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NSATC Manager Provides NCS Update to NSTAC Principals

Washington D.C., March 14, 2002 - The Manager of the National Communications System (NCS) told members of the President’s National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee (NSTAC) that the NCS faces many challenges in the aftermath of September 11th attacks and that the NCS has broadened its responsibilities to formally incorporate Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) and Homeland Security (HLS) into the NCS mission.

“Both the war on terrorism and homeland security have brought a new emphasis on NS/EP [national security and emergency preparedness] telecommunications,” said Air Force Lieutenant General Harry D. Raduege, Jr., the NCS Manager, “one that requires a continuing and strong Government and industry partnership to ensure we take advantage of our technology base to protect and preserve our Nation.”

In a written statement to the NSTAC on March 13, Lt. Gen. Raduege said the NCS continues enhancing priority services to ensure decision makers and emergency workers can communicate during times of crisis and emergency situations.“The September 11th attacks reinforced the importance of wireless priority service and CIP -- issues that the NCS was already addressing -- and introduced homeland security as a national priority.”

National Communications System (NCS) Manager Lieutenant General Harry D. Raduege, Jr., concentrates on one of the many presentations conducted during the Business Session of the Presidents National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee (NSTAC).Behind the general are Raytheon Company’s John Grimes (left), the NSTAC Industry Executive Subcommittee Working Session Chair, and Brenton C. Greene, Deputy Manager of the NCS.

(Photo by Robert Flores, Defense Information Systems Agency.)

The Manager first reviewed how the NCS has played “multiple, simultaneous roles in response to the terrorist attacks.”He said the NCS supported emergency operations, coordinated meetings between key industry and Government leaders, and participated in interagency restoration efforts in both cities.

“Between September 11th and September 30th, the NCS processed almost 600 Telecommunications Service Priority (TSP) provisioning requests from 46 organizations,” said Raduege.The general also said the Government Emergency Telecommunications Service (GETS) helped NS/EP responders complete 95 percent of 4,000 Manhattan GETS calls and 3,000 Arlington GETS calls.Within that same period, the NCS issued an additional 1,000 GETS cards to several agencies, significantly increasing the 45,000 GETS cards already in circulation.

During that September time frame, Lt. Gen. Raduege said the NCS implemented a 24-hour watch capability in the Telecommunications Information Sharing and Analysis Center (Telecom ISAC) to share information about network health.“The Telecom-ISAC has increased membership over the past year to include a number of companies in the aerospace, defense, and information security sectors,” the Manager said.

Lt. Gen. Raduege added that the Telecom-ISAC has taken a leadership role in coordinating the various ISACs that already have been established.He said this included getting a sharing agreement signed by the Information Technology, Financial Services, and Telecom-ISACs, and agreements among the Telecom-ISAC, the General Services Administration’s FedCirc, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s National Infrastructure Protection Center (NIPC).

In the weeks following the terrorist attacks, President George W. Bush signed two Executive Orders that are having an impact on the NCS mission. The first -- Executive Order (E.O.) 13228 signed October 8, 2001 -- established the Office of Homeland Security. “The NCS and NSTAC missions of assuring availability of NS/EP telecommunications are consistent with the goals of homeland security,” said the Manager. “With the emergence of homeland security as an important issue to the NS/EP community, the NCS has broadened its scope to include a homeland security mission and is working with the administration to shape its role in the [homeland security] community.”

Lt. Gen. Raduege said a second Executive Order signed just one week later -- E.O. 13231, “Critical Infrastructure Protection in the Information Age”-- provides a framework for coordination and oversight of Government CIP efforts and programs.It includes some of the NCS’s key CIP activities, such as information sharing, incident coordination and response, infrastructure interdependencies and vulnerability analysis, and outreach.“It formalized the NCS’s role in the CIP community,” he said.

One direct impact on the NCS from E.O. 13231 is the re-designation of the NCS Committee of Principals as the President’s Committee for National Security and Emergency Preparedness Communications (NS/EPC).The Executive Order dictates that – in addition to its role to the NCS -- the NS/EPC would be one of 11 committees providing input to the President’s Critical Infrastructure Protection Board, chaired by Richard A. Clarke, the President’s Special Advisor for Cyberspace Security.Lt. Gen. Raduege – who is a member of the CIP Board and Chair of the NS/EPC — said the NS/EPC is currently developing a new mission, vision, and work plan to incorporate our new responsibilities.

Wireless Priority Service

The general reported that the NCS is working with telecommunications service providers to implement an immediate solution for Wireless Priority Service (WPS).In the case of supporting the Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City, Utah, Lt. Gen. Raduege said Globalstar satellite service combined with Verizon Wireless to provide emergency communications services to NS/EP responders during the Olympics and Paralympics that followed.

He then said that the NCS was working VoiceStream and Globalstar to provide WPS in Washington, D.C. and New York City on an interim basis.(Editor’s note: The Federal Communications Commission approved VoiceStream’s request for waiver on April 3, 2002, of the Commission’s rules for Priority Access and signed a contract two weeks later to begin the pilot program.)

The Manager then told the committee that the NCS is proceeding toward its goal of a nationwide wireless priority service solution with an initial operational capability on December 31, 2002.He said the NCS plans to integrate WPS with existing NS/EP priority services such as GETS by December 31, 2003, when WPS is fully operational.

Other Items

In other NCS accomplishments, Lt. Gen. Raduege updated the NSTAC Principals about progress on the Cyber Warning Information Network (CWIN).He said the NCS was tasked on May 30, 2001 with planning and executing the deployment and operational management of the network.“CWIN is designed to facilitate the immediate sharing of critical cyber information within Government and, ultimately, with industry,” he said.“Phase I, initiated in FY [fiscal year] 2001, supports development and implementation of operational capabilities and procedures in seven Federal watch centers in five geographically dispersed locations.”

The Manager also said that the NCS coordinated with the NSTAC in examining the “Last Mile” bandwidth issue.In a report conducted by an NSTAC task force studying the “Last Mile” issue, the group examined how the provisioning process is affected by economic and technical factors. The task force recommended how Government might work with industry to reduce provisioning times or to otherwise mitigate the effects of extended provisioning periods, and examined what policy-based solutions can be applied to the provisioning of high-band circuits for NS/EP services.

As Rockwell Collins President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Clayton M. Jones (left) listens, Air Force Lieutenant General Harry D. Raduege, Jr., Manager of the National Communications System, discusses a point with Raytheon Company Chairman and CEO Daniel P. Burnham prior to the start the President’s National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee (NSTAC) meeting held March 13.

(Photo by Robert Flores, Defense Information Systems Agency.)

“The OMNCS studied the economic, contractual, technological, and political factors affecting last mile bandwidth availability,” said the general.He added that as a result of NSTAC’s recommendations, the NCS would work to incorporate improved practices for contracting.

Alerting and Coordinating Network

The general touched on the success of the Alerting and Coordinating Network (ACN) – a system originally operated by the National Telecommunications Alliance (NTA) as a public network (PN) for coordination among the Regional Bell Operating Companies, long distance carriers, and equipment manufacturers.

When the NTA dissolved in January 2001, the Director, Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), asked, and NCS concurred with taking over the ACN because it serves as a vital coordination resource in the event of severe congestion or catastrophic damage to the public network.The ACN also provides emergency backup communications capability in the event of a widespread network outage.“If expanded to other infrastructures, the ACN can also provide for cross-infrastructure coordination,” said Lt. Gen. Raduege.“The ACN played a key role in successful industry and Government responses to the Code Red worm last summer, September 11th terrorist attacks, and the NIMDA virus.”

Convergence

Finally, the general noted the NCS participation in the Federal Government’s interagency Convergence Working Group (CWG).“The CWG issued a report to the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs and the Director, OSTP, in July 2001 that detailed the CWG’s findings and programmatic recommendations,” said Lt. Gen. Raduege.“The follow-up report, issued in January 2002, updates the July report and makes additional recommendations.The NCS continues to participate in standards activities relating to network convergence and NS/EP telecommunications.”

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Reviewed December 07, 2006