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NCC Operating Charter
Organizational
Structure
The National Coordinating Center (NCC) provides a
unique combination of industry and government personnel working
together in support of national security emergency preparedness.
The NCC configuration consists of a watch center in which the U.S.
telecommunications industry is represented by resident commercial
entities, including international service carriers, the United States
Telephone Association, and other telecommunications entities to
the maximum extent practicable. The Government's NCC complement
is furnished by representatives of the Federal departments, agencies
and entities which have significant national security emergency
preparedness responsibilities and whose operations are heavily dependent
on communications provided by the U.S. commercial telecommunications
industry. The number of NCC participants must at all times be consistent
with the resources available to the Federal government for managing
and operating the NCC.
Operations within the NCC are under the management
supervision and day-to-day direction of the Manager and Deputy Manager,
NCC. They are responsible for coordinating the activities of the
industry representatives and for integrating the efforts of industry
and government personnel to perform the NCC functions. In addition
to other duties, they oversee the day-to-day and emergency operations
of the NCC, facilitate the preparation of operational plans and
procedures, and develop long-range plans to support the objectives
of the NCC. The Manager and Deputy Manager of the NCC report to
the Manager, NCS.
The organizational structure of the NCC is depicted
in Figure 1.
Figure 1
Government Composition
GENERAL
The Federal Government presence in the NCC is
provided by representatives of the NCS member entities and the Office
of the Manager, NCS. The representatives of the NCS member entities
are an integral part of the NCC and emphasize the incorporation
of parent entity concerns into all operations. These individuals
will maintain interfaces with government operations centers and
access to data bases containing information concerning facility
and network status for Federal Government telecommunications systems.
The Federal Government NCC component will be staffed on a full-time
basis and will assist in the control and management of national
communications assets in addition to coordinating with industry
representatives on NS/EP telecommunications service requirements.
PARTICIPATION IN THE NCC
The entities that comprise the NCS provide individuals
to staff and support the operations of the NCC on a daily and emergency
basis. Pursuant to the terms of Memoranda of Agreement (MOA), NCS
entities provide resident representatives or non-resident representatives.
The relationships of these individuals to their respective parent
entities, and to the NCS, are important, and are discussed below.
In each case, MOAs should be consummated between the entity involved
and the Executive Agent, NCS, to establish the method of representation
that will be employed.
Detailed to the NCS Staff. These are individuals
detailed to the staff of the Manager, NCS. In this case, the NCS member
entity is represented by a detailed individual designated by the parent
entity and agreed to by the Office of the Manager, NCS. As the NCC
representative of a participating NCS entity, the individual will
receive guidance from and will report to the parent entity. In other
NCC activities, including the representation of non-resident entities,
the individual reports to the Manager, NCS or Manager, NCC.
Resident Representatives. These are individuals designated
by the NCS entities to serve as NCC representatives and are physically
present in the center on a continuing basis. They are additional
personnel provided by the NCS entity and dedicated to the operation
of the NCC. These individuals represent the interest of their parent
entity as well as any nonresident entity they have agreed to support.
Special reporting channels are required. The representatives actively
participate in NCC activities and operations, and report to the
Manager, NCC on these matters. However, personnel continue to report
to their parent entity, which also retains all rating responsibilities.
Non-Resident Representatives. These individuals are
designated by an NCS entity to function as liaison to the NCC and
are physically present in the center on a periodic basis. These
individuals serve as the routine NCC points-of-contact within their
respective entities and may be called upon to perform duties in
the NCC in support of emergency or special requirement situations.
When performing duties in the NCC, the relationship to their parent
entity and the Manager, NCC, are the same as those described for
resident representatives.
Federal Communications Commission Liaison. The FCC
shall designate liaison arrangements and points-of-contact with
the NCC.
Criteria for NCC Participation
The three primary criteria to be used to determine
NCS entity participation in the NCC are presented below:
- NS/EP Telecommunications Involvement-The
degree of the entity's participation in NS/EP activity is a primary
consideration in determining the need for the entity to participate
in the NCC. The following two indications of involvement will
be considered in the application of this criterion.
- Number and level of restoration priority circuits,
and
- Level of responsibility for, and participation
in, Executive Order No. 12472 and National Security Decision
Directive 97 (NSDD-97) activities.
- Category A Agencies, as defined by Federal Emergency
Management Agency Preparedness Circular Number 60.
- Communication Assets.
MEMORANDA OF AGREEMENT (MOA)
NCS entities enter into agreements with the Secretary of Homeland Security, as Executive Agent for the NCS, or his/her designee. The agreements state the arrangements whereby such entities provide personnel on the staff of the Manager, NCS, in support of NCS missions and NS/EP telecommunications service requirements.
Existing agreements will be reviewed and amended,
if required, to reflect NCC participation and representation as
discussed in Participation in the NCC. Any required amendments,
and agreements with new NCS member entities, shall include the method
of representation in the NCC by reference to appropriate portions
of this charter.
The following provisions should be included in future
NCS agreements to support NCC representation:
- The position on the staff of the Office of the
Manager, NCS, to be occupied by an entity employee shall be designated
by the appropriate agency head or designee and agreed to by the
Manager, NCS. For any method of representation selected by the
entity, certain qualifications are essential to ensure effective
entity representation.
- The employee designated to a position on the staff
of the Manager, NCS, will have a background in telecommunications
operations, planning or management, will be familiar with the
operations of the parent entity, and will be knowledgeable in
the role that communications plays in fulfilling the essential
functions of the parent entity.
- During the tenure of the individual on the staff
of the Manager, NCS, that individual will perform duties under
the sole direction of the Manager or the Manager's designated
representative in matters related to job performance or matters
concerning the operation of the NCS. As the NCC representative
of a participating NCS entity, the individual will receive guidance
from and will report to the parent entity.
Agreements should be reviewed and modified on an individual
basis when an entity desires to provide additional personnel to
represent them in the NCC. In those cases, the agreements should
clearly reflect the relationships between the designated employee
of the parent entity and the staff of the Office of the Manager,
NCS, as indicated in Participation in the NCC. The basic Memorandum
of Agreement between the NCS entities and the Executive Agent for
the NCS should provide for the method of participation in the NCC.
Industry Composition
PARTICIPATION IN THE NCC
The industry presence in the NCS is provided
by both resident and non-resident entities from the telecommunications
industry selected by the Federal Government in accordance with the
criteria enumerated in Criteria for NCC Participation. Industry
participation will be reviewed by the Manager, NCS, on a continuing
basis, and industry entities not physically represented (i.e., non-resident)
in the NCC will be afforded the maximum practicable opportunity
to participate in the activities of the NCC. The industry representatives
will maintain interfaces with their representative operations centers
and assure access to appropriate data bases to monitor the service
status of their network and facilities. These representatives will
also serve as points-of-contact for expediting restoration or initiation
of NS/EP telecommunications services and consultation with, and
provision of advice to, the government component in developing alternative
approaches for response to NS/EP telecommunications service requirements.
The resident industry component of the NCC is composed
of the representatives of telecommunications entities selected by
the Federal Government and physically present in the NCC on a continuing
basis. These individuals represent their respective parent entities
and actively participate in NCC activities and operations. Resident
industry representatives will elect an industry spokesperson to
represent them on administrative matters. This spokesperson will
serve for a period of one year.
Non-resident industry entities are selected by the
Federal Government, function as liaison to the NCC and may be physically
present in the NCC on a periodic basis as requested by the Manager,
NCS. Non-resident representatives serve as NCC points-of-contact
within their respective entities and may be called upon to perform
duties in support of emergency or crisis situations.
CRITERIA FOR NCC PARTICIPATION
General. The selection of industry entities
to participate in the NCC is based upon their ability and willingness
to provide or support the provision of the Nation's NS/EP telecommunications
service requirements. All U.S. telecommunications industry entities
that provide domestic or international communications services;
local or long-haul communications services; voice or data (including
software) communications services; or telecommunications equipment
supply services are considered eligible for participation in an
NCC. Actual selection of participants is then based upon a primary
criterion, with a subsequent comparative evaluation of the extent
to which an entity satisfies enumerated secondary criteria.
Primary Criterion. The joint Federal Communications
Commission-National Communications System (FCC/NCS) uniform system
of priorities for the restoration of commercially-provided intercity
private line services is designed to identify, and ensure priority
treatment for, the Nation's most vital commercially-provided intercity
private line communications services. Accordingly, the primary criterion
for initial or future participation in the NCC is that an industry
entity must be providing a portion of a circuit bearing an NCS/FCC
approved restoration priority of 1-4.
Secondary Criteria. In recognition of the fact that
an industry entity may be involved in providing only a limited amount
of restoration priority services, or that certain industry entities
may not provide any such services, yet still be important to an
effective industry response to NS/EP telecommunications service
requirements, ten secondary criteria have been established. In order
of importance they are:
- The extent of an entity's provision of restoration
priority services.The ability of an entity to provide or be responsible
for end-to-end service involving equipment, wiring and local or
long-haul transmission where necessary.
- The extent to which an entity has facilities and
equipment geographically located to adequately support essential
government activities.
- The extent to which an entity has existing contingency
restoration/ reconstitution plans or a willingness to develop
such plans.
- The extent to which an entity has existing continuity
of operations procedures, facilitates redundancy, alternate control
facilities and other network survivability characteristics.
- The extent to which an entity has existing operations
centers to monitor network status.
- The extent to which an entity's networks/equipment
are interoperable or interconnectable with other industry entities
networks/equipment.
- The extent of an entity's willingness to provide
data regarding company systems, resources and personnel as determined
necessary by the government.
- Historical evidence of an entity's reliability
and dependability in providing communications service to the Federal
Government under all conditions.
- The extent and level of technical experience and
expertise resident in an entity's staff.
CONTRACTS
Services provided by the individual industry
entities participating in the NCC will be provided under Communications
Services Authorizations (CSAs) written against Basic Agreements
(BAs) between the government and the NCC industry entities. These
contractual arrangements will provide the mechanism by which NCC
industry entities may be reimbursed for expenses incurred by NCC
activities. References to this NCC Charter will be made in the uniform
CSAs issued against the BAs to detail industry and government requirements
in support of the NCC. All NCC activity will be carried out in accordance
with such contractual agreements.
Reporting Structure
INTERNAL NCC
The NCC operates under a Federal Government
manager appointed by the Manager, NCS. In addition to overseeing
the operations of the Federal Government portion of the NCC, the
Manager, NCC, interfaces with industry representatives in the NCC
in monitoring the status of telecommunications systems and coordinating
new NS/EP telecommunications service requirements.
During an NS/EP situation (see Scope of Operations
in Background and Purpose),
the Manager, NCC, is responsible for receiving reports from industry
entities on service, the extent of damage to facilities, equipment
or service and an estimate of initiation or restoration capabilities.
The Manager, NCC, then has the authority to confer with government
and industry representatives in the NCC and determine the appropriate
course(s) of action to meet Federal Government NS/EP telecommunications
service requirements. Once the Manager, NCC, has selected a course
of action, he has the authority to act, according to the nature
of the situation (see Scope of Operations in Background
and Purpose), with those entities involved.
EXTERNAL ORGANIZATION
Representatives from those telecommunications
entities participating in the NCC are responsible for maintaining
interfaces between the NCC and their respective entities. In order
for these individuals in the NCC to perform the required functions,
each entity must provide for separate access to the appropriate
data bases, and points-of-contact within their own entities. The
representatives from each entity have ready access to the authority
to make decisions and direct the use of corporate resources in order
to fulfill Federal government NS/EP telecommunications service requirements.
Additionally, each entity must develop the necessary internal plans
and procedures to support their representative in the NCC to ensure
effectiveness in performing the functions of the NCC.
The Federal Government representatives in the NCC
must interface with a number of external government activities and
organizations. Their reporting responsibilities are as prescribed
in the section above, Participation in the NCC. The Manager, NCS,
is responsible for the overall operation of the NCC. Additionally,
he coordinates with the FCC and Office of Science and Technology
Policy (OSTP) to ensure that all NS/EP telecommunications service
requirements are known and that telecommunications resources are
used in accordance with applicable government plans and procedures.
He also provides assistance to OSTP in evaluating current situations
and events by monitoring communications status (including public
switched networks) and providing information as necessary.
If Section 706 of the Communications Act is invoked,
the Manager, NCS would also assist the OSTP in preparing to execute
the war powers of the President, reporting the status of national
telecommunications to the President, providing recommendations to
the President with respect to telecommunications and national priorities
and providing guidance to government agencies as authorized
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