Millions of mobile phones across India buzzed for several seconds on Saturday, as part of a government trial of a mobile-based disaster alert system. The government had on Wednesday advised citizens to ignore the test messages they might receive.
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT), in collaboration with the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), is actively enhancing mobile-based disaster communication systems across the country to ensure the timely dissemination of critical information to its citizens.
The system is based on the Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) as recommended by the UN body International Telecommunication Union. It is currently operational across all 36 States and Union Territories of India and delivers disaster and emergency-related alerts via SMS to mobile users within geo-targeted areas.
Cell Broadcast (CB) technology has been introduced, alongside SMS, in which alerts are transmitted to all mobile devices within a defined geographic area simultaneously, ensuring near real-time delivery of the alerts.
"As part of the pan-India rollout and the launch of the Cell Broadcast (CB) facility, nationwide testing and trials are currently being conducted to assess the system's performance and reliability prior to its formal inauguration and dedication to the nation. During this period, members of the public may receive test messages in English, Hindi and regional languages on their mobile devices," the statement said.
The Department of Telecom has appealed for the cooperation of the public during the testing phase and reiterated that all test messages during this period are purely for system validation purposes and no action is required from the recipient side.
After the testing, the system will be operationalised across the country and will disseminate emergency alerts in multiple Indian languages across all mobile handsets—regardless of test channel settings. This will ensure alerts reach a wider audience during actual emergencies.
