European Commission selects STELLAR Consortium including F24 to demonstrate the potential of satellite-based Emergency Warning Services using the European Global Navigation Satellite System (Galileo)

MUNICH , June 15, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The STELLAR consortium consisting of Telespazio (FR), F24 (FR/DE), European Emergency Number Association (BE), Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (FR) and Thales Alenia Space (FR) has been awarded the service contract "Emergency Warning Service Demonstrator" by the Directorate-General for Defence Industry and Space (DEFIS) of the European Commission.

The Emergency Warning Service (EWS) is a new service of the Galileo programme, put at the disposal of national civil protection authorities for alerting the population in case of looming disaster, including in the cases where the traditional terrestrial alerting systems cannot operate at full capacity or even collapse.

The objective of the STELLAR project is to demonstrate the potential of this forthcoming satellite-based emergency warning service before it is introduced in the European Global Navigation Satellite System (Galileo) infrastructure.

F24 has joined the STELLAR consortium with the aim of contributing with its unique knowledge about crisis management and mass alerting to European and National authorities.

"We are proud to be part of such an important initiative on the European Level. We have accumulated tremendous experience all over Europe and beyond and are keen on contributing to this important platform to support the safety of people in Europe," states Dr. Joerg Rahmer, Spokesperson of the Executive Board at F24.

First Provider to assess the integration of Galileo into Public Warning Systems

The selected consortium has been tasked to analyse the operational needs of the EU national civil protection authorities for a Galileo's alerting solution, and to showcase how this service could support them in building up a resilient strategy facing crisis controls. The demonstrations will involve national authorities from the European Union Member States. STELLAR will contribute also to a better understanding of the end-to-end process of delivering warnings and alerts through the Galileo infrastructure and signal-in-space. The project STELLAR is funded in the frame of the EU Horizon Europe Framework Programme for Research and Innovation in Satellite Navigation.

F24 is very active in Research and Development opportunities to provide to its clients the most up to date and efficient solutions. The Galileo initiative will enable F24 to further develop its renowned Public Warning System, extend its multi-channel capabilities and become the first PWS provider in the EU to experiment with the upcoming Galileo Emergency Warning Service.

David Gurle, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of F24 and serial entrepreneur – Perzo, Symphony and Hive – former executive at Microsoft, Skype and ThomsonReuters, states: "Efficient and reliable emergency communication has become one of the most critical tasks in today's world with multicomplex crisis situations challenging governments as well as businesses on a daily basis. The importance of this project cannot be emphasized enough. F24 has proven its role as a true innovator in Emergency Notification and Crisis Management for more than 20 years."

The European Emergency Warning Service and the Union Space Programme

In its regulation (EU)2021/696 establishing the Union Space Programme, the European Union introduces a new service in the Galileo portfolio of services aimed at broadcasting a warning message to any members of the public facing an upcoming threat (natural-or man-made-hazard): the Emergency Warning Service (EWS). As established in the Regulation, "the services provided by Galileo shall comprise [...]an emergency service, broadcasting, through emitting signals, warnings regarding natural disasters or other emergencies in particular areas". EWS has been conceived as an early warning system in conjunction with other such warning systems already established in EU Member States. The main capabilities offered by the Galileo system to be utilised in the frame of EWS are:

• Single point of access to Galileo infrastructure for national alert services,
• Worldwide coverage via the Galileo Signal in Space, Independent of terrestrial mobile or internet access,
• Alert message received by standard GNSS equipment: smartphones, handheld, car navigators, etc
• Dissemination of an advisory/warning/alert message, including associated instructions to react,
• Geo-location information of the area of danger encoded in the message to target only the relevant population.

More information on pws.f24.com as well as f24.com

F24 Dr. Stefanie Hauer
Vice President Marketing & Communication
presse@f24.com
+49 89 2323 638 75