site.btaBG-Alert System to Be Tested on April 1

Two tests of the BG-Alert system are planned for this year, one on April 1 from 11 am to 11:30 am and one on October 1, said  at a briefing on Wednesday the head of the Interior Ministry's General Directorate for Fire Safety and Population Protection, Chief Commissioner Alexander Dzhartov.

He said that it takes up to four minutes from the time the message is sent for it to reach users. In order for a message to be received, the devices must support this system, not be in airplane mode, the phone must have coverage from the network of the mobile operator used, as well as be in the territory of the broadcast message, Dzhartov also said.

“Early warning is an element of any modern disaster management system. When we talk about it, it should be clear that it is population-oriented and provides information about the fact that a disaster has occurred, is occurring, or will occur,” explained the Chief Commissioner.

Dzhartov said that the advantages of the Cell Broadcast technology that BG-Alert uses are that it is fast, does not use any personal data, messages can be broadcast simultaneously to different locations and can work without a SIM card, on the principle of the single European emergency number 112.