Thanks to funding from the European Regional Development Fund, cell broadcast was introduced in Latvia on July 1, 2025. This effective and modern solution will now serve as a new tool for public early warning systems during emergencies, complementing existing information channels.
The launch of cell broadcast was announced at a press conference at the Ministry of Interior, attended by Minister of Interior Rihards Kozlovskis, Head of the Ministry of Interior Information Centre Āris Dzērvāns, Chief of the State Fire and Rescue Service Colonel Mārtiņš Baltmanis, Vice President for Technology at "Latvijas Mobilais Telefons" Gunārs Danbergs, General Director of “Bite Latvija” Mindaugas Rakauskas, and Director of the Technical Department at “Tele2” Līga Krūmiņa.
Minister of Interior Rihards Kozlovskis stated: "Cell broadcast, which operates on a radio broadcast principle in Latvia, is a new additional tool that will allow internal affairs services to promptly notify people about various types of threats or crisis situations – from natural disasters to military threats. This is an important element in the overall early warning system, alongside already known and established notification methods, including alarm sirens, announcements in mass media, social media, etc. Furthermore, cell broadcast allows for much more precise targeting of emergency information directly to those people in the affected region, thus enabling more accurate crisis management. I am pleased with the very successful cooperation between the Ministry of Interior Information Centre and the State Fire and Rescue Service with all mobile operators operating in Latvia – their involvement in the cell broadcast system strengthens the role of mobile operators in the overall public safety architecture."
Cell broadcast notifications will be used to immediately warn residents in a specific area about potential threats, such as: dangerous weather conditions, floods, chemical spills, dangerous individuals, missing children, and other emergencies.
Types of Early Warning Notifications
Cell broadcast will provide the following types of early warning notifications:
Presidential Alerts.
Extreme Alerts.
Severe Alerts.
Missing Child Alerts.
End of Threat Alerts.
Exercise Alerts.
It's important to note that cell broadcast notifications are not SMS messages. These early warning notifications will be displayed on mobile phones in a special format with a distinct sound signal; they cannot be modified or forwarded to other phones. These notifications will differ from regular SMS, emails, and social media messages because they are built-in as a separate functionality.
How Cell Broadcast Works
Cell broadcast operates similarly to radio – it does not provide feedback from the recipient and does not interfere with regular communication. Notifications are free of charge and do not require prior registration or subscription. A notification is received if the mobile phone is within the reception area of a specific mobile network tower.
Notifications will be received on mobile phones operating across all mobile network generations. Mobile phones will receive notifications regardless of subscription, as long as they are within the mobile network's broadcast area, including phones of tourists, migrant workers, students, and other groups visiting Latvia. Since cell broadcast technology has been operating globally for many years, cell broadcast notifications can also be received on "feature phones" if the manufacturer has provided such functionality.
Language and Compatibility
Warning notifications will be distributed in Latvian, and in some cases, an English translation may be included. The reception and display of notifications on smartphones are ensured by the respective operating system developers. Phone users should note that on Android devices, notification titles will only be visible in Latvian if the device has a Latvian user interface available and activated. On Apple devices, a full Latvian language interface is currently not available, so notification titles will be displayed in English or the user's chosen language.
Residents are encouraged to regularly update their phone's operating system to ensure correct and timely receipt of cell broadcast notifications.
Project Funding
The implementation of cell broadcast was carried out within the framework of the European Regional Development Fund project "Implementation of Public Warning System ABS+", managed by the Ministry of Interior Information Centre. The total funding for the project is EUR 3,433,446, including EUR 2,918,429 from the European Regional Development Fund and EUR 515,017 in state budget co-financing.
