Information gap looms

This is because the emergency transmitters that exist for this purpose will no longer be able to be used. Today's alerting system in the event of a disaster is clearly regulated: When the sirens wail, the radio should be switched on. There, the population is informed about what has happened and recommendations for behavior can also be given. Normally, this is done via the normal radio stations.

If this infrastructure should fail, for example, due to a major earthquake or also due to wilful destruction, emergency transmitting stations exist. However, this emergency radio network of the federal government is broadcast via FM. Due to the ongoing switchover to DAB+, the days of these emergency transmitters are numbered.

Replacement of the emergency transmitters still open

Radio broadcasting via FM will be discontinued by around the mid-2020s. According to the SRG, DAB+ is expected to gradually replace analog FM broadcasting as early as 2020. It is true that the emergency transmitters could continue to be operated until 2027, as Kurt Münger, head of communications at the Federal Office for Civil Protection (FOCP) said in response to a question. However, this hardly makes sense if most end users have already switched from FM to DAB+ and thus an ever smaller number of people can be reached via FM transmitters.

As an alternative to FM, it would be possible to broadcast information from the authorities via digital radio DAB+. The decision on this would have to be made at the political level and would involve considerable financial expenditure, Münger said.

It is undisputed that the existing 5,000 stationary and 2,800 mobile sirens will continue to sound the alarm. The siren alarm itself has proven its worth, says Münger. Up to now, it has been used relatively rarely, for example in the event of floods or drinking water contamination. It was only last year that the sirens were brought up to the latest technological standards with a uniform control system via radio. This ensures the operation of the sirens for the next generation.

New ways sought

New, additional ways are being sought to provide the population with information as quickly as possible. In particular, technological developments and changes in user behavior are to be taken into account. However, the SMS disaster alert, which was also originally envisaged, will be abandoned. In the case of major events, it would not have been possible to distribute a large number of messages within a short time. This has been shown, for example, in the case of Christmas and New Year's wishes, some of which reached the recipient hours late.

App downloaded around 50,000 times

In the meantime, the alarm system has been launched Alertswiss with an app. A pilot project for push alerts via the app and the website is to be launched next year. The app has already been downloaded around 50,000 times. However, the disadvantage of the company's own app is that users have to download and install it themselves and also activate the push notification. For this reason, it is also being examined whether the disaster alert can be distributed via widely used weather, traffic or news apps in order to reach a large part of the population. According to Münger, corresponding clarifications have been initiated. (SDA)