Public warning over 5G Broadcast carries emergency alerts (earthquake and tsunami warnings, and CMAS-style civil alerts) to any receiver in coverage, using the same free-to-air LTE-based broadcast carrier as linear TV and radio. Because it needs no SIM, no subscription and no return channel, it keeps working when the cellular network is congested or unavailable, which is exactly when warnings matter most.
The warning-message handling is added to the existing 5G Broadcast - TV and Radio Services transmit and receive chain rather than introduced as a separate stack: it is best understood as a feature set layered on that broader platform, developed and tracked together with it.
The Problem It Solves
A warning delivered only over a data connection fails exactly when it matters most: when the cellular network is congested with everyone trying to check on each other, or down entirely. Carrying the alert as a Cell Broadcast message on the same free-to-air broadcast carrier as TV and radio sidesteps that: it needs no SIM, no subscription and no return channel, so it reaches idle, roaming and otherwise unattached devices the same way it reaches every other receiver in coverage. Layering this on the existing 5G Broadcast chain, rather than building a separate alerting stack, also means no new receiver hardware is needed beyond what TV and radio delivery already requires.
Latest updates and roadmap
Status on 4 November 2026
brought to study
- Support of 3GPP Service URL to wake up 5G Broadcast receiver on emergency alert reception
on-going
- Cell Broadcast Centre
- Docker support
- Custom alert message and warning type
- ETWS support (SIB10, SIB11)
outcomes
- Emergency alert broadcast
- First release of the LTE-based 5G Broadcast transmitter
The project at a glance
What it is, how it works, and where the Reference Tools stand, in one deck you can share.
Download the deck (5G Broadcast - Emergency Alerts)From idea to running code
Read it, check it against the standard, then run it.
Specifications
The specifications this technology is built on.
Software Accelerator
The open-source software that implements it.
Open Source, Built Together
Repositories of This Project
The real, running software for this technology: what each repository is, what it implements, its latest release and where to find it.
Early Access: available to members first
Also used by 5G Broadcast for TV and Radio Services
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