1. Priority Telecommunications Services (PTS) Office of Emergency Communications February 2018

2. Office of Emergency Communications: Mission
OEC provides and manages communications capabilities used by emergency responders and government officials to keep America safe, secure, and resilient. 2

3. Problem: Key Personnel May Not Be Able to Communicate at a Critical Moment
Emergency responders and government officials rely on a mix of devices to communicate during an emergency:
Land mobile radio
Cellular
Landline
Private network
Satellite
Commercial networks can become congested due to high call volumes (overload) or limited due to outages 3

4. Overload and Outage Scenarios
Mass Calling Events
Heavier Than Normal
Peak Period Calling 4

5. Overload and Outage Scenarios
Scheduled or Spontaneous Events
Compromise of Network Infrastructure 5

6. PTS Services: GETS and WPS
Government Emergency Telecommunications Service
WPS Wireless Priority Service 6

7. Government Emergency Telecommunications Service (GETS)7

8. GETS: Enhances Voice Call Completion When Commercial Networks are Overloaded/Impaired
GETS provides end-to-end priority over landline commercial networks
There are some GETS priority features in WPS-capable cellular networks
Greater than 90% call completion rates
Over 345,000 GETS cards issued 8

9. GETS Provides Priority Across Networks to the Destination Landline Phone

10. GETS Provides Priority Across Networks to the Destination Cellular Phone

11. How GETS Works 11

12. GETS Information on Back of Card12

13. Wireless Priority Service (WPS)13

14. WPS: Enhances Call Completion When Cellular Networks are Overloaded/Impaired
WPS is an add-on feature to existing cellular service
WPS provides priority on the radio connection between the user’s cellular device and the cell tower, and provides priority processing in the core wireless networks
Available on all nationwide and some regional cellular carriers
Provides greater than 85% call completion rates
There are over 153,000 WPS users 14

15. How WPS Works 15

16. Who Should Have GETS and WPS?
Individuals
Organizations
Locations/Functions
Mayors, council members, supervisors
Tribal Leadership
CFO
Media relations
OEM mgmt. and staff
Police/Fire Chiefs and staff
Police/Fire field command
Dept heads and staff
SMEs and trained specialists
Individuals with an NS/EP role
Cities/counties/
states/districts
Tribes/territories
Office of Emergency Management
Police/sheriff/fire
water and power and telecom
Public works
Irrigation districts and flood control
Public health
Financial institutions
Hospitals and medical services
Transit agencies
Ports and airports
Utilities, transportation, and other industries
Search and rescue
School and college districts
Red Cross and volunteer agencies
Critical infrastructure suppliers
Other agencies included in county emergency management plans
EOC work stations
Back-up EOC
City, county, and tribal operations centers
PSAPs (911 centers)
Computer/IT center
Police/fire dispatch
City, county, and tribal yards
Remote offices and stations
Power and pump stations
Shelters
Command vehicles
Must meet criteria in at least one NS/EP Role, per OEC:
serves our national security leadership
supports the national security posture and US population attack warning systems
supports public health, safety, and maintenance of law and order activities
maintains the public welfare and the national economic system
is critical to the protection of life and property or to NS/EP activities during an emergency 16

17. GETS and WPS Performance17

18. Hurricane Irma – Event Analysis
• Power outages/disrupted telecomms
- Over 2.6 million homes in Fl without power on
evening of Sep 10, eventually 6M w/o power
- Battery backup power for cell phone towers ran out and backup generators ran out of fuel
- At one point 89 of 108 (82%) cell towers
were non-functioning in the Florida Keys
- More than 7 million lost cable/wireline telecom
• Emergency Performance Reporting
- 9/5 to 9/15 (GETS & WPS)
3719 GETS Calls Completed 98%
3859 WPS Calls Completed 93%
• Expedited Activations:
WPS
GETS
Source: C. Somodevilla/Getty Images
Hurricane Irma does damage in Florida 18

19. Hurricane Harvey, August 2017
“We were outside of Corpus Christi making our way to Rockford trying to contact the Texas Department of Transportation to find fuel. We tried with regular calls and it didn't work, then we put in the [WPS] access code, and
it worked.
Wherever there was cell coverage, we were able to get through with WPS."
Michael Cayse
Ohio Task Force One
FEMA Urban Search and Rescue Branch
Department of Homeland Security 19

20. Implementing GETS and WPS in Your Organization20

21. Requesting GETS and WPS
STEP 1: Designate a GETS/WPS Point of Contact (POC) for your organization
STEP 2: POC establishes GETS and WPS account online using or or by contacting the Priority Telecommunications Service Center at
STEP 3: After account is established, POC requests GETS and WPS for an initial group of users/key functions/locations through the online system
POC distributes GETS Cards and confirms WPS activations
POC keeps account updated (adding and deleting users, updating administrative information)
BEST PRACTICE: designate alternate POCs! 21

22. GETS and WPS Best Practices
Distribute GETS Cards
ALWAYS carry your GETS Card with you
Ensure WPS has been activated on your cell phone
Make practice/test calls periodically and include GETS/WPS in training exercises
Preprogram *272 for key numbers in your contact list
Preprogram GETS number in cell phones
Report problems you have when trying to make a WPS call during testing and training exercises 22

23. Telecommunications Service Priority (TSP)23

24. Critical Services May Experience Outages
Damaged facilities and service problems can disable communications!
Emergency Operations Center
911 Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs)
IT Center
Critical Facilities
Telecommunications Service Providers 24

25. TSP: Solution for Repair of Damaged Circuits or Expediting Installation of New Circuits
Established in November 1988 by Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Report and Order FCC
TSP is a mandatory requirement for all FCC-regulated telecommunications companies
Tariffed rates are approved by state utility regulators
The FCC mandates that carriers restore TSP-coded circuits before circuits under Service Level Agreements (SLAs) 25

26. Circumstances to Apply TSP
TSP provides priority repair or expedited installation of critical voice and data circuits:
Repair and replacement of damaged circuits at EOCs, hospitals, PSAPs, power facilities, government headquarters, financial institutions, etc.
Priority installation of new circuits when needed to support operations such as disaster response and recovery, and large scale security events 26

27. Requesting TSP
Request a TSP Account (TSP “POC”) online using or through the Priority Telecommunications Service Center at
Identify specific services for TSP; Submit TSP Service Request(s) on a per service basis
Upon approval, the Service Center sends TSP Code for each specific service
Order TSP thru your service vendor
Update internal records and procedures to reflect implementation of TSP 27

28. Budgeting for Priority Services
GETS
There is no charge to subscribe to or use GETS. (The OEC reserves the right to bill for all GETS calls, but to date they have never charged.)
WPS
Service Providers MAY charge a one time $10.00 activation fee, a maximum of $4.50/month for each subscribed cellular device, and $0.75/minute
TSP
No charge for TSP Code; each Circuit will have an applicable rate established by your service provider 29

29. WPS Carrier Subscription and Usage Fees
WPS Feature Activation Fee
(one time)
WPS Service Fee
(monthly recurring)
WPS Usage Fee
AT&T Mobility
$1.99 for new service
contracts after Jan 2010
$.75 per minute of use
Cellcom
C Spire
GCI
Southern Linc
$10.00
Sprint
T-Mobile
Verizon Wireless
up to $10.00 *
up to $4.50 *
$.75 per minute of use*
U.S. Cellular
* VZW waives fees for public sector (Fed plus SLTT) and bills fees for private sector (industry and consumer) 30

30. Resources Colleen Wright (PTS Area Representative) Web Sites:
(202) or
Web Sites:
DHS Priority Telecommunications Service Center:
Monday–Friday, 8 am–6 pm EST
Follow voice prompts for GETS, WPS or TSP 31

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