Finnish emergency authorities long knew cell broadcast was best for alerts but lacked funding

Finnish emergency authorities have acknowledged they were fully aware that cell broadcast technology was the most effective system for sending public emergency alerts—but financial constraints delayed its adoption for nearly two decades, Yle reports.

Marko Nieminen, preparedness director at Finland’s Emergency Response Centre Agency, confirmed that officials had “never been unclear” about which system would work best. “Cell broadcast has always been considered the optimal solution for this purpose,” he told Yle, noting that the agency had monitored international developments through the European Emergency Number Association for at least 18 years.

Despite this consensus, Finland adopted the 112 Suomi app as its official alert system in 2020—a tool Nieminen’s own agency had developed, though not originally for emergency notifications. The app was created in 2015 to solve a different problem: improving location accuracy for emergency calls, which at the time could be off by tens of kilometers in rural areas. By leveraging smartphone GPS data, the app significantly reduced response times and saved lives.

Emergency notifications were added to the app in 2019 as a stopgap measure, Nieminen explained, because no better alternative was available. “We saw it as improving safety, and at that point, we had no indication that Finland would get cell broadcast or SMS-based systems,” he said. “It wasn’t meant to compete with those options.”

The decision to formalize the app’s role in 2020 remains unclear to Nieminen, who was not involved in the legislative process. While cost influenced the choice—cell broadcast required millions in investment—he emphasized that all authorities agreed on its superiority. “There was no disagreement in the meetings I attended,” he said. “The question was always about funding.”

Persistent technical issues with the app have now accelerated plans to implement cell broadcast, potentially by the end of this year.