New Zealand Selects one2many for National Emergency Mobile Alert System

The system will enable government agencies to warn at-risk communities of critical adverse events and threats to life, health and property by sending emergency alerts to their mobile phones. The cloud-based service will be fully managed by one2many for up to 12 years.

To enable the system, one2many has delivered its new Public Warning Portal cloud service to MCDEM: a mobile alert creation and management system that emergency management personnel can use to generate public warnings. The Public Warning Portal also enables automatic alert generation, which can enable alerts to be swiftly issued for emergencies such as tsunamis or earthquakes. The open architecture of the Portal means that MCDEM will in the future be able to integrate any additional emergency alert channels, such as social media, TV and radio, without comprising its reliability or requiring changes to the system.

As part of the deployment, one2many also delivered its Cell Broadcast Systems in the private cloud of New Zealand’s mobile operators’ networks: Spark, Vodafone NZ and 2degrees. one2many’s software securely interfaces with MCDEM’s public cloud-based Public Warning Portal to enable the broadcast of emergency alerts to all 3G and 4G mobile subscribers within the location of an emergency. Crucially, people do not need to download an app on their mobile phone or subscribe to a service. If their phone is on, capable of receiving the alert and inside the target area then they should receive the alert.

David Coetzee, Manager, Capability & Operations at New Zealand’s Ministry of Civil Defence & Emergency Management, commented: “In a country where emergencies such as natural disasters are all too common, it’s essential we have multiple robust and reliable means of alerting the public to threats. one2many met all our stringent demands for this contract and are delivering a managed cloud service that’s easy-to-use, secure and comprehensive. Importantly, one2many proved they could meet our exceptionally short delivery timeframe. We’re very happy that the system launched successfully last November 26, and will help us and other agencies to continue to improve the safety of our communities.”

Maarten Mes, managing director of one2many, commented: “one2many is currently the only company in the world able to provide a best-in-class, end-to-end wireless emergency alert solution. Our innovative cloud-based technology, which has been developed by in-house engineers, draws on decades of emergency alert experience to deliver governments and mobile operators with a reliable, secure and geo-targeted means of protecting their citizens. This significant implementation in New Zealand highlights our leadership in this domain and we are proud to have delivered this important project for the country within the tight timelines.”