FI-Alert is based on Cell Broadcast Service (CBS), a standardised technology already in use in several countries. It enables emergency alerts to be targeted precisely at a specific geographical area, allowing people in that area to be reached quickly. The service is based on an EU directive.

“Our objective was to have the fully operational service ready before the end of this year,” says Timo Lehtimäki, CEO of Erillisverkot. “We have achieved that goal. From November 2026, emergency alerts will be delivered directly to mobile phones as FI-Alert notifications, in addition to the existing channels.”

Lehtimäki thanks everyone at Erillisverkot and the telecommunications operators who contributed to delivering the project within a tight timeframe.

Erillisverkot’s role was to procure the technical solutions and services required to operate FI-Alert. Going forward, Erillisverkot will provide the service to the Ministry of the Interior. The decision to issue an emergency alert will always remain with the relevant authority.

Erillisverkot is a wholly state-owned special-purpose company that provides ICT services for organisations supporting public safety and the functioning of society. Its services cover mission-critical communications, situational management and the protection of critical infrastructure.

“We have extensive experience at the heart of reliable public authority communications and situational awareness. We also have secure data centres, communications infrastructure and established working relationships with all telecommunications operators and public safety authorities,” Lehtimäki explains.

Fast, Precisely Targeted Emergency Alerts

“CBS technology allows messages to be sent rapidly to large numbers of people when necessary. Unlike text messages, alerts are transmitted simultaneously to compatible mobile devices in the affected area across all operators’ networks. Conventional SMS messages are effectively sent in a queue, making delivery slower and potentially causing system congestion,” Lehtimäki explains.

Sending an emergency alert does not require a subscriber database or recipients’ phone numbers. FI-Alert also requires no application installation or registration and works directly on all 4G- and 5G-compatible devices.

Only the oldest devices that support exclusively 2G or 3G technology will be unable to receive FI-Alert messages. Their users will instead be reached through other public warning channels, including the 112.fi website, Yle’s website, radio broadcasts and the 112 Suomi mobile application.

“CBS is particularly well suited to emergency situations because distributing messages does not place the same burden on mobile networks or other technical components of the messaging chain as the mass transmission of targeted SMS messages, for example. Furthermore, CBS messages can also reach devices using subscriptions from foreign operators, provided those devices are within the affected area. The system does not check the country of origin of the SIM card or mobile subscription,” Lehtimäki says.