The company "Meditec" will be introducing early warning system, or cell broadcast technology, in Latvia. Āris Dzērvāns, the head of the Information Center at the Ministry of the Interior, informed the Saeima's Internal Security Subcommittee on Tuesday, October 1, 2024, that the Procurement Monitoring Bureau has recently decided to allow the signing of a contract with the winner selected by the procurement commission. According to information available on the Procurement Monitoring Bureau website, the winner is "Meditec" and its offer has been recognized as the most economically advantageous.
"We are in the process of concluding the contract," emphasized Dzērvāns, who also informed that the total funding allocated for the implementation of the system is 3.2 million euros - 2.7 million euros in European Regional Development Fund (ERAF) funding and approximately 500,000 euros in national funding.
The procurement process was not straightforward, and the delays were due to active actions by some businesses complaining about various aspects of the procurement, Dzērvāns admitted. The complaints required time to be examined, he noted.
It is planned that cell broadcasting in Latvia could start operating in the spring of 2025.
In order to introduce cell broadcast technology in Latvia, which in the event of a threat would allow sending information about threats and necessary actions directly to mobile phones of people in the danger zone, the Ministry of the Interior's Information Center announced a public procurement in 2023 for the creation and maintenance of an early warning system, or ABS+, for four years.
In April 2021, the Cabinet of Ministers supported the Ministry of the Interior's proposal to improve the early warning system. Initially, the system was scheduled to start operating in the second half of 2024, but the implementation has been delayed.
In January of this year, a revised version of the State Civil Protection Plan entered into force, which stipulates that the deadline for informing the population and providing recommendations for action in the event of floods, floods, or storm surges is 30 minutes. Previously, this deadline was indicated as "as needed."
When cell broadcasting is activated in Latvia, it will mean that all mobile phone users will receive important information regardless of their mobile operator or connection, including foreign citizens - tourists who are "roaming" in Latvia.
