City of Ulm expands warning infrastructure

Official warnings should be broadcast in as many ways as possible in order to reach the population quickly. To ensure this, official warnings in Ulm are now not only distributed to the press and smartphones and published on the city's info channels in the event of a serious hazard, but they are also published on Ströer's digital city information systems.

"I am pleased that this cooperation is being implemented here. A prompt warning that reaches everyone - this can save lives and prevent damage," says Chief Mayor Gunter Czisch at the presentation of the new precautionary warning option on Monday, August 14, in Ulm's Hirschstrasse.

The warning service is free of charge for the city, Ströer's partner for this service is the Federal Office for Civil Protection (BBK). Ströer is thus an official warning multiplier. The local partner is Ulm's fire department and disaster control, for which commander Adrian Röhrle emphasized, "We are convinced that this is a reasonable extension of our existing warning structure."

"As a long-standing partner of cities, we contribute to the urban communications infrastructure with our digital city media. Warnings or information from the fire department or disaster control should reach the population as promptly as possible and in a targeted manner - also, or above all, in public spaces. We are very pleased that messages can now also be distributed via our media in Ulm," said Alexander Stotz, CEO of Ströer Media Deutschland GmbH.

The partnership enables relevant warning messages to be displayed quickly in the event of an emergency through interfaces to the federal government's Modular Warning System (MoWaS). The aim of MoWaS is to activate all warning devices and warning multipliers in one's own area of responsibility at the touch of a button and to send out hazard warnings on all available channels.

The warning messages, which will be seen on Ströer's media carriers, are clearly marked as warnings and contain not only the actual warning content but also behavioral recommendations and are broadcast on all screens in the city area within a few minutes in the event of danger. If the all-clear is given or the message is canceled, the warning will continue to run for another hour, marked with an "all-clear" stamp.

The digital screens are located in Ulm at central and highly frequented intersections - at the train station, on main roads and in the pedestrian zone. Together with the Ulm fire department as the alerting authority, Ströer has created the conditions for simultaneously playing out ad-hoc messages on the total of 15 media carriers in Ulm, thus reaching as many people as possible.

The fire department and disaster control can also autonomously control individual screens and thus alert the population to a hazardous situation only in certain areas. The announcement on the media also represents an effective implementation of the warning in public areas for people with hearing loss.

Background:

A total of around 6,450 digital media from Ströer have been integrated into the warning infrastructure in 280 cities in Germany. In cooperation with the cities, Ströer began digitization in public spaces several years ago. Through its digital media offering, the company has become an important contact for urban information networks in public spaces and is thus making its contribution to the municipal vision of a smart city. All of Ströer's digital media in Germany are powered by green electricity.