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Communications: The Lifeblood of Disaster Recovery

Arlington, VA. October 03, 2008 - The Federal response to Hurricanes Gustav and Ike confirmed the importance of the National Communication System’s (NCS) National Coordinating Center (NCC) for Communications as the focal point for national security and emergency preparedness (NS/EP) communications.

NCS serves as the coordinating Agency for Emergency Support Function-2 (ESF-2) Communications under the National Response Framework. Under ESF-2, NCS, in conjunction with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), coordinates the restoration of critical communications infrastructure and provides NS/EP communications to Federal, State, local, and tribal governments. In addition, NCS also provides priority communications services to key critical infrastructure personnel and first responders.

As the operational arm of the NCS, the NCC is a unique joint government and industry partnership that hosts a 24/7/365 watch operation. The NCC Watch serves as the central coordination hub between Federal, State, local, and tribal governments, and the Communications Information Sharing and Analysis Center (Comm ISAC) during emergencies. The NCC staff coordinates with 24 Federal Departments and Agencies (D/A) through the Regional Response Coordination Centers, field offices, and OPs centers to restore emergency communications to areas impacted by major disasters. These D/A’s include FEMA, the General Services Administration (GSA), the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), and the Department of Defense (DOD).

Ensuring that private sector restoration crews have access to vital facilities to repair key communications infrastructure is critical to response and recovery efforts. For example, NCC worked with local law enforcement to ensure communication carriers had access prior to and post hurricane landfall which expedited restoration of the communications networks. The NCC also coordinated with private sector companies to ensure the availability of fuel and delivery for back-up generators. Communications facilities need power to operate and those fuel deliveries keep NS/EP communications flowing until energy crews can restore normal power.

The NCC, in conjunction with the FCC, directs the activation and coordination of the Disaster Information Reporting System (DIRS). This system collects communications data on wireline and wireless communications networks, broadcast transmitter systems, cable systems, and public safety answering points during emergencies. DIRS is a web-based system that private companies can use to voluntarily report communications infrastructure status in the event of an emergency. DIRS was utilized for Tropical Storm Fay and Hurricanes Gustav and Ike.

NCS also runs the Telecommunications Service Priority (TSP) Program to provide priority provisioning and restoration to telecommunications services that support NS/EP. As ESF-2 moved into the recovery and restoration phases of Hurricanes Gustav and Ike, TSP became a critical part of those efforts in the Gulf States. The NCS processed 188 restoration requests and 55 provisioning requests from Hurricane Gustav. As of September 24, 2008 there are 66 provisioning requests and 40 restoration requests for TSP in response to Hurricane Ike, with more requests expected as recovery operations continue. In all, NCS is tracking and responding to over 200 restoration and over 100 provisioning requests from Federal, State, local, and tribal government, and emergency response organizations in the Gulf Coast States.

Another one of NCS’ essential NS/EP communications programs is the Shared Resources (SHARES) High Frequency Radio Program. This HF radio activity complements other Federal HF networks (e.g., FEMA’s National Emergency Coordination Network and the Center for Disease Control’s National Public Health Radio Network). The SHARES program brings together existing HF radio resources of Federal, State, and industry organizations when normal communications are destroyed or unavailable. Over 1,400 HF radio stations, representing 102 Federal, State, and industry organizations, in 50 states, the District of Columbia, and in 18 territories/protectorates, participate in SHARES.

Nearly 300 emergency planning and response personnel also participate in SHARES. For Tropical Storm Fay SHARES activated to Level 1 (the highest of three levels) on September 19 from 5 a.m. until 11 a.m.; for Hurricane Gustav, the NCS activated SHARES to Level 1 from 6 a.m. September 1 until 6 p.m. September 2 and for Hurricane Ike, the NCS activated SHARES to Level 1 at 6 p.m. on September 12, transitioned to Level 2, standby mode, heightened awareness, on September 16, then dropped to Level 3 a day later. During these activations, SHARES established radio contacts in the impact areas and received numerous Sport Reports from operators in the field.

NCS also administers the Government Emergency Telecommunications Service (GETS), an emergency service designed to provide priority communications to NS/EP personnel who are unable to complete emergency calls through regular telecommunications means. With the use of a GETS calling card, subscribers from Federal, State, local, and tribal government—as well as our NS/EP industry partners—receive priority calling status that places emergency calls ahead of routine phone traffic.

During Hurricane Gustav, NS/EP personnel completed 89% percent of GETS calls with the bulk of the incomplete calls due to infrastructure damage, power outage and the loss of a critical communications switch in the Baton Rouge area, eliminating the path needed for long distance services critical to GETS.
During Hurricane Ike, from September 11-18, GETS customers completed 97.4 percent of GETS calls, with 7,226 calls made over eight days.

Finally, NCS runs the Wireless Priority Service (WPS), which is the wireless equivalent of GETS and provides prioritization for radio channel assignment for key NS/EP personnel during catastrophic events. Eligible users are Federal, State, local and tribal governments and critical industry personnel who have NS/EP designated missions. WPS serves NS/EP communications needs while minimizing the impact on consumer access to the public wireless infrastructure. There were over 1200 new WPS subscription activations during Hurricane Ike. WPS subscribers placed over 5,200 calls since September 11, 2008, with 1,328 calls placed September 15 – the highest one-day total in the eight day period.

Crucial to all of the NCS efforts was the deployment of Individual Mobilization Augmentees (IMA). IMA’s are Army Reserve communications officers who are dispersed throughout the country to augment Joint Field Offices and regional emergency communications centers during the storms. The NCS oversees the IMA program during national emergencies to provide expertise at field locations and at regional operations centers.

Recovery from natural or man-made disasters is a monumental task. But that task would be immeasurably more difficult, if not impossible, without reliable NS/EP communications. Fortunately, the Nation can be assured that NCS will be there to provide those services when most needed.

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