2024-04-24 15:34:51
A little earlier, in the same month, an inspection of population warning and information systems was also conducted throughout Lithuania, which revealed gaps in this area. It was noticed that part of the sirens did not work, and according to the Fire Protection and Rescue Department (PAGD), more than a third of the population did not receive warning messages. Telecommunications representatives say that a significant part of the population still lacks information on how the warning system works. Because of this, according to them, unfounded accusations are often received.
More than a third of the population did not receive warning messages
Ernestas Trunovas, head of the Population Protection Organization Department of the PAGD Civil Protection Board, says that the inspection of the warning and information systems of the entire population of Lithuania that took place last month was useful. Now, according to him, it is possible to address the shortcomings of information systems in a targeted manner.
“During the inspection, we noticed that the messages were not sent to the network of one of the mobile network operators, so a third of the population did not receive them. Some messages were not sent on another mobile operator’s network. Where messages did not reach the entire network, we identified that improvements were needed in our internal maintenance procedures. That was done, now the problem is gone. But in another network, where part of the population did not receive messages, the problem remains. As the equipment ages, it needs to be updated. That direction is currently being decided,” the PAGD representative summarized the results.
E. Trunovas also emphasized the fact that telecommunications technologies are improving rapidly, so in order to provide smooth information to the population, the equipment available at PAGD needs to be updated as well. And this, according to him, takes time.
“Mobile networks are being updated, infrastructure is being updated, and the equipment available at PAGD must be updated accordingly. It’s hard to catch up. This requires budget allocations and planning. There can be various solutions,” he said.
PAGD sends civil protection messages according to the selected territory
Mobile operators are receiving complaints from users that civil protection messages have not reached them. However, Tele2 PR manager Asta Buitkutė says that telecommunication companies are not responsible for this. As she points out, warning messages are sent by PAGD.
“Citizens’ warning messages are sent through a special system. It works directly through antennas, not to phone numbers. The operator cannot see whether the customer received that message at all. We give the services the opportunity to use a certain server and through it the services choose to which area they want to send those messages. If a person’s mobile phone connects to antennas selected by the services, he will receive that message, if he is no longer in that territory, he will not receive that message,” explained A. Buitkutė.
According to the representative of Tele2, even the owner of an apartment or house may not receive warning messages, although an emergency situation is taking place in the territory of his place of residence.
“It can even be cases where a person, for example, works at the other end of Vilnius, and some emergency situation happened near his house. If he works in another place, he will not receive the message, because he did not enter the territory selected by the services. The ratio between the phone and the antenna is also very important. It is also possible that the phone chooses a more distant antenna because the signal is stronger or the angle is somehow better. It is possible that a person is very close to the territory where there is an emergency, but if the phone connects to an antenna that is no longer in the area selected by the services, the message may not be received,” said A. Buitkutė.
During the huge fire at the Vilnius car scrapyard, all residents of Vilnius should have received civil safety warnings about extremely high and dangerous air pollution. However, a significant number of residents complained on social networks that they were not informed about the incident, and learned about the health risk much later. There were no reports, even those who were near the scene.
PAGD representative E. Trunovas says that the geographical area where the messages will be sent is chosen based on the spread of the relevant threat and its relevance to the population.
“Warning messages are sent to all residents of Lithuania when a danger or threat is relevant for the entire territory of Lithuania. Those threats can be different. The same kind of dangerous hydrometeorological phenomena, such as a tornado, strong wind, hurricane and the like. Radiological danger, if due to an accident in some nuclear facility”, explained the PAGD representative.
The message may not reach you due to technical problems
Telia’s service architect Tomas Grinevičius says there are more potential technical glitches that could prevent a user from receiving a civil safety alert message. According to him, it is important that this information system tool reaches the majority of the population.
“It is important to look at this way of informing as a “virtual” siren, which does not necessarily have to reach all 100 percent. users, and to draw the attention of the majority of the territory’s residents to an important message in the shortest possible time. From now on, users must help each other,” said T. Grinevičius.
Jaunius Špakauskas, head of corporate communication at Bitė Lietuva, points out that some people do not receive such messages because they are using old devices. Also, he adds, it’s because they simply haven’t activated the alerting features on their device.
“For people using Android devices, I advise you to open the messaging app on your smartphone. There will be 3 small dots at the top of the app, tap on it to find the “Settings” option. Clicking on this button will bring up the options – “Emergency Alert Settings” and “More Settings”. Select “More Settings” and under the “Broadcast Channels” option, ensure that all channels are broadcast. This will ensure that you receive the warning messages. For iPhone users, the first step is to open the Settings app and find Notifications at the very bottom, where you will find three items – Alert Level-2, Alert Level-3, AMBER Alerts. They all need to be turned on”, advised J. Špakauskas.
According to the PAGD representative E. Trunova, during the inspection of the population warning and information systems, it became clear that in Lithuania, due to one or another technical reason, about 10% of the systems do not work. sirens We are currently considering how to solve existing problems and technical glitches.
“The reasons have been established. Usually, it’s either some kind of building repair, or the electricity is disconnected and so on,” said E. Trunovas.
2024-04-24 15:34:51