Ministry of Interior: BG-Alert Test Reached Most People, Special Settings Affected Some Users

An advisor to Bulgaria's Minister of the Interior, Nikolay Nikolov, announced that the BG-Alert notification system test was successful, with 98% of users receiving the alert. However, he noted that some users did not receive the message due to the need for specific phone settings during the test. Such settings would not be necessary in an actual emergency scenario.

Nikolov clarified that the test utilized a different communication channel than the one that would be employed during a real threat. "The test was conducted using a separate channel, not the one designed for emergencies," he explained in an interview with BNT. He emphasized that citizens have the option to participate in the test by making the necessary phone adjustments, but it is not mandatory.

He further highlighted that the test was not aimed at evaluating citizens' reactions but rather at ensuring the system's functionality. "Ten days prior, we communicated clearly that this was a system test and not a test of citizens' responses," he added.

Nikolov also mentioned that when the system was initially activated several months ago, everyone received the message since the emergency notification channel was used at that time. This was not the case with the recent test.