System on the test bench – siren test in Austria – and a premiere

These are the signals: At 12:00 noon, the “siren test” signal sounds as usual. The sirens sound for 15 seconds. The “Warning” signal is then broadcast at 12:15 p.m. This is a continuous tone for three minutes and means “dangerous situation”. At 12:30 a rising and falling howling sound is heard for about a minute. This is the “alarm” signal and means that danger is imminent. The all-clear was given at 12.45 pm. A continuous tone is heard that lasts for one minute.

Two alarms
In addition, the so-called AT Alert system will be activated for the first time throughout Austria on Saturday: at 12:00 for the first time throughout Austria by the Federal Ministry of the Interior, and at 12:45 state warning centers of the nine federal states will activate “AT Alert” for their regional area.

The “AT-Alert” is based on so-called cell broadcast technology. This allows alerts to be sent over the mobile network without the need to register or install an app. This also ensures that no personal data is requested or used.

Acoustic sound even in silent mode
The receipt of an “AT Alert” message is signaled on the mobile phone by a noticeable acoustic tone. Even if the mobile phone is on silent, the message “AT Alert” can be heard at full volume. The text message on the screen reads: “Attention test – Austria-wide test activation of civil defense signals via sirens and test activation by AT-Alert.”

Also during the flood disaster, “AT-Alert” was used several times in addition to the existing warning systems.