AT Alert – Smartphone Notification in Case of Emergencies

In 2021, Austria passed a bill to implement a text-based public warning system, which required that mobile network operators implement a cell broadcast service. This would make it possible for IT systems to automatically send to operators any official warnings issued by state warning centers and the Ministry of the Interior. All devices registered in the mobile network would then receive a corresponding notification on their displays and/or an audible signal.

The Rundfunk und Telekom Regulierungs-GmbH (RTR) regulatory authority was appointed to implement the system and to display any warning notifications that were issued on a central website. To implement the project, the RTR tendered an invitation to bid for the “Procurement, Programming, Installation and Operation of Two Polling Servers, an AT Alert Web Server and a Platform Server”.

The task

The RTR hired Spirit in Projects in 2023 to support the invitation to tender as requirements engineers. Our services included a comprehensive preliminary survey as well as an analysis of existing environments, data flows, interfaces and roles. Our main deliverable consisted of working out a performance catalog, for which we collected both functional and non-functional requirements and defined the basic architecture of the solution. After reviewing the performance catalog for quality, we worked with contracting experts to incorporate it into tender and evaluation documents.

The challenge

The project was characterized mainly by its complex landscape, which included a variety of stakeholders and technologies (state, federation, mobile network operators, end devices), and by the high visibility and criticality of the solution, to be used by the general public in emergencies and disasters.

Client Value

The technical expertise of its consultants combined with their experience in supporting tenders and a sound methodological approach made it possible for Spirit in Projects to target and develop the documents necessary for the complex invitation to tender. The high quality of the requirements catalog and tender documents was a key factor in ensuring the solution was implemented quickly.

In particular, the client noted Spirit in Projects’ high level of technical expertise and quality of its process organization. The system’s initial Austria-wide test run was successfully completed on October 5, 2024.