Utimaco joins the UN’s International Telecommunication Union Development Sector to support early Public Warning

"All people on Earth must be protected by early warning systems within five years." - UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, March 23, 2022

Aachen, Germany, 11 March, 2024 - Utimaco, a leading global provider of IT security solutions and the world’s largest CBC (Cell Broadcast Center) provider through its acquisition of Celltick, has become a Sector Member of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) Development Sector to add its experience and expertise to the Early Warnings For All Initiative, created to “ensure that everyone on Earth is protected from hazardous weather, water, or climate events through life-saving early warning systems by the end of 2027”. One critical component of the initiative is to ensure that live-saving messages can reach people at risk, on time to take action. 

As a global leader of Public Warning Systems (PWS), Mass Notification Systems (MNS), and the world’s largest CBC (Cell Broadcast Center) provider, Utimaco has been able to gain vast firsthand experience and technological know-how from its many live installations in different countries, ranging from Denmark, India, the support of the Ukraine since the beginning of the war and many others. This expertise in the implementation and crucial success factors for Public Warning systems can be used to design and deploy systems in countries that are the primary beneficiaries of the Early Warning for All (EW4A) initiative created by the UN in 2022.

Disasters costing thousands of lives highlight the global need for early warning solutions and underline the importance of the EW4A initiative, which aims at supporting developing countries to provide their citizens with early warnings related to the natural hazards that are caused by global warming. Most of these countries have not implemented effective mobile early warning systems to reach communities at risk and the aim is to speed of the implementation of cell-broadcast, including by promoting a regulatory approach and provide technical assistance.

Stefan Auerbach, CEO of Utimaco, said:

“We fully support the goals of the UN’s Early Warning for All initiative: While natural hazards happen globally, the human toll tends to be highest in developing countries with limited resources at their disposal to invest in disaster prevention. As the world’s largest CBC provider with a long-term expertise in the deployment of Public Warning solutions, Utimaco has an obligation to bring that experience to the initiative to help meet the initiative’s target to protect the world population by early warning systems by 2027.” 

Dr Cosmas Luckyson Zavazava, Director of the ITU Telecommunication Development Bureau, highlights: 

“As the lead of the Early Warnings for All initiative’s Pillar 3, on warning dissemination and communication, our objective is to make sure that everyone can benefit from the incredible growth of digital technologies, networks and services. Partnerships with our private sector members, such as Utimaco, are critical in raising awareness about the opportunities of digital solutions, and delivering technical expertise. We value and welcome Utimaco’s decision to join us in our support to the EW4all initiative and help save lives.”