First Day of Civil Protection
For the first time ever, Germany’s federal government and the state of Brandenburg jointly hosted a Day of Civil Protection on June 24, 2023. The initiative aims to strengthen the population’s capabilities to help itself in cases of emergency and to attract talent for civil protection agencies. We are pleased that awareness of this issue is growing. There are plans to organise an annual nationwide Day of Civil Protection as of 2024. We regard this as an important initiative worth supporting. With our Modular Warning System (MoWaS), which we are operating for the German Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance (BBK), we are an important player in the segment. We help to ensure that the population in Germany can always be reliably warned of dangers. At the same time as the Day of Civil Protection, a state-wide Alert Day also took place in Brandenburg on June 24, which was a great overall success.
Alert Day Bavaria and NRW 2023
Positive conclusion after the Alert Day in Bavaria and NRW: mecom’s warning systems worked smoothly. Yesterday morning at 11 a.m., a state-wide Alert Day was held in Bavaria and North Rhine-Westphalia. The interior ministries of the two federal states triggered a test alert to test their critical infrastructure as well as the connection of all relevant alert multipliers and alerting devices. The Modular Warning System (MoWaS) serves as a central message hub for the control and dissemination of official population alerts. Since 2001, the system has been operated by mecom Medien-Communikations-Gesellschaft mbH for the German Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance (BBK). Consequently, MoWaS was one of the focal points of yesterday’s Alert Day. “As was the case on the nationwide Alert Day in December 2022, our technical infrastructure again functioned flawlessly and smoothly yesterday,” stated Alexander Feldmann, Managing Director at mecom. “We are very satisfied with the course of the Alert Day in Bavaria and North Rhine-Westphalia and draw a positive conclusion all around.” Mandy Best, Managing Director at mecom, added, “With the flawless performance of our technical systems, we were able to contribute significantly to the successful course of the Alert Day. Our team once again did an excellent job, ensuring that all systems functioned 100 per cent around the clock every day.” About the Alert Day in Bavaria and NRW:On yesterday’s Alert Day, the German federal states of Bavaria and North Rhine-Westphalia tested their warning systems in a joint trial. In the course of the Alert Day, the participating authorities and emergency forces activate different warning systems and alerting devices, such as radio and television, digital city display boards or alerting apps. The existing alerting devices are tested depending on their availability and deployment options. In this way, the technical processes in the event of an alert and also the alerting devices themselves can be checked for their function and for possible weak points. In the follow-up, the responsible agents make improvements, if necessary, to make the population warning system even safer. Alert Day also serves the purpose of informing people about population alerts and thus raise their awareness of the topic. About mecom:mecom Medien-Communikations-Gesellschaft mbH (mecom for short) with headquarters in Hamburg was founded in 1989 and is a joint venture of the news agencies dpa Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH, dpa-AFX Wirtschaftsnachrichten GmbH, KNA Katholische Nachrichten-Agentur GmbH, GEP Gemeinschaftswerk der Evangelischen Publizistik gGmbH with epd and AFP Agence France-Presse GmbH. dpa is the major shareholder and holds a 50 per cent stake in mecom. As a modern IT services provider, mecom designs and operates innovative and customised solutions for professional communication applications. This includes, in particular, the reliable transmission of sensitive data via satellite in broadcast mode or via web technology. About MoWaS:mecom develops and operates the Modular Warning System (MoWaS) for the Federal Republic of Germany. This is a powerful warning and communication system used by the federal and state governments to alert and inform the public in civil protection and disaster scenarios. The alerts are transmitted via satellite. As opposed to land-based transmission methods such as VHF or mobile communication, satellite communications are less sensitive to interference such as power outages.Further information on Alert Day: www.warnung-der-bevoelkerung.de
Alert Day 2022
Nationwide Alert Day Alert Day 2022: mecom’s warning systems have performed successfully in the nationwide tests. Hamburg. Alert Day 2022 took place across Germany this morning. The purpose of the nationwide Alert Day is to familiarize the population in Germany with alerts that might be used, for example, in the event of dangerous weather conditions, power outages and other hazards. The federal, state and local governments took part and tested their alerting devices in a joint trial alert. In particular, the technical procedures in the event of a warning were tested. Consequently, mecom’s warning systems also participated in the trial. Among others, mecom operates the Modular Warning System (MoWaS), which is used by situation and control centres across Germany to create and disseminate alerts. “We are very pleased that the course of the Alert Day was extremely positive from our point of view,” said mecom’s Managing Director Alexander Feldmann. “Our systems, above all the Modular Warning System, worked flawlessly, without any malfunctions. This way, we made a significant contribution to the success of the nationwide Alert Day.” Mandy Best, Managing Director at mecom, added, “We’ve been preparing for Alert Day for months. Our team has been working under high pressure and very conscientiously to ensure that all systems work flawlessly and that Alert Day is a success.” mecom is also technically involved in the new cell broadcast standard, which was tested for the first time yesterday. This new alerting channel has not been fully implemented yet. Cell broadcast is to be released for the alerting bodies of the Modular Warning System by the end of February 2023, once the test phase is completed. About Alert Day:On this day of action, the federal and state governments, participating counties, independent cities and municipalities test their alerting devices in a joint trial. In the course of the Alert Day, the participating authorities and emergency forces activate different warning systems and alerting devices, such as radio and television, digital city display boards or alerting apps. The existing alerting devices are tested depending on their availability and deployment options. In this way, the technical processes in the event of an alert and also the alerting devices themselves can be checked for their function and for possible weak points. In the follow-up, the responsible agents make improvements, if necessary, to make the population warning system even safer. Alert Day also serves the purpose of informing people about population alerts and thus raise their awareness of the topic. About mecom:mecom Medien-Communikations-Gesellschaft mbH (mecom for short) with headquarters in Hamburg was founded in 1989 and is a joint venture of the news agencies dpa Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH, dpa-AFX Wirtschaftsnachrichten GmbH, KNA Katholische Nachrichten-Agentur GmbH, GEP Gemeinschaftswerk der Evangelischen Publizistik gGmbH with epd and AFP Agence France-Presse GmbH. dpa is the major shareholder and holds a 50 per cent stake in mecom. As a modern IT services provider, mecom designs and operates innovative and customised solutions for professional communication applications. This includes, in particular, the reliable transmission of sensitive data via satellite in broadcast mode or via web technology. About MoWaS:mecom develops and operates the Modular Warning System (MoWaS) for the Federal Republic of Germany. This is a powerful warning and communication system used by the federal and state governments to alert and inform the public in civil protection and disaster scenarios. The alerts are transmitted via satellite. As opposed to land-based transmission methods such as VHF or mobile communication, satellite communications are less sensitive to interference such as power outages. Further information on Alert Day: www.warnung-der-bevoelkerung.de
