Ströer supports test warning on smart communication infrastructure during Warning Day on September 8th

On  September 8^th, Hamburg’s communication infrastructure will be tested as part of a fictitious storm surge. Further federal states, participating rural and urban districts and municipalities will test their warning in a joint exercise. At 11.00 am, the participating authorities and emergency services will simultaneously activate various warning systems, such as digital city information systems, warning apps and sirens. The aim is to inform and raise awareness of the warning among the German population.

The reason for the Warning Day in Hamburg is the start of the storm surge season. Although Hamburg is prepared for a serious incident thanks to its modern flood warning systems, it is still important to educate the population about what to do, for example in the event of an impending storm surge. In Hamburg, around 500 Ströer digital city information systems will display the warning notice and the subsequent all-clear notice.

Since 2018, Ströer’s digital city information systems have been integrated into the federal government's satellite-based Modular Warning System (MoWaS), and thus serve as official warning multipliers along with TV, radio and warning apps. The MoWaS system distinguishes between hazard information (lowest level, e.g. a bomb defusing with a few days' notice), danger (medium level, e.g. heavy rain in critical quantities) and extreme danger (highest danger level, e.g. extreme flooding with acute danger to life). Depending on the level, the various warning multipliers are required to interrupt their program for the warning or to include the warning in their regular messages.

In 2018 and 2019, Ströer supported the Warning Day in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, and was official partner to the first national Warning Day in 2020. In addition to the national agreement with the Federal Office of Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance, Ströer has further regional and local agreements with cities, municipalities and fire service and police departments across Germany that have the need for a warning multiplier. As official warning multiplier, Ströer has so far broadcast several dozens warnings via its media across the whole of Germany. In total, around 4,600 digital media in 260 cities are integrated into the warning infrastructure.

In cooperation with the cities, Ströer already started digitisation of  public spaces several years ago. Thanks to its digital portfolio, the company has developed into an important partner for urban information networks in the public space, thus making its contribution to the municipal vision of a Smart City. Ströer offers convergent solutions and intelligent concepts to achieve communication goals in public space:

"As a long-standing partner of cities, we contribute to the urban communications infrastructure with our digital city media. In contrast to the Hanseatic City of Hamburg, many other cities have long since dismantled this - in terms of sirens, for example - after the Cold War. This gap is now being filled by warning multipliers such as Ströer, among others. In Hamburg, we see that it is very important to support the siren signals with visual information and thus to guide and inform the citizens,” says Alexander Stotz, CEO of Ströer Media Deutschland GmbH.

Ströer’s goal is to help cities become more sustainable and smarter. Ströer has the expertise and infrastructure to bring about local, sustainable change, and accelerate development towards a Smart City by building sustainable and digital infrastructure solutions. In addition to greening concepts for street furniture, a bus stop shelter with active air filtration and solar panels, digital options for urban communication, and siren solutions were also presented at GREENTECH sustainability festival in Berlin in June. These features were presented for the  first time and can be integrated into city media, supplementing the previously purely visual warning messages on the screens with acoustic signals. Individual voice outputs are also possible, for example for individual streets. This way, the crisis teams of the cities can be supported in setting up a new siren infrastructure to warn the population.

The next national Warning Day will take place on December 8^th, 2022. On this day, all warning systems throughout Germany will be tested at the same time as the local warning concepts in the various municipalities. These include, for example, sirens or loudspeaker announcements from warning vehicles. With the warning app ‘NINA’ (Emergency Information and News App of the Federal Government), a test warning is sent nationwide. The nationwide warning day and the test warning are aimed at raising public awareness of the topic of warning, making the function and process of the warning more comprehensible, and drawing attention to the available warning tools (e.g. digital city information systems, sirens, warning apps).

Disclaimer

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" regarding Ströer SE & Co. KGaA ("Ströer") or the Ströer Group, including assessments, estimates and forecasts regarding the financial position, business strategy, plans and objectives of management and the future business activities of Ströer or the Ströer Group. Forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the results of operations, profitability, performance or achievements of Ströer or the Ströer Group to be materially different from any future results of operations, profitability, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this press release and are based on numerous assumptions that may also prove to be incorrect. Ströer makes no representation and assumes no liability with respect to the fair presentation, completeness, correctness, adequacy or accuracy of the information and assessments contained herein. The information contained in this press release is subject to change without notice. It may be incomplete or abbreviated and may not contain all material information relating to Ströer or the Ströer Group. Ströer does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements or other information contained herein, neither as a result of new information, future events nor otherwise.