This standardisation framework will enable the development of interoperable systems to automatically trace and inform potentially infected users in addition to manual notification methods, whilst preserving users’ privacy and complying with relevant Data Protection regulation.

As well as accelerating the development of smartphone-based apps to help with the essential breaking of transmission chains, such a pan-European standardisation framework should enable interoperability between different proximity tracing and alert systems.

The most effective strategy for curbing the spread of COVID-19 is to break transmission chains by informing people when they have been in close contact with other individuals who have tested positive for the virus.

A primary challenge is collecting, processing and acting on information about citizens’ proximity at scale, potentially representing tens or hundreds of millions of people. This must also be achieved without compromising users’ anonymity and privacy, and while safeguarding them against exposure to potential cyber-attacks.

“By their nature smartphones are highly personal devices, carrying large amounts of data about individuals. In ETSI we are committed to support an international development community with a robust standardization framework that allows rapid, accurate and reliable solutions while winning the trust of the population at large”, states ETSI Director-General Luis Jorge Romero.

With over 70% of Europeans owning a smartphone, this ubiquitous digital technology provides a valuable platform for tracing infection chains. The proximity of two phones can be determined via Bluetooth or other ultra-low power communication technologies. These measurements can be mapped into a warning system that directly alerts individuals when they have been at risk of exposure to others who have already tested positively for the virus.

Work of the new ETSI E4P group considers the proposed EC recommendation on a common Union toolbox for the use of technology and data to combat and exit from the COVID-19 crisis, in particular for mobile applications and the use of anonymised mobility data. It also reflects the EC Communication on Guidance on Apps supporting the fight against COVID-19 pandemic in relation to data protection. The group’s activities will also leverage ETSI expertise in areas including cyber security, eHealth and emergency communications.

The new group already comprises more than 10 organisations drawn from global telco operators, vendors and research centres from various activity sectors, including Airbus, BT, Fraunhofer, NEC group, Idemia, Huawei, Samsung and Qualcomm. ETSI anticipates many more significant players joining the group in the near future.