Comms Alliance develops new Device Standards for emergency alerts on National Messaging System
9 July 2025: Australian Telecommunications Alliance, the peak body of the telecommunications industry, has published updated mobile device Standards to enable emergency alerts on smartphones in Australia.
“Australians are increasingly dependent on their mobiles during emergencies, including natural disasters, security threats, and public health emergencies,” said Australian Telecommunications Alliance CEO Luke Coleman. “This updated Standard will ensure that Australians can access the latest emergency alerts on compatible mobiles when the National Messaging System (NMS) is operational.”
The NMS will utilise ‘cell broadcast’ technology, a modern and secure system to send emergency alerts to mobile devices in a targeted area. Cell broadcast can be used to send alerts to millions of devices almost instantly, with the ability to target devices in specific areas affected by natural disasters, or even nation-wide. Cell broadcast is an internationally-proven technology with in-built privacy and security protections, no opt-in requirements, and the ability to bypass ‘Do Not Disturb’ settings to ensure emergency alerts are delivered.
“When bushfires, floods, or cyclones hit, the first thing Australians do is reach for their mobile. When the NMS is operational, people in affected areas will be able to receive time-critical alerts on compatible devices – which could have the potential to save lives during emergencies,” Mr Coleman said.
The National Messaging System, when operational, will provide a more modern technology compared to the current Emergency Alert system which is used to send basic text (SMS) messages to mobiles or voice messages to landlines in affected areas.
Australian Telecommunications Alliance, as an accredited Standards Development Organisation, has worked with mobile network operators and mobile device providers to revise AS/CA S042:2025 Requirements for connection to an air interface of a Telecommunications Network Standard.
The Standard specifies technical requirements for mobile devices, meaning compatible mobile devices will be ready to receive emergency warning alerts when the Commonwealth’s National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) launches the NMS in 2026-27.
History of the Standard
AS/CA S042 was first published in 1999 and is now in its tenth iteration, having been developed by nine different Working Committees covering five generations of technologies: CDMA in 1999, GSM in 2005, 3G in 2010, 4G in 2015 and 5G in 2022. Originally 24 pages in length, the suite of Parts has now grown to 150 pages. As mobile technologies become superseded (i.e. CDMA, GSM and 3G), outdated requirements are withdrawn.
Part 1: General focuses on Emergency Call Service Access and now supports cell broadcasts for the National Messaging System (NMS). Cell broadcast is used for distributing targeted Emergency Warning Messages to compatible mobile phones and other devices in near real time. The NMS is targeted to be introduced next year. This Part also specifies requirements for acoustic safety and device identification.
Part 4: IMT-2000 and IMT-Advanced Customer Equipment and Part 5: IMT-2020 Customer Equipment specifies applicable spectrum bands that devices can use for 4G and 5G devices. Part 4 (4G) covers eight European and two US spectrum bands for carrier aggregation, cellular IoT, V2X (Vehicle-to-Everything) and WMAN (wireless networks). Part 5 (5G) covers twelve European and two US spectrum bands across two frequency ranges (FR1 and FR2), allowing for dual connectivity with various combinations of these bands.
Comms Alliance’s Australian Standards align with 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) and ETSI Standards. In addition, the Standards allow for compliance with US FCC arrangements for certain spectrum bands as used in the US.
The Standard is revised every two to three years, with the next iteration addressing Non-Terrestrial-Networks (NTN), including Direct-to-Device connectivity from satellites. In the future the integration of 6G will be dependent on work being carried out by international committees developing internationally-recognised Standards.
