The ordinance on the “Public Warning System” has now entered the four-week review phase. Of course, it will still be a while before the new warning system works in practice, because the mobile phone operators and the warning agencies first have to set up their infrastructure for it.
The so-called cell broadcast technology is to be used for disaster warnings in the event of various events, such as massive storms that have hit Austria in the past few days, but also terrorist attacks, for example. According to information from the Digitization State Secretariat, “Cell Broadcast” is an independent technology for message transmission that is not based on SMS. The warning comes as a kind of push message on the mobile phone display.
Cell phones dial into cell towers
The alarm system could have been helpful during the storm on Thursday, said Harald Eitner, head of the Styrian civil protection department, in the “Kleine Zeitung” (Saturday edition): “Because I’m able to speak to every single cell phone user at short notice, it would be five minutes before that was soon enough.”
According to experts, one advantage of the system is that you do not have to register separately and that no data is collected because it does not use the phone number. The technology takes advantage of the fact that every mobile phone dials into nearby radio masts – if a state warning center detects extreme weather conditions, for example, it can send out a regional push message as a warning.
Disadvantage of the whole thing: The construction of the “cell broadcast” warning system requires the establishment of a separate infrastructure at the mobile phone operators and at the official bodies that can trigger warnings (the nine state warning centers and the Ministry of the Interior). The mobile network operators and the warning bodies must now set up their infrastructure in accordance with the provisions of the regulation. The system is to be set up in the second half of 2022, “however, the actual operation also depends on the speed at which the mobile network operators are building their infrastructure,” said the State Secretariat’s broadcast – so it is unclear when the system can actually start.
Why implementation is so complex
The implementation of the corresponding EU directive is already taking a long time. “The creation of the concept for the overall system, the creation of the technical interfaces and the networking of the authorities with the mobile phone operators is very complex” and required “a time-consuming coordination” between the nine federal states, the ministries, the RTR and the three mobile phone operators it. The Interior Ministry is currently working on creating the necessary infrastructure to be able to trigger warnings. The first tests could take place as soon as the mobile operators have reached their infrastructure. The federal states are responsible for the production of their release systems themselves.
“Meanwhile, almost 90 percent of all Austrians own a smartphone,” emphasized State Secretary Florian Tursky (ÖVP), “it is obvious that warnings are also sent via this”. The past few weeks in particular have shown how important and necessary it is to provide people with quick and simple information. The comprehensive siren warning system remains in place, warnings are currently also available via the “Katwarn” app.
Video: There is an EU directive on so-called “warning SMS” – messages that are sent to all cell phones within a certain area in an emergency. But in Austria the implementation fails.
Source: Nachrichten
