National Communications System Assuring Communications During An Emergency Dan Currie Eastern Regional Outreach Coordinator GETS/WPS Program Phone: 215-343-8767 dan.currie@associates.hq.dhs.gov danielcurrie@comcast.net

National Communications System 1993- Present FRP Comm Annex (1992) PDD-63 CIP (1998) Cuban Missile Crisis (1962) National Plans For CIP (2000/2001) National Response Framework (NRF) (Present) NCS (1963) NCS consists of 24 Federal member departments and agencies and is responsible for ensuring the availability of a viable national security and emergency preparedness (NS/EP) communications infrastructure. 1981-1993 Divestiture NSTAC Established EO 12382 EO 12472 EO 12656 Critical Infrastructure Protection PCCIP (1996) Telecom ISAC (2000) CIP Board (2001)

National Communications System The NCS works with the telecommunications industry to develop and deploy National Security and Emergency Preparedness Telecommunications Services. Priority telecommunications services are available to qualifying federal, state, local, and tribal government, industry, and non-governmental organizational personnel in performing their NS/EP missions. Priority telecommunications services are designed to augment existing emergency communications capabilities. 3

Apr 09 NCS Priority Services Government Emergency Telecommunications Service (GETS) Priority access to the public wireline network GETS is supported by all major service providers Wireless Priority Service (WPS) Priority access to the public wireless network WPS is available through AT&T, Edge Wireless, SouthernLINC, Sprint/Nextel, T-Mobile, Verizon *272 Because access to the public communications network is degraded in times of crisis, the NCS programs ensure priority access for critical users Telecommunications Service Priority (TSP) Establishes priority for restoration/provisioning of NS/EP circuits Supported by an FCC regulatory mandate Joanne Sechrest - NCS Overview

“I’m sorry, all circuits are busy now. The Problem “I’m sorry, all circuits are busy now. Please hang up and try your call again later.”

The Problem What do you do? What Do You Do? What do you do that requires a voice call? What do you do if you can’t make a normal call? What do you do if you can’t make an emergency call? What are your options? What can you afford? What Do You Do?

Problem: During an Emergency, Mass Calling Causes Network Congestion Home PBX Office Fax Satellite .. Cell PBX .. Local Switch Public Network Mobile Switch Congestion at many points!

Network Congestion After a major disaster, mass calling by the public often triggers congestion in landline and cellular networks, forcing emergency responders and other key personnel to compete with the public for the same overloaded communications resources!

GETS-WPS Network Congestion Katrina – Rita 2005 Katrina: 33 phone company central offices damaged, over 1,000 cell sites out of service, and more than 3 million phones inoperable Rita: Calls into 7 Area Codes in southern Texas experienced network congestion the 3 days before Hurricane Rita impacted the coast

GETS-WPS Network Congestion Minneapolis - Aug 3, 2007 “Cell-phone congestion blocked some calls near the collapsed bridge site Wednesday evening, causing Minneapolis police to ask people to get off their phones. Police needed to use the cell-phone networks themselves to mobilize doctors, the Red Cross and other emergency workers who don't have police radios.” Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News - August 3, 2007

Government Emergency Telecommunications Service (GETS) GETS is a no cost calling card that provides priority for outbound calls to all regular telephone numbers GETS uses the full capacity of the public network, it is not a separate system with limited capacity GETS Cards are typically provided to People: individuals needing priority capability 24x7x365 Places: locations needing priority capability 0123 4567 8910 ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER CA - OFC OF GOVERNOR Janet Napolitano DHS - Secretary Caveats: GETS will not work without dial tone May experience soundless delays while queuing GETS provides priority calling but might not mitigate cellular congestion GETS cannot be used for toll free numbers

MAKING A GETS CALL Dial GETS Access Number 0123 4567 8910 ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER CA - OFC OF GOVERNOR Janet Napolitano DHS - Secretary Dial GETS Access Number Listen for tone, then enter your PIN (do not enter # after last digit) Listen for voice prompt: “Please enter your destination number now.” Enter the destination number (omit the 1 before the area code) You will hear an announcement “You are using GETS, AT&T/Verizon/Sprint” Network will route your call to the destination telephone number 12 Digit Personal Identification Number (PIN) User Name and Organization GETS Access Number Toll Free number for each GETS carrier (backup) WPS Dialing Instructions Toll Free User Assistance number (24x7) Periods of silence are normal – particularly if call is queued during heavy congestion. Calls may take 30 to 60 seconds to complete

How GETS Works Alternate Carrier Routing NS/EP Call Marking Signaling Priority High Probability of Completion (HPC) Features Alternate Carrier Routing Trunk Queuing Exemption from Network Management Controls Home PBX .. Local Switch PBX Office PSTN Fax GETS enhancements are deployed in the 3 major Interexchange Carriers (IXC) and in the major Local Exchange Carriers (LEC) across the US GETS local enhancements are available from over 85% of the access lines connecting to the PSTN Satellite Calls complete via LEC landline or mobile switch .. Mobile Switch Cell Calls to the GETS Access Numbers are identified by local wireline or mobile switch for HPC Treatment

Wireless Priority Service (WPS) WPS provides priority for emergency calls made from cell phones including PDAs The WPS feature is requested on a per-phone basis through the NCS for Alltel, AT&T (formerly Cingular Wireless), Cellular South, Edge Wireless, SouthernLINC, Sprint Nextel, Sprint PCS, T-Mobile, and Verizon Wireless. WPS typically costs $60 to $70 per phone per year (a maximum of $4.50/month, $10 one-time, 75 cents per minute) *272 + Destination number Caveats: WPS will not work without a signal May need GET/WPS together to complete the call Users may experience waits up to 28 seconds WPS may not work when roaming 9-1-1 loses geo locator

Making a WPS Call Confirm radio signal Enter *272 + destination telephone number and push SEND key (example: *272 703 818 4387 - SEND )

How WPS Works WPS adds Radio Channel Queuing between the mobile phone and base station and High Probability of Completion (HPC) features to Cellular Networks Radio Channel Queuing HPC Calling Party Called Party Other Cellular Service Providers .. .. WPS Mobile Switch .. Originating Radio Channel Queuing Provides priority access to radio channels when placing a cellular call Requires WPS subscription and entering Ý272 + Destination Number WPS Equipped Mobile Switches Treats WPS calls same as GETS calls, giving them NS/EP marking Provides same HPC features as GETS without having to dial GETS access number and PIN Long distance WPS calls are routed through HPC capable networks of the GETS carriers or Cellular carriers Local calls route directly to local carriers Terminating Radio Channel Queuing Provides priority access to radio channels on inward NS/EP calls (WPS or GETS) Requires WPS Full Operational Capability in the terminating Mobile Switch Called Mobile Phone DOES NOT have to be subscribed to WPS

Who Should Have GETS/WPS? Individuals who need to communicate anytime/anyplace should have personal GETS Cards and WPS Subscribed Cell Phones Senior Leadership Media Relations Emergency Management and staff Police/Fire Chiefs and staff Police/Fire Field Command Department Heads and staff Team leaders Subject matter experts/trained specialists Others Individuals with an Emergency Preparedness and Response role. Key Locations and Functions should have GETS cards for use during emergencies EOC Work Stations Back-up EOC PSAPs Computer/IT Center Police/Fire Dispatch Shelters Command Vehicles

GETS/WPS Performance 9/11 Terrorist Attack: Over 10,000 GETS calls were attempted in NYC and DC areas with 95% completion rate Aug 03 NE Power Outage: 1,231 GETS calls were made in affected areas with 90%+ success rate Hurricane Season 2005: Over 40,000 GETS Calls were attempted with 94% successfully routed Over 5,000 WPS Calls were attempted. 95% gained access to the radio channel and 63% were completed

GETS/WPS Performance Washington Storms (DEC 2006) Florida Storms (FEB 2006) GETS Calls 94.4% Routed Successfully WPS Calls 100% Assigned Radio Channel GETS Calls 96% Routed Successfully WPS Calls 74% Assigned Radio Channel Virginia Tech (APR 2007) GETS Calls 100% Routed Successfully WPS Calls 100% Assigned Radio Channel

Critical Communications Services May Experience Outages Apr 09 Telecommunications Service Priority (TSP) Critical Communications Services May Experience Outages Cable Hut – Lower Manhattan Sep 01 Joanne Sechrest - NCS Overview

Telecommunications Service Priority (TSP) Apr 09 Telecommunications Service Priority (TSP) Established on 17 November 1988 by FCC Report and Order FCC 88-341 The FCC designated the Executive Office of the President (EOP) as administrator of the TSP Program, who in turn, delegated its responsibilities to the Manager, NCS TSP is a mandatory requirement for all FCC-regulated telecommunications companies Tariffs are approved by state utility regulators TSP provides an FCC mandate on how carriers install and repair telecommunications services. The NCS executes the program on behalf of the FCC. TSP is mandatory for all telecommunications companies. This is important because we find that some smaller companies are not always aware TSP, even though they are required to comply with it. If you run into problems or your service provider has questions, please refer them to us. with tariffs for this service being approved by state utility regulators. As a note, there is a charge for the program, and state utility regulators approve the tariff rate. We will discuss this further in a few minutes. Joanne Sechrest - NCS Overview

Must be requested and assigned before a service outage occurs Apr 09 Telecommunications Service Priority (TSP) The TSP program contains two primary and distinctive components: Provisioning Restoration A restoration priority is applied to new or existing telecommunication services to ensure restoration before a non- TSP System user. telecommunications TSP program user. Must be requested and assigned before a service outage occurs Provisioning A provisioning priority is A provisioning priority is obtained to facilitate the obtained to facilitate the priority installation of new priority installation of new telecommunication telecommunications services in a shorter than services in a shorter than normal interval . normal interval . The TSP program consists of two components: Restoration, and Provisioning. TSP restoration priorities are applied to new or existing telecommunication services to ensure they are restored by telecommunications vendors before a non-TSP program user. Note that TSP restoration assignments must be requested and assigned before a service outage occurs. In other words, a user cannot request restoration assignments for critical circuits after a natural or technical disaster strikes. TSP Provisioning priorities facilitate the priority installation of new telecommunication services by vendors in a shorter than normal time interval. However, this service cannot be used to compensate for inadequate planning on the part of the user. With the exception of EMERGENCY Provisioning orders, restoration orders are processed before new service provisioning orders. In all cases the service order is expedited according to the service vendor’s “Best Effort”. TSP is a critical FCC & NCS Program that registers vital circuits for priority repair or installation ~35,000 circuits registered before 9/11 18,000 new circuits registered since 9/11 131 new agencies registering since 9/11 Major factor in Wall Street recovery on 9/17 Used by major carriers for prioritization Cannot be used to compensate for inadequate planning Joanne Sechrest - NCS Overview

Telecommunications Service Priority (TSP) TSP is ordered from your service provider at rates set by the service provider and state public utility commission Restoration averages: $100 initial; $3 monthly recurring charge Provisioning will have TSP tariff in addition to the provider’s service charge Caveat: TSP offers no guaranteed duration for repair or installation, guarantees action occurs before non-TSP requests

Ordering TSP Provisioning Restoration Apr 09 Ordering TSP Step 1: Establish on-line account Step 1: Contract service provider to establish date Step 2: Identify specific services for TSP Provisioning Restoration Step 2: Call NCS to receive TSP code Step 3: Submit TSP service requests thru on-line system Step 3: Provide TSP code to service provider Step 4: Obtain TSP code for each approved service Step 5: Provide TSP code to your service provider Step 6: Update records and procedures to reflect implementation Joanne Sechrest - NCS Overview

How do you ensure reliable and responsive communications? Closing How do you ensure reliable and responsive communications? Network congestion is very likely to occur during a major emergency or disaster, making it difficult to complete emergency calls GETS and WPS significantly increase probability of call completion GETS and WPS are easy to request and administer using the on-line system No cost for GETS cards, WPS is less than 5% of the typical annual cell phone cost (approximately $70 first year, $60 second year) What’s YOUR next step? “The only thing tougher than planning for a disaster is explaining why you didn't!"

National Communications System Resources For more information: www.ncs.gov www.gets.ncs.gov www.wps.ncs.gov www.tsp.ncs.gov For Assistance setting up on-line Accounts and ordering: Priority Telecommunications Service Center: 1-866-627-2255 8am to 6pm Eastern Time follow voice prompts for each service Dan Currie Eastern Regional Outreach Coordinator GETS/WPS Program Phone: 215-343-8767 dan.currie@associates.hq.dhs.gov danielcurrie@comcast.net National Communications System