Everbridge announced today (12 June) that it has expanded the capabilities of the national alerting system that it supplies to the country of Sweden. This means that residents and visitors in Sweden will be able to receive SMS notifications on their mobile phones if they reside within an area where sudden events such as fire, extreme weather or a terror attack occur. All mobile operators in Sweden can now send location-based SMS alerts provided by Unified Messaging Systems (UMS), an Everbridge company, with an "Important Message to the Public" from SOS Alarm, the system operator.
“The mobile phone is the best tool for reaching the population and for providing important information about how to act during major accidents and other severe events. This is a significant step forward that all mobile operators are now connected to this service, which is an important part of strengthening Swedish crisis preparedness and creating a safer Sweden for all,” said Kenny Lorentzon, head of emergency response department at SOS Alarm.
UMS claims that its Location Based Alerting System (LBAS) allows authorities to alert people in a specific geographic area in a quick and efficient manner. All mobile phones located within a defined area can be notified using location information from the mobile network without having to do anything to receive the messages.
“Having a national warning solution implemented in Sweden demonstrates a significant modernisation of emergency preparedness services. The mobile phone is the first channel most people turn to when searching for information. SMS notification is both precise and time saving and can help save lives and keep businesses running when a critical event occurs,” said Espen Gylvik, general manager at UMS.
Following legislative changes that began on July 1, 2017, SOS Alarm now has the ability to send SMS alerts to anyone who resides in a defined geographic area in Sweden. Previously, Sweden only had the opportunity to send alerts to mobile phones ‘registered’ within an affected area. Neither UMS nor SOS Alarm stores data from mobile operators and the information transmitted cannot be used in other contexts.
