Poland signs letter of intent for Cell Broadcast alerts that sound on muted phones

A letter of intent and how the alert works

On 14 October 2026 Interior and Administration Minister Marcin Kierwiński signed a letter of intent with mobile network operators and Zbigniew Muszyński, director of the Government Centre for Security (RCB), to start work on a warning system called Cell Broadcast. Kierwiński said the rollout would be the fastest in the European Union among countries of comparable population and area. Spider's Web lists the operators as Orange, Plus, T-Mobile and Play. Instead of sending a separate text to every SIM card in an area, the system transmits a single message from base stations to all active phones within range of the relevant transmitter. Android and iOS handsets show it as a top-priority notification almost immediately, and no app or active SIM is required, according to Spider's Web. Kierwiński put the timeline simply:

We are signing an agreement that will result in the Cell Broadcast system being launched in Poland within a year.

Silent phones and no way to opt out

The feature drawing the most attention is that the alert overrides silent mode. Super Express reports that a phone in range of a base station will sound and vibrate even when muted or in standby, and that only switching the device off avoids the alarm. RMF reports the minister describing the phone as becoming, for a moment, an alarm siren that vibrates and makes noise as long as it is switched on. Spider's Web adds that the warning reaches users even when mobile data is turned off. Officials need only specify the area for a message, and everyone within range of the named transmitters receives it.

Cost, timetable and the RCB app

The ministry plans a start in September 2027 and will spend close to 100 million zloty from the civil protection and civil defence programme. According to the telecom industry, implementation will cost between 52 and 108 million zloty, and these are separate estimates from different sources. Super Express and RMF place the launch just after the 2027 summer holidays, while Spider's Web says the function should be running by the end of 2027. A separate RCB app is due in 2026, first in the eastern voivodeships, and installing it will be voluntary. The milestones and the cost figures are shown below.

Alert RCB stays, and the criticism behind it

The Interior Ministry says the existing Alert RCB will remain in service, and Kierwiński said current alerts would not be withdrawn. He defended running several channels at once:

This system will keep running and be maintained all the time, because we are deeply convinced that an effective information system has several elements.

Spider's Web adds that sirens and other government apps stay in use too. The mObywatel app will also carry messages about dangerous events, and RMF reports that this module could appear at the end of 2026 or early in 2027.

Super Express reports that residents of the Subcarpathian and Lublin voivodeships, which border Ukraine, sharply criticise the existing Alert RCB. They receive it regularly when missiles and drones launched by Russian forces come near Poland's eastern border, and the sirens sound with it, often at night. The government defends the alerts, arguing that no one can be sure whether a projectile aimed at western Ukraine might stray or deliberately strike Polish territory, and that by the time one has crossed the border a warning would be too late.