The slow pace of Tropical Cyclone Alfred may have given telcos and utilities time to prepare a response, but as affected residents deal with escalating flooding they must do without the benefits of a promised emergency alert system that is running three years behind schedule.

That system – a national messaging system (NMS) designed to help state and territory authorities deliver alerts and warnings straight to the mobile phones of residents in disaster affected areas – was originally announced in May 2023 and due late last year.

The NMS would “[draw] on technology currently used overseas,” Minister for Communications Michelle Rowland said at the time, and would “substantially improve Australia’s ability to send prioritised warnings from trusted sources” during natural disasters.

Yet while Rowland initially promised that the system would be live by the end of 2024, in reality the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) only contracted for the system’s delivery this February – with a fully operational NMS not expected until late 2027.

The existing Emergency Alert system – which uses telco networks to deliver messages that may not always arrive – “was always going to be the primary messaging system” for this year’s half-year higher risk weather season, a NEMA spokesperson told Information Age.

Emergency Alert “is complemented by other sources of information, including apps delivered by state governments, emergency broadcasting and through websites such as the [BoM],” the spokesperson added, attributing NMS delays to protracted telco negotiations.

“The delivery of [NMS] relies on all partners coming together, including the telecommunications companies,” they said.

“It’s taken time to work through this with the telecommunications providers and we are pleased that they have recently signed contracts.”

NMS will allow emergency services to bypass telco networks and phones’ do-not-disturb settings, ensuring delivery of what NEMA describes as “targeted warning messages” to all mobile phones within a specific area “in near real time”, accurate to within 160 metres.

Because its core cell-broadcast (CB) technology sends messages to the phone rather than to the phone number of its subscriber, industry body GSMA notes, “it does not cause network congestion and cannot be affected by it,” with millions of messages deliverable in seconds.

Government pivoting to a more robust response

NEMA’s current timeline means that, despite the entirely predictable rotation of floods, cyclones, heatwaves and bushfires amidst a long-range weather outlook that is being called “unusual” for its intensity, Australia is still running years behind global best practice.

CB technology is already available in over 20 other countries, with Asian, US, Canadian, and South American telcos adopting it as early as 2008 and EU member states required to have an EU-Alert CB system since June 2022.

French authorities, for example, first used the system in 2023 to warn nearly 2 million residents in the east of that country about severe thunderstorms.

The NMS delays come amidst a flurry of government rhetoric about improving the resilience of telecommunications networks during disasters, with mutual assistance arrangements – also already in place overseas – under consideration and LEO satellite access fast-tracked.

It was only three months ago that telecommunications providers were ordered to keep customers updated during outages because, as ACMA chair Nerida O’Loughlin said, they are often “not always as responsive with information during a major outage as they should be.”

Telcos rushed to get ahead of the storm

Even in the ongoing absence of NMS, telecommunications carriers took advantage of the long warning period before Alfred’s arrival to put key repair staff in position, and to prime websites and social media feeds with advice for customers.

Telstra, for one, offered tips for staying connected and prepared disaster assistance packages while Optus outlined its Cyclone Alfred support measures; NBN Co offered twice-daily updates while warning users that widespread power outages would cripple services.

All providers were distributing emergency generators, with NBN Co offering Disaster Satellite Services for local authorities’ use and dispatching repair crews as the number of affected properties swelled from 30,000 on Friday to 252,000 by Sunday afternoon.

As utilities scrambled to restore communications and electricity services on Monday, Telstra reported 66 mobile sites had been restored and 154 remain offline, while Optus reported that 144 mobile sites had been restored and 267 mobile sites remained offline.

Portable cell stations – called Mini Cell on Wheels (COWs) by Telstra and SatCats by Optus – are supporting emergency workers and residents in the most severely affected areas, relying on generators for power until utility crews can bring electricity services back on line.

As Australians confront yet another natural disaster, technologies like LEO connectivity and NMS have become ever more critical to the national disaster response, ACCAN CEO Carol Bennett said, urging governments to embrace new technologies “as a matter of urgency.”

“The severe events on the east coast have been serious,” she said, “but with climate change accelerating, we can expect worse in the years ahead.

“Connectivity loss is a real threat to health and safety, and emerging technologies offer practical solutions to keep Australians informed when it matters most.”