Finland to introduce new emergency warning system this year

A new emergency warning system complementing the existing systems will be built in Finland by the end of October 2026. The new FI-Alert system will complement the current emergency warning system by delivering faster and more accurately targeted regional warnings directly to mobile phones. The Ministry of the Interior and Erillisverkot Group signed an agreement on implementing the FI-Alert system on 28 May 2026.

The FI-Alert system is based on cell broadcast technology and the EU Alert concept, and its construction has been expedited by government measures. The Government has granted funding for system development and introduction.

“It is very important that we can warn people more quickly and more comprehensively in future. Building the FI-Alert system is a priority for the Ministry of the Interior, and the Government has accelerated the introduction of the new emergency warning system,” says Minister of the Interior Mari Rantanen. 

Authorities can warn the public in several ways 

In Finland, authorities use multiple channels to warn the public. The FI-Alert system will complement the current emergency warning system, rather than replace it.

Currently, emergency warnings are published in the 112 Suomi app, on the radio, on teletext page 112 and, if needed, on television. Authorities also use other channels such as the Finnish Broadcasting Company’s Yle app, the 112.fi, pelastustoimi.fi and yle.fi websites, and the Emergency Response Centre Agency’s Facebook page. 

FI-Alert speeds up emergency warnings and targets them better than before

The system will speed up the delivery of emergency warnings, as messages are transmitted almost in real time to mobile phones. The system will increase the coverage and reliability of emergency warnings as it will not require the installation of a separate application. Foreign visitors will also receive the same emergency warnings through their mobile phones when they are in Finland.

The FI-Alert system is well suited for exceptional situations because sending the messages will not congest the network in the same way as some other methods, such as mass text message delivery.

Many European countries already use or are building emergency warning systems based on cell broadcast technology and the EU Alert concept. It is becoming the most common public warning system using mobile phones.