GSMA wins US$1.2m NOAA subaward for cell broadcast alerts in nine Pacific nations
The GSMA has secured a US$1.2 million subaward from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to bring mobile cell broadcast warnings to nine Pacific Island countries.
The mobile industry body GSMA said it has won a US$1.2 million subaward from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to improve mobile-based early warning in nine Pacific Island countries. Developing Telecoms reported that the money covers cell broadcast deployments in the Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Niue, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. The aim is to turn cell broadcast from a technical possibility into a working public warning channel in those countries.
Cell broadcast lets authorised agencies push an emergency alert to every compatible handset in a defined area at once. Messages can reach many people within seconds and avoid the congestion that can slow calls and texts during an emergency. The Pacific faces heavy exposure to cyclones, coastal flooding and other natural hazards, so warning delivery is a central issue for governments and communications providers.
The GSMA will use its Mobile for Humanitarian Innovation programme to work with mobile operators, national disaster management authorities, regulators and other local partners. The work covers technical readiness and also the procedures for issuing warnings, including who has responsibility for authorising and sending alerts. The GSMA said it advocates building mobile alerts into national warning systems alongside radio, television and community channels, so people with differing connectivity and communication needs are reached.
The GSMA will head the cell broadcast component of the Pacific Multi-Hazard Early Warning Systems Communication & Tools Project. It will coordinate closely with the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, working through that body's COMET training and education program. The Weather Ready Pacific Programme has supplied technical support and regional coordination.
The subaward follows work the GSMA started in 2025 with the Pacific Islands Telecommunications Association and network solutions group Omnitouch Network Services. That earlier effort gathered mobile operators, meteorological services, regulators, UN agencies and governments around mobile early warning in the region. The project also feeds into the GSMA's contribution to the Early Warnings for All initiative.