With the Indian Wireless Telegraphy (Cell Broadcasting Service for Disaster Alerts) Rules 2023 coming into force, all cellphones sold after April 2024 will have to mandatorily support cell broadcast messages and automatic read out.
The move is aimed at better dissemination of government's advisories on weather, law and order and diseases.
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has mandated receipt of extreme cell broadcast alert messages and severe cell broadcast alert messages on cellphones and an automatic read out of broadcast messages in Indian accent, in English and Hindi languages, subject to the memory of feature phones within nine months.
Within the next six months, cellphone manufacturers will have to provide mandatory support to receive cell broadcast messages in English and Hindi as well as ensure that phones store received cell broadcast messages for at least 24 hours, subject to the memory of the feature phone.
The mandate prescribes maintenance of cell broadcast messages on the screen until acknowledged by the user as well as a minimum duration of 30 seconds for the alert sound, vibration and light. DoT's order also mandates mentioning of the cell broadcast capability in feature list and user manuals to increase customer awareness, as well as asks mobile manufacturers and operating system developers to explore the possibility of enabling cell broadcast in existing smartphones.
Check out our in-depth Market Coverage, Business News & get real-time Stock Market Updates on CNBC-TV18. Also, Watch our channels CNBC-TV18, CNBC Awaaz and CNBC Bajar Live on-the-go!
Mark Mobius reveals how markets will react if NDA wins 400+ Lok Sabha seats
May 15, 2024 8:09 PM
Wine shops and bars to remain shut for 4 days in Mumbai in 4 weeks, check details
May 15, 2024 7:52 PM
INDIA bloc will win majority seats in Bihar, says Tejashwi Yadav
May 15, 2024 4:20 PM