Millions of mobile phones across India buzzed for several seconds as part of a government Emergency Alert Test system. The government advised citizens on Wednesday to ignore the test messages they might receive.
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT), working with the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), is improving mobile disaster communication systems across the country to ensure critical information reaches citizens on time.
Government Conducts Emergency Alert Test
The system uses the Common Alerting Protocol (CAP), which is recommended by the UN’s International Telecommunication Union. It currently operates in all 36 States and Union Territories of India. It sends disaster and emergency alerts to mobile users in specific geographic areas via SMS.
Cell Broadcast (CB) technology added, along with SMS. This technology sends alerts to all mobile devices in an area at the same time, ensuring quick delivery of alerts.
Pop up on phones Nationwide
“As part of the nationwide rollout and the launch of the Cell Broadcast (CB) facility, testing and trials are underway to check the system’s performance and reliability before its official launch. During this time, the public may receive test messages in English, Hindi, and regional languages on their mobile devices,” the statement said.
The Department of Telecom has asked for the public’s cooperation during the testing phase and emphasized that all test messages are only for system validation. No action needed from recipients.
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