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Committee of Principals Create Two Working Groups

Arlington, VA., Decemberr 18, 2003 - The establishment of two new working groups highlighted the December 16 meeting of the National Communications System (NCS) Committee of Principals (COP), held at the NCS headquarters. Robert P. Liscouski, the Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary for Infrastructure Protection and Manager, NCS, chaired the session.

Committee members established the Ensuring Constitutional Government (EDG) Working Group, with the role of reviewing national security and emergency preparedness (NS/EP) communications issues dealing with continuity of government and continuity of operations activities. Chairing the working group will be a Department of Defense (DOD) representative to be designated by Dr. Linton Wells, the DOD COP member who serves as DOD’s Assistant Secretary of Defense for Networks and Information Integration.

The committee also formed the Priority Services Working Group to look at government requirements for priority communications and ways to work with the private sector to meet those requirements. Mr. Kenneth Moran, the Federal Communications Commission’s Director of Defense and Security, volunteered to chair the group, with the Department of Transportation Hollace Twining offering to serve as vice chair. Both Mr. Moran and Ms. Twining serve on the NCS Council of Representatives – a subordinate body of the COP.

In other business, Mr. Moran briefed the committee on the progress of his other working group -- the NCS Critical Facilities Working Group (CFWG). He noted that the working group has completed a draft report and hoped to deliver the final version in mid-January, 2004, after comments have been incorporated into the report.

Mr. Moran addressed options to improve diversity within critical facilities, such as purchasing primary and diverse services from one supplier; purchasing from two or more suppliers; purchasing through a telecommunications aggregator; or using alternative media for backup facilities. He discussed the attributes and challenges that each option presents and presented the COP with preliminary recommendations that a Federal agency with NS/EP communications requirements should take into consideration to help ensure diverse services.

Over the last year, Mr. Moran said the working group has worked to address how Federal entities can ensure reliable NS/EP communications. During that time, the CFWG established working group goals, and scrutinized diversity definitions. They also examined Network Reliability Interoperability Council best practices, and met with the Industry Executive Subcommittee of the President’s National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee (NSTAC) about NSTAC studies about critical facilities.

Established in January 2003, working group members include representatives from the Departments of Energy, Interior, State, Treasury; the Federal Emergency Management Agency; the Federal Reserve Board; the General Services Administration; the National Telecommunications and Information Administration; the Nuclear Regulatory Commission; and the FCC.

Brenton Greene, Deputy Manager of the NCS, welcomed Earl Neal, who is slated to replace Michael Duffy as the Department of Justice committee member. He also welcomed Jason Healey, who coordinates NCS and COP activities with the White House Homeland Security Council (HSC). Also in attendance was Mark LeBlanc from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.

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