broadcast” from one location to all cell phones in one or more cell phones in parallel. This means that shipping also works in busy mobile phone cells. The alerts can trigger an alarm on the devices even if they are muted.

Can the messages also be received on older devices?

In principle, Cell Broadcast can be received on all smartphones, including older ones, as long as they support the service. No special app is required. However, receiving cell broadcast messages on some devices must be activated in the settings and appropriate adjustments must be made. Cell broadcast is already activated on current devices. The prerequisite is at least version 15.6.1 for the iOS operating system and version 11 for Android.

Users of older devices should find out from the manufacturer whether and how Cell Broadcast can be activated and can use the already widespread warning apps NINA or Katwarn at the same time.

What does a Cell Broadcast message look like on cell phone?

The display on the cell phone differs depending on the model and operating system. As a rule, the messages are clearly displayed on the home screen as a notification. They cannot therefore always be found in the normal SMS folder. No images can be sent via Cell Broadcast, only text messages. However, the text messages can also contain differentiated warnings and behavioral instructions with a maximum message length of 1,395 characters.

What about data protection?

Cell Broadcast sends messages to all cell phones in a cell, regardless of the phone number. The warning is therefore anonymous for the recipients. The sender is an authorized and competent public authority responsible for the content and destination of the message.

In which countries is Cell Broadcast already used?

In some countries, cell broadcast is used in addition to other methods for public disaster warnings. In Japan, for example, the technology is used to warn of tsunamis. The USA, the Netherlands and other countries also use such systems to warn the population.

Source: Bitkom

Also read:
Phishing SMS for Warning Day in Germany
That's why all cell phones will ring on December 8th


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