How Technological innovation could improve Early warning system and traditional media alerts in case of Disasters

Broadcast media reaches a large proportion of the population and is a critical channel for early warning dissemination. Radio reaches approximately 83% of the population in Europe, with listeners tuning in for about two hours daily, while TV reaches around 79% with viewing times exceeding three hours. The barriers to accessing this media are low, as it is free and requires little technical or digital literacy.

Karen Woo cited specific figures showing that radio reaches about 83% of the population in Europe with approximately two hours of daily listening time, and TV reaches about 79% of the population with more than three hours of daily viewing time . She also noted that access barriers are low because the service is free and requires little technical knowledge or digital literacy .

Broadcast media is inherently more trusted than social media and websites, making it especially effective for delivering public warnings. Surveys conducted across multiple continents confirm that legacy media consistently achieves positive net trust values. This trustworthiness is a key advantage for using broadcasting as a warning dissemination channel.

Surveys conducted in Europe, Brazil, and Uganda showed that legacy media has very positive net trust values compared to websites and social media . In Uganda specifically, radio was identified as the most trusted source of information compared to social media .

In many countries, broadcasters have a regulatory obligation to disseminate emergency warnings, which reinforces their role as a reliable channel in a multi-channel dissemination strategy. This legal requirement provides a structural guarantee that warnings will be broadcast. It is therefore an important factor to consider when designing early warning systems.

Karen Woo noted that there is a regulatory obligation for broadcasters to broadcast warnings in many countries, and described this as a positive aspect that should be taken into account as another channel in multi-channel dissemination .

Broadcasting is an inclusive medium that can reach minority groups, migrants, and speakers of regional languages through linguistic and cultural adaptation. This means that even the most marginalised members of society can receive life-saving information. This inclusivity is a significant advantage over other dissemination channels.

Karen Woo explained that broadcasters incorporate linguistic and cultural aspects into their programming, meaning they can reach minorities, migrants, and people who speak regional languages, effectively reaching everyone .

ITU and EBU have launched a joint study to examine how broadcast media channels can be used more effectively for warning dissemination. A draft document is currently in preparation, and the final publication is planned for December 2036. The study represents the first time this work has been undertaken in this form.

Karen Woo stated that ITU and EBU started the work in March 2026, that a draft is currently available, and that the aim is to launch the publication in December 2036 .

Despite the widespread coverage and inherent trust associated with broadcast media, it is only occasionally used for early warning purposes. There is also very limited automated use of broadcast media with remote-loading protocols. This gap represents a significant opportunity to improve early warning systems.

Karen Woo noted that broadcast media is only occasionally used for early warning and that there is limited automated use with remote-loading protocols, describing this as a significant gap and opportunity .

The ITU-EBU study document is open for peer review, and contributions from interested parties are welcomed before the final publication. This collaborative approach aims to incorporate diverse expertise and perspectives into the final recommendations. Interested parties are encouraged to contact the team to obtain the document for review.

Karen Woo stated that the team welcomes anyone who is interested to review the document and that they offer an opportunity for review, noting it is the first time this is being done . She reiterated this invitation at the close of the session, asking interested parties to let the team know so the document could be shared .

The most trusted source of information for early warnings varies significantly by country and local context. In some settings, traditional authority figures such as village heads are more trusted than any media channel. This means that no single channel or source can be assumed to be universally effective.

Karen Woo noted that even traditional broadcast and trusted community figures like village heads are more trusted in some countries than other channels, emphasising that the appropriate channel depends on the specific country context . She used this to reinforce the argument for a multi-channel approach .

The EBU is an association of public service broadcasters with 112 members in 56 countries, all of whom have a public service mission to cover disasters and crises. However, the degree to which members are integrated into national early warning workflows varies considerably. This variation is one of the reasons EBU is involved in the joint study to develop best practices and recommendations.

Walid Sami stated that EBU has 112 members in 56 countries and that their mission includes informing and covering disasters and crises . He noted that some members are completely integrated into national early warning routing processes and sound early warning signals, while others are not yet fully integrated .

An effective early warning system requires a national alert aggregator that receives alerts from multiple authorities, prioritises them, and routes them to the most suitable dissemination channels. Alerting authorities such as meteorological services, civil protection agencies, and the military feed into this aggregator. The aggregator then distributes alerts to broadcasters, mobile operators, and other channels such as sirens and public screens.

Walid Sami described the early warning workflow in detail, explaining that alerts are triggered by alerting authorities such as meteorological services, civil protection, or the army, and converge into a national alert aggregator that prioritises alerts and decides on dissemination channels .

A wide range of broadcasting technologies are used globally, including DVB-T/T2, ATSC, ISDB-T, DAB+, FM, DRM, and HD Radio, each serving different regions and device types. These technologies feed home TVs, home radios, portable radios, car radios, and in some cases mobile phones. The suitability of each technology for early warning dissemination varies depending on several technical and operational factors.

Walid Sami provided a detailed technical overview of the broadcasting chain, listing technologies used for satellite broadcasting (DVB-S, DVB-S2, DVB-S2X, ISDB-S), digital terrestrial television (DVB-T, T2, ATSC versions 1 and 3, ISDB-T, DTMB), and radio (FM, DAB+, DRM, HD Radio) .

5G broadcast is a newly standardised technology that allows broadcasters to reach mobile phones directly without requiring a SIM card or cellular network subscription. Standardised in 3GPP Release 16, it enables existing smartphone chips to receive broadcasting signals directly from transmitters. This represents a significant technological advance for reaching individuals during emergencies when cellular networks may be congested or unavailable.

Walid Sami explained that the 5G broadcast standard, standardised in 3GPP, allows broadcasters to reach mobile phones without a specific tuner, and that existing chips from Release 16 onwards can receive broadcasting signals directly on smartphones .

Not all broadcasting technologies are equally suitable for early warning, and a set of key criteria has been identified to evaluate their suitability. These criteria include whether the technology can be received on multiple individual devices, whether receivers have geolocation capability, the energy autonomy of the receiver, remote wake-up capability, and overall operational readiness. These criteria will be developed in detail in the forthcoming ITU-EBU publication.

Walid Sami outlined five criteria for evaluating broadcasting technologies for early warning: receivability on multiple individual devices , geolocation capability of the receiver , energy autonomy of the receiver , remote wake-up capability , and operational readiness including availability of transmitters and receivers in the market .

The Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) is the ITU-recommended standard for transferring alerts between alerting authorities, national aggregators, and communication channels. Its use ensures interoperability across the early warning ecosystem. It is a technical requirement recommended by the ITU as part of the broader early warning workflow.

Walid Sami noted that the ITU recommends the use of the Common Alerting Protocol to transfer alerts between alerting authorities, the aggregator, and the communication channels .

Mobile phone manufacturers do not routinely integrate broadcast reception chips into their devices, which significantly slows the spread of direct broadcast alerting to smartphones. This is primarily a commercial decision, as manufacturers prefer to keep users within their own ecosystems. Walid Sami suggested that legal mandates requiring integration of broadcast reception into devices may be the only effective way to overcome this obstacle.

Walid Sami explained that in some countries broadcasting systems can be received on mobile phones, but only if the mobile phone includes a compatible reception chip, which manufacturers do not routinely integrate . He later elaborated that the only way to spread 5G broadcast reception is through legal decisions requiring its integration into receivers, and attributed manufacturers' reluctance to commercial motivations .

The EBU's involvement in the joint study with ITU is aimed at providing best practices and recommendations for integrating broadcasters into national early warning workflows. The study draws on the experience of EBU's diverse membership across 56 countries. The goal is to help broadcasters that are not yet fully integrated into national systems to achieve that integration.

Walid Sami stated that EBU is involved in the study in order to give best practices and recommendations, particularly because some members are not yet completely integrated into national early warning routing processes .

A multi-channel dissemination strategy is essential because no single channel can guarantee reaching all demographic groups, genders, or age classes. By multiplying dissemination channels, a very high rate of reach can be guaranteed. This approach is particularly important given that different channels have different strengths and vulnerabilities.

Walid Sami argued that the key is to use multiple channels because you cannot know whether you are reaching all age classes or genders, and that by multiplying dissemination channels a very high rate of reach is guaranteed . He also noted that most EBU members broadcast on social media and IPTV in addition to traditional broadcast channels .

Assessing the behavioural effectiveness of different warning channels is inherently difficult because a return channel is needed to confirm message receipt, and this cannot be guaranteed during a crisis. When cellular infrastructure is down, return channel confirmation is impossible. Post-disaster studies are currently the main method of evaluating channel effectiveness.

Walid Sami explained that a return channel, such as that available via mobile phones, allows confirmation of message receipt, but this is not guaranteed if the cellular system is down during a blackout . He concluded that the only way to ensure reach is to multiply channels, and that post-disaster studies are the main tool for assessing effectiveness afterwards .

FM radio continues to be maintained by most EBU members as a resilient fallback channel, even as digital technologies advance. Norway and Switzerland, which had discontinued FM broadcasting, are reconsidering this decision due to military and civil resilience requirements. This demonstrates the enduring strategic value of FM as a last-resort communication channel.

Walid Sami stated that most EBU members, with only one or two exceptions, continue to broadcast on FM . He noted that Norway and Switzerland stopped FM but are coming back, partly because the army asked to keep FM waves in order to reach the population .

AI tools currently rely on cloud-based algorithms and therefore require connectivity to function as live alerting sources. Without network access, local AI cannot receive live alert information from external sources. However, local AI can assist with supporting functions such as real-time language translation.

Walid Sami explained that AI relies on algorithms running in the cloud and that connectivity is a precondition for receiving live information . He acknowledged that local AI can feasibly perform tasks such as language translation , but argued that local AI cannot serve as a suitable source of live alerting if it is not connected to the source of the alert .

The Media Saving Lives initiative was a groundbreaking partnership between UNDRR and the World Broadcasting Unions, designed as a long-term project to transform organisational culture rather than simply deliver training. Over five years, it engaged around 110 media organisations across the Global South and trained over 2,000 media professionals, including journalists, senior managers, technical teams, and producers. The initiative aimed to make disaster preparedness part of the organisational DNA of media organisations.

Natalia Ilieva described the initiative as a long-term partnership between UNDRR and the World Broadcasting Unions, covering all parts of the world . Over five years, a team of nearly 20 experts engaged around 110 media organisations across the Global South and trained over 2,000 media professionals . She emphasised that training was not limited to journalists but also included senior managers, technical teams, and producers .

Every media organisation needs a disaster preparedness plan that addresses five key pillars: securing business continuity, coordination with disaster management authorities, editorial policies and preparedness programming, leaving no one behind, and staff training and continuous preparedness. The plan ensures both institutional resilience and the ability to deliver trusted information to society during crises. Preparedness must be practised in advance and cannot be improvised during an emergency.

Natalia Ilieva outlined the five pillars of the UNESCO model plan: securing business continuity to stay on air during disasters, coordination with disaster management authorities to ensure timely and accurate warnings in appropriate languages, editorial policies and preparedness programming including work during quiet periods, leaving no one behind to ensure vulnerable and underserved communities receive information, and staff training so everyone knows their role before a crisis .

The UNESCO Model Disaster Preparedness and Response Plan is a practical, step-by-step guide that media organisations of any size can adapt to their own circumstances, resources, and national context. Rather than prescribing a single solution, it provides a comprehensive framework that each broadcaster can customise to build organisational resilience. It was developed in collaboration with the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union in 2024.

Natalia Ilieva described the UNESCO model as a practical step-by-step guide that media organisations can adapt to their own circumstances, size, resources, and national context, providing a comprehensive framework rather than prescribing one solution for all . She noted that UNESCO approached the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union in 2024 to develop this global model .

Implementation of the UNESCO model plan has expanded globally following its launch, beginning with small island developing states in the Pacific, Africa, and the Caribbean, and subsequently extending to Central America, Southeast Europe, and South and Southeast Asia. In 2024, 12 media organisations from seven Asian countries are developing or enhancing existing disaster preparedness plans. Further expansion is planned for Africa and Central America.

Natalia Ilieva reported that the first implementation activities began in small island developing states across the Pacific, Africa, and the Caribbean, followed by Central America and Southeast Europe . In the current year, implementation expanded across South and Southeast Asia, with 12 media organisations from Bhutan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam developing or enhancing disaster preparedness plans . A workshop in Chad is planned for 27-28 July, bringing together media organisations from Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria, with further implementation planned in Madagascar, South Sudan, and Central America .

Small community radio stations lack adequate support for resilience and business continuity, leaving them vulnerable to disruption during the very disasters they are meant to help communities navigate. Governments must be lobbied to provide backup structures and support for the physical networks of community and local radio stations. Without such support, the continuity of broadcasting during emergencies cannot be guaranteed.

Natalia Ilieva argued that there is no support to make small radio stations resilient and that continuity plans for small radio stations in small places are not in place . She called for lobbying governments to provide backup structures for the resilience of physical networks, especially community radio and radio .

Broadcasting frequencies and physical networks must be actively protected and made resilient to ensure continuity of service during disasters. This is a critical but often overlooked aspect of early warning infrastructure. Natalia Ilieva called for this to be a priority alongside the broader arguments for maintaining all channels.

Natalia Ilieva stated that while the arguments for keeping all channels including radio, television, and community radio were well made, the missing element is the need to protect frequencies and networks, and called for lobbying to ensure backup structures for the resilience of physical networks .

In South Sudan, FM radio is the most trusted channel for communities at the last mile, particularly in remote areas. It offers wide coverage, can operate on solar-powered devices, supports local languages, and is fast in delivering information. These characteristics make it an indispensable tool for early warning in a country with limited infrastructure.

Salwa Kamil explained that FM radio provides wide coverage, can reach remote communities at low cost, can run on solar-powered radios, integrates local languages, and is the most trusted channel for people at the last mile as well as being fast in delivering information .

South Sudan's broadcasting regulator provides subsidised licence fees for community radio stations to support their sustainability as part of the early warning ecosystem. This is a practical measure to ensure that community radio stations, which serve remote and underserved populations, can continue to operate. It represents a form of government support for the resilience of local broadcast infrastructure.

Salwa Kamil stated that in South Sudan, community radio stations are given a subsidised licence fee, described as just an administrative fee, to enable them to pay a smaller amount than commercial radio stations .

South Sudan is exposed to a wide range of hazards including flooding, heat waves, droughts, disease outbreaks, conflict, and displacement. This combination of natural and man-made risks makes effective early warning systems critically important for the country. The diversity of hazards also means that warning systems must be robust and multi-faceted.

Salwa Kamil stated that South Sudan is vulnerable to flooding, heat waves, droughts, disease outbreaks, conflict, and displacement , and used this context to explain why broadcasting is so important for the country .

South Sudan employs a wide range of dissemination channels for early warning, including direct mobile calls, SMS alerts, social media platforms such as WhatsApp and Facebook, national television, community radio, local leadership networks, physical sirens, and mobile radio listening groups. This multi-channel approach is necessary given the diversity of the population and the varying availability of infrastructure across the country. Each channel serves a different segment of the population.

Salwa Kamil listed the means of dissemination used in South Sudan: direct mobile calls, SMS alerts, social media including WhatsApp and Facebook, national television, traditional and community channels including community radio, local leadership, physical alarms such as sirens, and mobile radio listening groups where people gather to listen to radio on a phone .

Language barriers represent a major challenge for early warning dissemination in South Sudan, which has 64 indigenous languages. Many communities outside the capital cannot receive warnings broadcast in English or Arabic. This means that a significant portion of the population may not receive or understand life-saving information.

Salwa Kamil noted that South Sudan has 64 indigenous languages, meaning that if warnings are broadcast in English or Arabic, many people cannot receive the message . She also noted that network coverage is limited to cities like Juba, the capital, and that many parts of South Sudan have no network coverage at all, leaving people dependent solely on radio .

Many rural areas of South Sudan have no mobile network coverage, meaning that communities in these areas rely solely on radio for information. This connectivity gap severely limits the effectiveness of digital and mobile-based warning systems in reaching the most vulnerable populations. It underscores the critical importance of maintaining and expanding radio broadcasting infrastructure.

Salwa Kamil stated that network coverage only reaches cities like Juba, the capital, and that in some other parts of South Sudan there is no network at all, leaving people entirely dependent on radio .

South Sudan is currently working with ITU to develop a national early warning platform. The platform is expected to be operational by the following year. This represents a significant step forward for a country that has historically lacked a centralised early warning infrastructure.

Salwa Kamil confirmed that South Sudan is working with ITU, mentioning Karen Woo's involvement, to develop a national platform for early warning, and indicated that something would likely be in place by the following year .

During the COVID-19 pandemic, South Sudan used the voices of influencers as audio messages played as background messages during phone calls and broadcast across radio stations nationwide. This approach proved highly effective in reaching people across the country with public health messages. It demonstrates that trusted voices can be leveraged through broadcast infrastructure even when social media platforms are not accessible.

Salwa Kamil described how during the pandemic, influencers' voices were used as background messages that played when people made phone calls, and the same messages were broadcast on radio stations across the country, with messages about hygiene and social distancing . She noted that the impact was real and the messages reached all over the country .

Highly digitised societies are also vulnerable to cascading failures when infrastructure is disrupted, as demonstrated by recent real-world events. A blackout in Madrid caused widespread disruption to cash dispensers, online booking, and ticketing systems. Similarly, Iranian strikes on data centres in the Arab Peninsula demonstrated how dependent digitised societies are on fragile infrastructure.

Giacomo Mazzone referenced a blackout in Madrid the previous year that caused widespread disruption including the failure of cash dispensers, online booking, and ticketing systems . He also mentioned a recently published study from the Arab Peninsula examining the impact of Iranian strikes on data centres in the region, describing it as an interesting case study of how a highly digitised society reacts under distress .

Localised AI models that do not require high bandwidth or constant internet connectivity could play a role in distributing warnings and background knowledge, particularly in low-connectivity regions. Brigitte Perrin noted that AI is widely used in Africa and that more and more localised AI systems that do not need the internet are being developed. She questioned how much AI tools could contribute to the distribution of warnings and preparedness knowledge.

Brigitte Perrin noted that AI is widely used in Africa and that there are increasingly localised AI systems that do not need the internet to be used . She also observed that AI platforms such as ChatGPT are beginning to provide live information, such as World Cup results, suggesting a shift towards real-time information delivery .

The Earth Info Hub initiative uses AI trained exclusively on verified and reliable scientific sources to provide background knowledge on climate and environment to media organisations, supporting preparedness rather than live alerting. It brings together reports from UN organisations, large NGOs, and other producers of reliable content. The initiative focuses on improving the scientific understanding of media professionals rather than on real-time warning dissemination.

Brigitte Perrin described the Earth Info Hub as an initiative providing scientific knowledge on climate and environment via an AI trained only on verified and reliable sources, bringing together reports from UN organisations, large NGOs, and other reliable content producers . She clarified that the initiative is focused on preparedness and global understanding for media rather than early warnings per se .

Autonomous AI systems running on local devices without internet connectivity are technically feasible and can detect events and transmit metadata over satellite or terrestrial networks. The speaker argued against the notion that autonomous AI cannot function without connectivity, pointing to the existence of small chips with significant processing capabilities. Such systems could be distributed across large territories and trained to detect and respond to specific events.

An audience member identifying himself as David Nemanja, co-founder of a company specialising in autonomous AI on devices, stated that his system can detect events without connectivity and transmit metadata over satellite, broadband, GPP-17, and terrestrial networks . He argued that small chips with significant processing capabilities are increasingly embedded in everyday devices and can be used for autonomous AI functions .

The 'Weather in a Box' initiative, led by ECMWF, WMO, and the government of Norway, demonstrates that locally run weather forecasting models can support disaster prevention without requiring constant connectivity. By running the forecasting model locally within a physical box, the system can operate independently of internet infrastructure. This approach could be extended to other disaster prevention applications.

An audience member described the Weather in a Box initiative as a box containing a weather forecasting model that runs locally, created by ECMWF, WMO, and the government of Norway, and suggested that the same approach could be used to prevent disasters .