The Government of Spain will implement a Public Alert System in the event of major catastrophes or imminent emergencies . The notices will reach citizens in the form of mobile notifications. This type of warning will be added to the traditional acoustic warning signals that are usually emitted from public buildings.
The Ministry of the Interior has indicated, after signing an agreement with the Secretary of State for Communication, that the Public Alerts System will be put out to tender “soon” and will provide the National Civil Protection System with a new tool for the distribution of notices massive and immediate throughout the Spanish territory.
According to the statement, the alert messages will be issued through mobile phone networks, but does not elaborate on details. Presumably, the Public Alert System will send notifications to mobile phones through SMS . It is a method already used to distribute other types of messages by state public agencies.
Mobile notifications to alert emergency situations
Photo by Jonas Leupe on Unsplash The new Public Alert System through mobile notifications will be part of the National Alert Network (RAN) of Civil Protection. In this way, the National Civil Protection System will be prepared to comply with the European Code of Electronic Communications. This establishes that the member countries have an emergency notification system as of June 2022 .
At the moment, the Government has not provided details on the specific date of launch of the new Public Alert System for mobile phones. However, the signing of the agreement is the first step for it to arrive before the deadline established by the European framework for communications, that is to say in the middle of next year.
The mobile notification mechanism, which unlike the sound alerts will have a massive reach, will be part of the Plan for Connectivity and Digital Infrastructures. It is a project financed with funds from the Recovery Plan , which includes structural and legislative reforms throughout the country.
Mobile emergency notification systems are not new. The United States, for example, has Wireless Emergency Alerts. This allows to notify the population of a certain area of emergency situations. Of course, they should not be confused with the warning systems through radio and terrestrial and satellite television.
