NL-AlertApril 2016

Paul Kubben

Senior Policy Advisor –

Project Manager NL-Alert

Ministry of Security and Justice

Index

• General information

• Penetration growth

• Technical details

• Future developments

What is NL-Alert?

• Text message on mobile phonesto alert people in close vicinity of an emergency situation

• Alert system for emergency situations one of a mix of

crisis communication tools (sirens, NL-Alert, regional tv and radio, www.crisis.nl, social media)

• Nationwide launch on 8 November 2012

• Alarms a specific area, applicable in different types of emergencies, high density of mobile phones in NL

• Cell broadcast, not sms (radiosignal, 1 way traffic)

NL-Alert: where we stand • Relevant statistics: 17 million citizens, 15.5 million citizens

with at least 1 mobile phone

• NL-Alert available in all 25 Safety Regions

• Actual usage since November 2012: an average of 2 or 3 times per month (mostly large fires, but also in case of a small twister, a bomb detonation and the breakout of a deadly snake)

• Actual usage of sirenes: 1 or 2 times per year

• Six nationwide verification messages: February and November 2013, June and December 2014, June and December 2015

NL-Alert: Nationwide verification messages

• Main goal of verification message: awareness of NL-Alert in general and awareness of mobile phone settings

• 7.1 million Dutch citizens of 12 years and older received thenationwide verification message in December 2015 (49%)

• Furthermore:- 86% says that they will circulate the NL-Alert message- 84% thinks it is a good idea to alert people via mobile phones in case of an emergency situation

Penetration growth NL-Alert

Nov 2012

Launch

Feb 2013 Nov 2013 Jun 2014 Nov 2014

9%

25%30% 31%

Growth due topre-configured

phones

Growth slowingdown due to 4G

Dec 2015

4G Implemented

49%

35%

June 2015

NL-Alert

NL-Alert: from PSAP to citizens

NL-Alert ‘use case’

EVENT!

UseNL-

Alert?No

Yes

Send andrepeat message

Update?

Yes

No

End

Why cell broadcast and not SMS or IP ?

• In non-crisis situations and for a small target audience, manytechnologies may suffice

• Crisis situations often cause network congestion

• Our specification requires a message to be delivered within a maximum of 3 minutes, also in crisis situations. Cell broadcast can fulfill this requirement

• Other advantages of cell broadcast:

• Privacy insensitive technology

• No costs can be charged to the end user

• Embedded WEA app enables quick and automatic penetration growthand a ‘standard’ user experience

• Please note that risks, other than congestion, that come withusing commercial mobile networks cannot be avoided by using cellbroadcast

Current status of phone support is positive

• About 80% of the mobile phones works out of the box

• Iphones need manual OPT-IN

• WEA user experience on more and more mobile phones

• Please note this is valid for the NL market

Future developments NL-Alert

• NL-Alert not only a tool for the fire brigades (safetyregions), but also for police (regarding mass shootingsand/or (threat of) terrorist attacks

• Research into technical improvements to solve someproblems as mentioned by several relevant actors (Parliament, Safety Regions, Citizens):Quick wins:- Fixed lines (people with no mobile phone)- Hyperlink in CB messages (language issues)Roadmap to NL-Alert 2.0- IP based ecosystem (apps, internet of things)- FM radio broadcasting (fall back / redundancy)

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