Cell broadcast: In the future, warnings will also be sent via SMS

It has been technically possible for decades, and now the political will is there: the Ministry of the Interior has commissioned the introduction of SMS warnings in the event of a disaster.

Suddenly the full political support is there: Federal Interior Minister Horst Seehofer said to the ARD capital studiothat he had commissioned the introduction of “cell broadcast”. The warning system enables text messages to be sent to all cell phones dialed into a radio cell, without knowledge of phone numbers. “Cell broadcast” could then be used to warn citizens in flood risk areas of heavy rain and flooding, for example.

The Federal Minister of the Interior emphasized again that he regards “Cell Broadcast” only as a supplement to the existing warning means: “The warning of the population has to work on all channels. If you are woken up at night, you have to know immediately what happened and how you are should behave. ” The text message can complement sirens, apps and radio. “We need them,” said Seehofer.

Praise from the Ministry of Economic Affairs

The Federal Ministry of Economics has now also praised the warning system in the highest tones: the Federal Ministry of the Interior is in charge of it. However, the Ministry of Economic Affairs welcomes the introduction of “Cell Broadcast” as a warning system. “Cell Broadcast” enables “warnings to be sent to a large number of people simply, quickly and in compliance with data protection regulations.” This has already proven itself as a warning system in numerous countries.

The commitment from the ministries for the interior and economy is all the more astonishing as the possibility of warning via “cell broadcast” has existed since the 1990s, says Linus Neumann from the Chaos Computer Club. An EU directive even requires the introduction of the warning system, but allows exceptions. After all, “Cell Broadcast” was developed precisely for this purpose: “It was never understandable why Germany waived this standard,” says Neumann. Especially since the nationwide Warning Day 2020 showed that the other warning methods, such as sirens, didn’t work.

Telecommunications law is to be adapted

Presumably under the impression of the flood disaster, the Ministry of Economic Affairs is now promising active support. This includes adapting telecommunications law if the Federal Ministry of the Interior makes the decision in favor of “cell broadcast”. The Federal Network Agency, a subordinate authority of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, is already involved in the ongoing process. “With the introduction of ‘Cell Broadcast’ the Federal Network Agency would work out the necessary technical specifications promptly,” says Peter Altmaier’s ministry.

Now that the ministries have given the go-ahead, the Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Relief, which is responsible for the warning system, comes into play. Just a few months after taking office, President Armin Schuster proposed the introduction of “Cell Broadcast” in a points plan. Now he has to take care of the introduction.

No schedule yet

It is still unclear how long this will take. The Ministry of the Interior emphasizes: There is not yet a schedule for the introduction – contrary to reports to the contrary. Apparently you don’t want to raise false expectations. According to experts, twelve to 18 months are conceivable. The point is to test the warning system technically, to define the requirements for the mobile network operator. And even if there are currently no data protection concerns, there will probably be appropriate tests.

The decisive prerequisite: the network operators should be obliged to use “cell broadcast”. For this, the Bundestag still has to approve a law.

The members of parliament probably only have one appointment left in this legislative period: despite the fact that there are no sessions, the Bundestag will meet again in September. This would at least be a possible time to get the law on the warning system in motion.