FR-Alert: what is this alert system that will be deployed throughout France? – news.fr

By Alexandra Segond Published on 6 June 22 at 20:20 Actu See my news Follow this media By the end of June 2022, the “FR-Alert” system will land on our phones. (©Pixabay / Illustration)By the end of June 2022, it will be fully deployed throughout the country. The “FR-Alert” system will gradually arrive on our phones. No need to regularly consult social networks or download specific applications: FR-Alert takes care of sending a notification directly to your phone in the event of a serious incident. Here are five points to remember about this new system, which should soon be operational everywhere in France and overseas.1 – How does it work? FR-Alert’s objective is to “warn anyone in mobile phone of its presence in a danger zone in order to inform it of the behavior to adopt to protect itself”, explains the site of the Ministry of the Interior. This tool is complementary to the existing alert systems: more than 2,000 sirens connected to remote triggering software, the activation of TV and radio media for the dissemination of alert and information messages on their antennas as well as the mobilization of institutional accounts on social networks, etc.Ministry of the InteriorThis notification will be accompanied by a “specific sound signal”, even if you have activated the “silent” mode of your phone. On the other hand, if you are in “airplane” mode or if your phone is switched off, you will not receive any notification. Other information may supplement this first notification depending on the evolution of the situation: “details on the nature of the danger, the geographical area concerned, on the behavior to adopt…” A final notification will be made to signify the end of the alert. Note, however, that “receipt of this alert notification may vary depending on your phone or your mobile operator”, recognizes the Ministry of the Interior. Videos: currently on ActuDepending on the brand of mobile phone, the operator and the location where you are when the alert is sent, different notification reception times may be observed.Ministry of the Interior2 – For which incidents?Announced in 2020 after the disaster at the Lubrizol factory in Rouen, as Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin recalled in mid-May on Twitter, Fr-Alert intends to warn the population of any type of major event “justifying to alert the population concerned for safety”. See the tweet The events that may be subject to an alert notification are: Natural hazards: flood, volcanic eruption, fire, storm, cyclone, etc. Biological and chemical accidents: pollution, gas leak, nuclear fire, etc. Health hazards: epidemic, pandemic, agri-food incident, etc. Technological and industrial events: serious accidents on road, rail or air networks, industrial incident, failure of telecommunications means, etc. Serious public security events, such as terrorist acts. 3 – How to receive these alerts? No need to download an application or register on any online platform to be part of the public who can receive this alert. “Receiving this notification does not require any prior installation on your phone”, continues the Ministry of the Interior. And this “it doesn’t matter where you are and what mobile phone you use. »Most phones are pre-equipped with this system, but it is possible – especially for those with an iPhone – that you need to update the settings of your device. Otherwise you will not be able to receive notifications from FR-Alert. See tweet 4 – Why could we also receive SMS? FR-Alert is the result of two technologies: cell broadcasting (already implemented) and geolocated SMS (deployed later). For now, FR-Alert is therefore only accessible to smartphones equipped with 4G and 5G. The choice of a faster and therefore more effective broadcast to “alert the population in a few seconds, which is particularly relevant, especially in the event of a crisis with rapid kinetics requiring immediate security. »Phones equipped with weaker networks (2G and 3G) will be able to receive geolocated SMS. This service will be deployed in a second phase.5 – Who will be able to access my data? The State will not be able to collect any location data via this new service, promises the Ministry of the Interior. For good reason: “this technology is based on sending the alert via the relay antennas of the telephone operators. “And these last ones? “Structurally, a mobile network requires having access to the approximate location of connected telephones in order to be able to send them calls, SMS, data flows”, admits the institution, before adding: The activity of telecommunications operator is subject to numerous regulations, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), to protect and regulate access to personal data and in particular location data.Ministry of the InteriorThere is no question no no longer take advantage of this system to send you (targeted) advertisements: “FR-Alert is a State device exclusively used for the dissemination of the alert to the populations”, insists the ministry of Gérald Darmanin. From a legal point of view, FR-Alert is subject to the European decree of December 11, 2018, which stipulates that the 27 Member States must have established a geolocated alert system by June 21, 2022. Was this article useful to you? Note that you can follow Actu in the My Actu space. In one click, after registration, you will find all the news of your favorite cities and brands.