Smart communication infrastructure: Ströer supports trial warning for the nationwide warning day on 8 December

This year's nationwide warning day will take place on 8 December as a test of the communications infrastructure. The aim of the warning day is to test the central Modular Warning System (MoWaS) of the federal government and all warning devices connected to it. In addition, on this day all warning multipliers will conduct a trial run of the internal procedures for sending out a warning message at warning level 1. The local authorities supplement the warning channels of the MoWaS with the local warning infrastructure to warn the population. At 11.00 am, the participating authorities and emergency services will simultaneously activate various warning systems, such as digital city information systems, warning apps and sirens.

Since 2018, Ströer’s digital city information systems have been integrated into the federal government's satellite-based Modular Warning System (MoWaS), and thus serve as official warning multipliers along with TV, radio and warning apps. The MoWaS warning system distinguishes between hazard information (lowest level, e.g. a bomb defusing with a few days' notice), danger (medium level, e.g. heavy rain in critical quantities) and extreme danger (highest danger level, e.g. extreme flooding with acute danger to life). Depending on the level, the various warning multipliers are required to interrupt their programme for the warning or to include the warning in their regular communications.

In 2018 and 2019, Ströer supported the warning day in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, and was official partner to the first national warning day in 2020. In addition to the national agreement with the Federal Office of Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance, the Federal Criminal Police Office and support in the search for missing children, Ströer has further regional and local agreements with cities, municipalities and fire service and police departments across Germany that have the need for a warning multiplier. In total, around 6,450 digital media in 280 cities are integrated into the warning infrastructure. In cooperation with the cities, Ströer already started digitisation in public space several years ago. Thanks to its digital portfolio, the company has developed into an important partner for urban information networks in the public space, thus making its contribution to the municipal vision of a smart city. Ströer offers convergent solutions and intelligent concepts to achieve communication goals in public space:

“As a long-standing partner of the cities, we contribute to the urban communication infrastructure with our digital city media. Many cities in Germany currently no longer have a suitable warning infrastructure. In many places, for example, sirens were dismantled without replacement. This gap is now being closed, for example, with our digital communication infrastructure. In many German cities we observe that it is very important to support the siren signals with visual information to guide and inform the citizens", says Alexander Stotz, CEO Ströer Media Deutschland GmbH.

Ströer’s goal is to help cities become more sustainable and smarter. Ströer has the expertise and the infrastructure to bring about local, sustainable change and accelerate the development towards a smart city by building sustainable and digital infrastructure solutions. At the GREENTECH sustainability festival in Berlin in June of this year, in addition to greening concepts for public amenities, a waiting hall with active air filtration and solar panels and digital options for city communication, siren solutions were also presented for the first time that can be integrated into city media and that supplement the previously purely visual warning messages on the screens with acoustic signals. Tailored speech outputs are also possible, for example for individual streets. This way, the crisis teams of the cities can be supported in setting up a new siren infrastructure to warn the population.

The nationwide warning day was held for the first time in 2020 and is to take place annually on the second Thursday in September. It was suspended in 2021 due to the flood disaster that hit large parts of North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate in particular. This year, the nationwide warning day will take place again, although it had to be postponed once more due to the introduction of the new Cell Broadcast warning channel. This means that the nationwide warning day will take place this year on 8 December 2022.

Further background material on the warning messages at Ströer can be found here.

Disclaimer

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" regarding Ströer SE & Co. KGaA ("Ströer") or the Ströer Group, including assessments, estimates and forecasts regarding the financial position, business strategy, plans and objectives of management and the future business activities of Ströer or the Ströer Group. Forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the results of operations, profitability, performance or achievements of Ströer or the Ströer Group to be materially different from any future results of operations, profitability, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this press release and are based on numerous assumptions that may also prove to be incorrect. Ströer makes no representation and assumes no liability with respect to the fair presentation, completeness, correctness, adequacy or accuracy of the information and assessments contained herein. The information contained in this press release is subject to change without notice. It may be incomplete or abbreviated and may not contain all material information relating to Ströer or the Ströer Group. Ströer does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements or other information contained herein, neither as a result of new information, future events nor otherwise.