NCS PRIORITY TELECOMM SERVICES

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Priority Telecommunications
Services -- available in the Public Telephone
Network
A Presentation to the 2008 Virginia APCO/NENA
Fall Conference Exposition October 29, 2008
John Graves Mid-Atlantic Outreach Coordinator
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• Im sorry, all circuits are busy.
• Please hang up and try your call again later.

Sowhat causes this?
1DEMAND goes up, i.e., more people calling
and/or
2Equipment DAMAGE or DESTRUCTION
And the capacityis ?
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October 17, 1989 450 pm in San Francisco
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A 6.9 Earthquake Occurs in the SF Bay Area at
504 pm -- First Earthquake broadcast on live
TVas the world was watching
530 pm in San Francisco
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67 People killed, 3,757 injured, 12,000 left
homeless And the U.S. telephone network in and
out of California Was congested for days with
little damage to ATT facilities
740 pm in San Francisco
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Hurricane Rita Texas Coast Evacuation
over 3 million people - largest in U.S. History
Network Congestion!

• Evacuation ordered by Texas officials
• Heavy public calling out of area to families,
  friends, hotels, etc.
• TELCO networks overloaded and invoked Automatic
  Network Management Controls limiting inbound
  traffic
• Calls into 7 Area Codes get All Circuits Busy
  announcement 3 days before (H 72)
  Hurricane Rita hit the coast on September 24,
  2005
• Once the evacuation was underway (H 36),
  motorists made extraordinarily heavy use of Cell
  Phones, causing congestion on all the Cellular
  Networks

Huge DEMAND for Calls!
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Hurricane IKE September 14, 2008 Gilchrist, Texas
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Hurricane Katrina Landfall in LA 29 Aug
2005 1,836 dead 81 billion cost -- costliest
U.S. natural disaster Widespread telecom network
damage
DESTROYED!
Lake Catherine. Louisiana Central Telephone Office
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• Hurricane IKE

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The Fundamental IssueEmergencies Cause Network
Congestion

• Congestion can block a call at many points !

ATT Verizon Business Sprint Nextel
Local Exchange Networks
Local Exchange Networks
Mobile Switch
Mobile
Switch
GETS and WPS address congestion at call
origination, transport, and termination
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• The
• Government Emergency Telecommunications Service
  (GETS)
• The Wireless Priority Service (WPS)

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Network Congestion Solutions The GETS Calling
Card and WPS Cell Phone Priority
GETS is an emergency calling card service that
can be used from virtually any telephone to
provide priority for emergency calls
WPS is an add-on feature subscribed on a per
cell phone basis works with existing cell
phones in WPS equipped networks
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GETS Overview

• Dial GETS Access Number from any phone
  (1-710-627-4387)

2. Network routes call to a GETS Carrier. As you
are prompted, enter your PIN then Destination
Number
3. Network routes your call to the Destination
Number
..
Public Network
Use GETS whenever you hear a fast busy signal,
All circuits busy announcement, or otherwise
cannot complete your call
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Making a GETS Call
GETS Access Number

• 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, ATT/MCI/Sprint
• Network will route your call to the destination
  telephone number

Toll Free number for each GETS carrier (backup)
Toll Free User Assistance number (24x7)
12 Digit Personal Identification Number (PIN)
User Name and Organization
Periods of silence are normal particularly if
call is queued during heavy congestion. Calls
may take 30 to 90 seconds to complete
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GETS Priority Features
and Enhanced Routing
123456789012
TONE (Enter PIN)
Please enter your destination number now
You are using GETS -- ATT
703-607-6160
Call Passed to IXC
NETWORK DAMAGE / CONGESTION ENCOUNTERED
Enhanced Routing and Priority Treatment
GETS Call Processed

• Plus...GETS has
• Exemption from
• control restrictions
• Priority in the
• signaling network

Call in IXC Queue
ATT
Verizon MCI
Sprint
CALL CONNECTED!
Call in AT Queue
Other
Query AIN Platform
Call Queues on IXC Trunk Group
Call Queues on AT Trunk Group
Call Queues on Direct Trunk Group
Other IXC calls stopped at EO
Call in EO Queue
Routing Instructions For Alternate Carrier
Routing (ACR)
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WPS Overview
1. WPS is an add-on feature subscribed on a
per-cell phone basis works with existing cell
phones in WPS equipped networks
2. To make a WPS call, enter Ý272 followed by
the Destination Number then press SEND
Ý272 703 818 4387
WPS addresses congestion in the wireless segment
of the network most importantly the local radio
access channel
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Making a WPS Call
Periods of continuous ringing and/or silence may
occur particularly if call is queued at several
points during heavy congestion. Calls may take
30 to 90 seconds to complete
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Budgeting for GETS WPS

• GETS Cards
• Ordered on a per person/position basis from the
  NCS
• No charge for GETS cards
• For organizations outside the Federal government,
  billing information is required to establish an
  account for GETS calls (_at_ 5 cents/min). You
  will not normally be billed for
• Calls to confirm receipt of individual GETS cards
• Test calls to the familiarization line
  (703-818-3924)
• Legitimate GETS usage in response to emergencies
• WPS Feature Activation
• Ordered on a per-phone basis only through the NCS
• Now available ATT Mobility, CellularSouth,
  Edge Wireless, T-Mobile, Sprint/Nextel,
  SouthernLINC Verizon Wireless
• Planned Alltel (Spring 2008), US Cellular (late
  2008)
• Per phone charge not to exceed 4.50/month and a
  10 one-time set-up, plus no more than 75 cents
  per minute when WPS is invoked
• Billed by the carrier on the cell phone invoice

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GETS WPS TSP
519
105
39
74,422
45,878
16,067
6,750
865
19,952
29,686
4,255
23,453
42,039
8,532
5,230
57,414
25,561
124,812
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Tribal
GETS / WPS Data as of October 20, 2008 TSP Data
as of September 16, 2008
210,902
85,200
189,553
Total
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• 6,503 POCs/Organizations
• 11,168 unique locations
• 210,902 total GETS cards

• 2,074 POCs/Organizations
• 4,398 unique locations
• 85,200 total WPS phones

Data as of October 20, 2008
Geographic Distribution of GETS/WPS Users
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Who Should have GETS/WPS?
Organizations
Individuals

• Mayor, Council Members, Supervisors
• City Manager and staff
• Media Relations
• OEM Management and staff
• Police/Fire Chiefs and staff
• Police/Fire Field Command
• Department Heads and staff
• Team leaders
• Subject matter experts/trained specialists
• Individuals with an Emergency Preparedness and
  Response role.

• Cities/Counties/States/Districts
• Office of Emergency Management
• Police/Sheriff/Fire
• Water and Power, Telecom
• Public Works
• Irrigation Districts/Flood Control
• Public Health
• Hospitals/Medical Services
• Transit Agencies
• Ports/Airports
• Utilities/Transportation and other Industries
• Search and Rescue
• School and College Districts
• Red Cross/Volunteer Agencies
• Critical Infrastructure Suppliers
• Other Agencies included in County Emergency
  Management Plans

Locations/Functions

• Police/Fire Dispatch
• City/County Yards
• Remote Offices/Stations
• Power/Pump Stations
• Shelters
• Command Vehicles

• EOC Work Stations
• Back-up EOC
• City and County Operations Centers
• PSAPs (911 Center)
• Computer/IT Center

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Order GETS and WPS on-line

• Identify a Point of Contact (POC) and Alternate
  to manage GETS/WPS for your organization
• Have POC go to gets.ncs.gov Select first time
  requestor on left-side menu then state, local,
  and tribal government
• Follow step by step instructions to establish
  Point of Contact Account for POC and Alternate.
  They will receive User IDs, Passwords, and
  personal GETS cards within about two weeks.
• POC and Alternate should review GETS/WPS
  information on Websites, familiarize themselves
  with on-line ordering system, and make GETS test
  calls. For WPS, Priority Levels prioritize calls
  for most State/Local Government, Priority Level
  assigned is 3.
• Determine which individuals, locations, and
  functions need GETS and WPS
• POC orders users GETS and WPS on-line
• GETS cards with instructions are mailed to POCs
  address
• WPS subscription activation is confirmed by email
  to POC

Determine GETS/WPS Users
Go On-line to Order GETS/WPS
Note Federal POCs are already established for
some organizations
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The Telecommunications
Service Priority
Program
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Problem During an Emergency, Critical Services
May Experience Outages

• Emergency Operations Center
• 911 PSAP
• IT Center
• Critical Facilities

Telecommunications Service Providers

• Damaged facilities and service problems can
  disable communications!

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The Solution?
Telecommunications Service Priority (TSP)

• FCC established program - applies to all
  telecommunications service providers
• Restoration Priority ensures restoration before
  non-TSP users
• Provisioning Priority facilitates priority
  installation of new telecommunications services
  in a shorter than normal interval

TSP must be set-up in advance
BEFORE an emergency or disaster occurs
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Implementing TSP

• Get Started
• Establish the on-line TSP account by going to
  tsp.ncs.gov
• Download the TSP Service User Manual and TSP
  Service Request Form (Form 315)
• Meet with your Service Provider Account
  Rep(s) to identify candidate circuits and obtain
  pricing

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Resources

• For more information
• www.ncs.gov
• gets.ncs.gov
• wps.ncs.gov
• tsp.ncs.gov
• or www.fcc.gov/pshs/emergency/telecom.html
• 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
• Mid-Atlantic Outreach Coordinator
• John Graves

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