After Reliance Jio, DoT sends ‘Emergency Alert: Severe’ text messages to Airtel, Vodafone users

Have you just received an ’emergency alert: severe’ text message? Well, you are not the only one. In a bid to test the emergency alert system, the Department of Telecommunication is sending alerts to the mobile phone users across India. After Reliance Jio and BSNL, users of Airtel and Vodafone also reported receiving such ’emergency’ messages. The emergency flash message was sent both in English and Hindi.

“This is a SAMPLE TESTING MESSAGE sent through Cell Broadcasting System by Department of Telecommunication, Government of India. Please ignore this message as no action is required from your end. This message has been sent to test Pan-India Emergency Alert System being implemented by National Disaster Management Authority. It aims to enhance public safety and provide timely alerts during emergencies,” the alert message read.

Rajkumar Upadhyay, the Chief Executive Officer of C-DOT, had earlier said that such technology was available only with a foreign vendor and C-DOT is developing it in India.

Upadhyay had mentioned,“It will be implemented by the NDMA for broadcasting alerts at the time of disaster directly on mobile screens.” He had also mentioned that this technology was being tested on the Jio and BSNL network.

He mentioned a pan-India level of trials and that there were various versions of the broadcast message that required development to disseminate through a telecom network.

The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has now started the testing of the emergency cell broadcast technology that has been developed by C-DOT. This new emergency cell broadcast technology will send out alert broadcast messages to alert people at the time of natural disaster, a senior government official said.

This broadcast technology will be tested from time to time and from region to region which will help in assessing the efficiency and effectiveness of the emergency warning broadcast technology and the capabilities of mobile operators and cell broadcast systems.