EENA Update 18/08/2026
EENA’s newsletter brings you the latest updates in emergency communications.
In this edition, you can read about the heatwaves and wildfires affecting Europe, problems with public warning, and more.
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This summer’s extreme heat, prolonged drought and devastating wildfires are a stark reminder of the growing consequences of climate change across Europe. Our thoughts are with everyone affected across Europe, and we extend our deepest gratitude to the firefighters, emergency responders and volunteers working tirelessly to protect lives.
In this newsletter, we share a new EENA report examining how heatwaves affect emergency communications. When the time is appropriate, we will also engage with our members to gather lessons from this summer’s events, share the findings across our community and, wherever possible, incorporate them into the programme of the EENA 2027 Conference in Malmö.
Gary Machado
Executive Director
EENA news
New EENA document: How PSAPs responded to the 2026 summer heatwave
In July 2026, EENA surveyed emergency services across its network to understand how the summer heatwave and related events affected Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs). Fifteen organisations from thirteen countries contributed their experiences.
All respondents affected by the heat reported an increase in emergency communications, with call volumes in some cases reaching up to twice normal levels. Despite this significant pressure, no respondent reported a loss of service. PSAPs relied on measures including proactive staffing, backup positions, call escalation and the prioritisation of life-threatening emergencies.
EENA’s new publication brings together these experiences and identifies key recommendations for future extreme weather events. Above all, the findings underline the importance of preparing in advance: planning capacity for peak demand, establishing clear escalation thresholds and regularly testing critical infrastructure and backup arrangements.
EENA’s 2025 Annual Report
After some months, it’s time to take a look back at 2025 at EENA. Our new Annual Report highlights the key activities and achievements of the past year, from our work on NG112, the 2G/3G network transition and public warning to resilience, emerging technologies, events, publications and EU-funded projects. A big thank you to our members, partners and experts who made this work possible. We are proud to be part of such a great community!
2G/3G Shutdown
GSMA calls for reliable emergency calling as 2G and 3G networks close
The GSMA is calling on mobile operators and device manufacturers to ensure that emergency calls work reliably across networks and while roaming, as the global transition from 2G and 3G to 4G and 5G continues. Differences in how networks and handsets are configured can currently cause difficulties when devices attempt to make emergency calls over packet-switched networks. The issue is becoming increasingly important as operators shut down legacy networks, removing the possibility of falling back to 2G or 3G when a VoLTE or VoNR emergency call cannot be completed. The GSMA is therefore pushing for stronger standards compliance, greater transparency when calls fail, and interoperability testing of devices and emergency calling on live networks rather than relying solely on simulations.
Emergency calls in the all-IP era: what fails, what the testing shows, and what regulators should demand: Experience from Australia
27 August 2026 at 10:00 CET
The switch-off of 2G and 3G removes a fallback that emergency calling has relied on for decades. In an all-IP environment, emergency calls can fail even when a network appears to be working normally, with issues often caused by routine software updates, configuration changes or maintenance. Following the 2023 Optus outage, in which 2,145 emergency calls failed, Australia introduced regular end-to-end testing of the Triple Zero ecosystem. The first testing campaign showed that while emergency calls perform reliably under normal conditions, more complex network failures significantly affect call completion and connection times. In this webinar, Ray Owen will present these findings and discuss what they mean for regulators, mobile network operators and PSAPs. He will explore why emergency call resilience cannot be measured by network uptime alone, and how end-to-end testing can help ensure networks continue to support emergency calls during the transition to 4G and 5G.
This webinar is part of EENA’s webinar series on the 2G/3G shutdown and emergency communications.
Add the webinar to your calendar here.
Webinars
SUNSHINE Training Webinar: Using EU Space Services for Secure Communications and Space Situational Awareness
10 September 2026 at 9:30-13:30 CET
This half-day training webinar, organised under the EU-funded SUNSHINE project, explores how secure satellite communications and Space Situational Awareness services can support civil protection and disaster management. Participants will gain an overview of the purpose, capabilities and operational applications of GOVSATCOM, discover the future potential of IRIS² for resilient communications, and learn how SSA contributes to monitoring and assessing threats originating from space. Through expert presentations and interactive sessions, the webinar highlights how these EU Space Programme components can strengthen disaster resilience.
Add the webinar to your calendar here.
Location, location, location: Why we need maps of PSAPs
22 September 2026 at 14:30 CET
Timely information can change the course of an emergency. This webinar will discuss why we need maps of Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs). The session will explore the role of PSAP mapping in supporting information sharing, coordination and more connected and resilient emergency communications.
This webinar is sponsored by rescuetrack.
Add the webinar to your calendar here.
The future of Critical Communications: Findings from Omdia’s 2026 survey
29 September 2026 at 14:30 CET
Emerging technologies are transforming critical communications, creating new opportunities as well as new challenges for the sector. In this webinar, Omdia analysts will present the key findings from the Emerging Technologies and Critical Innovation 2026 survey, highlighting the technologies and trends that critical communications stakeholders believe will have the greatest impact in the coming years. Join us to explore the survey results and what they mean for the future of critical communications.
This webinar is sponsored by Omdia.
Add the webinar to your calendar here.
Emergency communications handling around the world: Costa Rica
6 October 2026 at 16:00 CET
This webinar series looks at emergency calls handling systems in different countries to better understand their challenges and provide a broader overview of emergency communications across Europe and beyond. In this webinar, we will hear from Costa Rica.
Add the webinar to your calendar here.
Emergency communications handling around the world: Hong Kong
27 October 2026 at 11:00 CET
This webinar series looks at emergency calls handling systems in different countries to better understand their challenges and provide a broader overview of emergency communications across Europe and beyond. In this webinar, we will hear from Hong Kong.
Add the webinar to your calendar here.
Emergency communications around the world
UK wildfire emergency alert sparks debate over targeting and safeguarding
The UK’s largest use yet of its emergency alert system, warning people across England and Wales of a very high wildfire risk, has prompted debate over how and when nationwide alerts should be used. Some recipients criticised the warning as too broad, raising concerns that frequent or insufficiently targeted alerts could contribute to alert fatigue and undermine public trust. Campaigners also raised safeguarding concerns, as the loud alert could expose secret phones used by victims of domestic abuse. With little advance notice before the alert was issued, charities have called for better coordination and advance warning where possible, highlighting the need to consider vulnerable groups when designing and deploying public warning systems.
Read more here (The Guardian).
Taiwan tested mobile network resilience during emergency exercises
Taiwan’s National Communications Commission (NCC) conducted urban resilience exercises across central and northern Taiwan, during which mobile network speeds were deliberately reduced to simulate disruptions. Residents were informed about the exercises through the Public Warning Cell Broadcast Service. During the drills, emergency calls to 110 and 119, SMS services and cell broadcast alerts remained unaffected, testing the continuity of critical communications during network disruptions.
Read more here (Taipei Times).
Texas floods raise questions over emergency mobile alerts
During the deadly July 2025 floods, Kerr County, Texas, did not use the national Wireless Emergency Alert system to send safety instructions to mobile phones. Instead, some residents received alerts through an opt-in service only after flooding was already underway. The incident has raised concerns about local preparedness, training and consistent procedures for issuing timely emergency alerts.
Luxembourg emergency dispatcher found guilty of failing to provide assistance
A CGDIS emergency services dispatcher in Luxembourg has been found guilty of failing to provide assistance after deciding not to send an ambulance to a woman who told him during an emergency call that she had taken a significant quantity of medication. The woman was found dead several days later. The court highlighted the dispatcher’s handling and tone during the call, while also acknowledging high workload and significant time pressure at the emergency call centre, where staff can handle around 200 calls a day. The dispatcher received a three-year suspended sentence, while the court found that a direct link between his failure to act and the woman’s death had not been proven.
Moldova’s 112 operators overloaded by non-emergency and false calls
Moldova’s 112 Service has highlighted the pressure caused by non-emergency, inappropriate and false calls, which can leave people facing genuine emergencies waiting for assistance. Operators reported handling around 250 calls each during a shift, including requests for general information as well as hoax reports of fires and other incidents. The service stressed that misuse of 112 adds to operators’ workload and can divert attention from people who urgently need emergency assistance.
Denmark launches unified psychiatric emergency access through 112
Denmark has launched a nationwide psychiatric emergency service accessible through 112, bringing physical and mental health emergencies under the same emergency number. People experiencing a psychiatric emergency can now contact 112 or their regional out-of-hours medical service to access urgent help.
One million vehicles connected to Australian eCall platform
Australian eCall and connected vehicle provider has connected its one millionth vehicle to its platform across Australia and New Zealand. The milestone means one million vehicles are now supported by automatic emergency assistance and manual SOS capabilities, helping connect occupants with emergency responders and transmit location and incident information following a crash.
Read more here (IoT Business News).
From our community
Second PEMEA Plugtests to test cross-border emergency communications
ETSI will hold the second PEMEA Plugtests event from 2–5 November 2026 in Heraklion, Greece, with the support of ETSI TC EMTEL and the PEMEA Consortium. The event will test interoperability between implementations of the Pan-European Mobile Emergency Application (PEMEA) standards framework, with a particular focus on cross-border emergency communications and roaming. Testing will cover end-to-end communication between emergency apps and PSAPs, as well as capabilities including real-time text, audio and video, instant messaging and file exchange.