The FCC and the National Communications System (NCS) opened a nat...

than 10% of 7,500 PSAPs in the U.S. now participated. The program, created in 1988, gives govts. and key industries priority over other telecom users in emergencies. In case of a national emergency, the program ensures certain dedicated voice, backbone and access circuits for priority users can operate despite severe network congestion or disruption. The FCC said 911 centers “readily qualify” because they offer services essential to health and safety. NCS Deputy Mgr. Brenton Greene and FCC Office of Engineering & Technology Chief Edmond Thomas wrote to the National Emergency Number Assn. (NENA), National Assn. of State 911 Administrators (NASNA) and the Assn. of Public Safety Communications Officials (APCO), which are part of the campaign on TSP. “Lack of participation could jeopardize the restoration of essential service provided by the PSAP administrators during times of disaster and could put citizens at substantial risk of injury or loss of property at times when they are most vulnerable,” they wrote. The FCC said it would be the federal TSP sponsor for all PSAP administrators because, under the program, all non-federal organizations seeking coverage must have a federal sponsor. The Commission developed initial guidelines to help PSAPs enroll. It said in an attachment to the letters to the public safety community that since Sept. 11, 2001, the agencies had been reviewing the “scope and effectiveness” of the TSP program. While they found it operated well in disasters, certain groups were underrepresented, particularly PSAPs. “This lack of participation by certain key organizations represents a serious vulnerability in our homeland security,” FCC and NCS said. The current lag in PSAP participation “could jeopardize the restoration of essential services provided by the PSAP administrators during times of disaster and, therefore, put citizens at substantial risk of injury or loss of property at times when they are most vulnerable.” NCS and the FCC said PSAPs might not join the program because they mistakenly believed telecom service providers automatically gave a high priority to restoring their lines in emergencies. NCS said it would expedite its processing of TSP applications by PSAPs. Current rules give NCS up to 30 days to do so, but it pledged to process valid PSAP TSP applications within 14 days -- only 3 days for most of them. APCO said that, along with industry standards bodies, it would develop additional “industry-specific guidelines” for PSAPs to assist in their enrollments. The FCC stressed Thurs. that a PSAP user didn’t have to purchase TSP coverage for all its lines. Typically, there’s a one- time charge of $100 for a local line and a monthly charge of about $3, but it said most TSP users sought coverage for only a portion of their lines to keep costs down. NASNA said it would provide information to its members to help enroll in the program and do follow-up with 911 center administrators. NENA said it also would provide information to its members and propose revisions in its standards to reflect adequate levels of TSP participation by PSAPs.