Within the framework of the 2024 National Drill that will take place on September 19 at 11 a.m., an earthquake alert message will be broadcast to cell phones in Mexico City and the surrounding area.
This will be the first time that this early warning system will be activated through cell phones and is the result of efforts led by the Federal Telecommunications Institute (IFT) and the National Civil Protection Coordination (CNPC) through different working groups on the prioritization of emergency communications and the establishment of a common alert protocol, in which the concessionaires and virtual mobile operators of the mobile service also participate.
In order to receive this alert message, the population using the cell phone service must take into account the following:
The cell phones or smartphones that will receive this alert message will be those that are compatible with the Cellular Broadcasting Service (CBS), a system that allows receiving and processing alert messages for risk or emergency situations.
It is essential that the operating system of cell phones is updated.
Once the cell phone or smartphone receives the alert message, it will immediately appear on the screen and vibrate, in addition to emitting a distinctive sound, which will last approximately 8 seconds.
If the cell phone and/or smartphone is turned off, out of cellular coverage or outside the area to be alerted at the time the alert message is broadcast by mobile phone companies, the user will not receive said alert message.
The broadcasting of alert messages is free, so it is not necessary to have a balance and/or data to receive the message.
For the purposes of this drill, the main concessionaires and Virtual Mobile Operators that have coverage in Mexico City and the metropolitan area will participate.
The IFT together with the CNPC have worked hand in hand with mobile concessionaires to implement the Common Alert Protocol to alert citizens in case of risk or emergencies through different means, including the Cellular Broadcasting Service.
Regarding the technical part, on January 30, 2020, the IFT published in the Official Gazette of the Federation the “Guidelines that establish the Common Alert Protocol”, whose objective was the establishment of the Common Alert Protocol, to support alerts for risk or emergency situations.
Subsequently, on September 13, 2022, the IFT issued the “Technical Provision IFT-011-2022: Technical Specifications of Mobile Terminal Equipment that can use the radio spectrum or be connected to telecommunications networks. Part 3. Cellular Broadcasting Service for notification of Risk or Emergency situations”, whose objective was to establish the technical specifications of cell phones and/or smartphones, to assist in the observance of the Common Alert Protocol Guidelines.
To date, the IFT has coordinated 33 meetings of the “Working groups for the prioritization of emergency communications and the establishment of a common alert protocol referred to in Chapter Five of the Guidelines that establish the Common Alert Protocol, in accordance with the Forty-Ninth Guideline of the Guidelines for Collaboration in matters of security and Justice”, which, among others, follow up on the implementation of the dissemination of alert messages through the Cellular Broadcasting Service.
Source: ift
