The Estonian Ministry of the Interior is set to test the new "pocket siren" technology this Wednesday (July 16) in Tallinn, Pärnu and Rakvere. The technology alerts mobile users about major threats by using their phones' sound, light, and vibration features.

With the pocket siren technology, an alert is sent instantly to a smartphone and warns of danger with sound, light and vibration. The alert can be received even if the user's mobile network is down, or if their phone is set to silent mode, which differentiates it from a regular SMS alert.

The test network covers Harju, Pärnu, Järva, Ida-Viru, Lääne-Viru, Rapla, Viljandi and Tartu counties.

Kadi Luht-Kallas, adviser to the Ministry of the Interior and pocket siren project manager, told ERR that the testing this Wednesday will take place in Tallinn, Pärnu and Rakvere, as it is easier to get volunteer testers to participate in these larger settlements.

"In the case of pocket siren testing, we are discussing transmitting a warning message on an alternative network. That is why we have transmitters in Tallinn, Pärnu and Koeru, or Levila's tall masts, where transmitters have been installed specifically for this using a special frequency for this project," Luht-Kallas said.

During the test, a message will be sent to specific areas, with a subsequent analysis carried out to determine which devices receive it.

"Some of the equipment we have should now allow us to send threat warnings with the precision of satellite coordinates. Let's see how accurately this is and how that accuracy is reflected in the end-user's view as they movie in the coverage area," said Luht-Kallas.

Regular smartphone users in the region will not receive the test message. It is possible, however, that some phone owners from outside the EU will also receive a notification if their device supports the frequencies used for the test.

"The message does not state that there is a threat, but says – in Estonian, Russian and English – that it is a test, as it also does on the taskusireen.ee website. If there is anyone who does receive it but was not aware of our test beforehand or is not involved in the test, we would be really  grateful if they could provide feedback via the  taskusireen.ee website," Luht-Kallas said.

The pocket siren technology is based on 5G broadcast technology. No country is currently fully deploying 5G technology, but development work is geared towards the future of TV and radio broadcasting on mobile phones.

The need for an alternative transmission network has been demonstrated by emergency situations, which have occurred in various parts of Europe in recent years, said Luht-Kallas.

"For instance, the latest extended blackout in Spain and Portugual, where the mobile network just went down. The same issue  occured Germany, when there were floods in 2021. The mobile network there was also so damaged due to the floods. It was not working and so it was not possible to transmit the hazard warning," Luht-Kallas explained.

---

Follow ERR News on Facebook, Bluesky and X and never miss an update!