Government Emergency Telecommunications Service

"The Government Emergency Telecommunications Service (GETS)" is a White House-directed emergency phone service provided by a division of the Department of Homeland Security. GETS uses enhancements based on existing commercial technology.

Purpose of GETS

GETS supports federal, state, local, and tribal government, industry, and non-governmental organization (NGO) personnel during crises or emergencies by providing emergency access and priority processing for local and long distance calls on the public switched telephone network. GETS is intended to be used in an emergency or crisis situation when the public switched telephone network is congested and the probability of completing a call over normal or other alternate telecommunication means is reduced.

GETS is necessary because reliance on telecommunications has been accompanied by an increased vulnerability to network congestion and system failures. Although backup systems are in place, disruptions in service can still occur. Natural disasters, power outages, fiber cable cuts, and software problems can cripple the telephone services of entire regions. Additionally, congestion in the public switched telephone network, such as the well-documented "Mother's Day phenomenon," in which Mother's Day generally has the highest volume of long-distance telephone calls of any single day of the year, can prevent access to circuits. However, during times of emergency, crisis, or war, government personnel and emergency workers need to know that their calls will go through.

Wirelessly, it is referred to as the Nationwide Wireless Priority Service (WPS). WPS users have the ability to queue at the top for the next available capacity from their closest base station in order to place their call, greatly enhancing their ability to complete wireless calls during these critical times and assist the situation. WPS is available only to designated leadership at all government levels, national security, emergency responders, and private sector critical infrastructure personnel, as approved by the NCS and Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Rules and Requirements.

GETS uses these major types of networks:

* The local networks provided by local exchange carriers and wireless providers, such as cellular carriers and personal communications services (PCS)
* The major long distance networks provided by interexchange carriers such as AT&T, MCI, and Sprint, including their international services
* Government-leased networks, including the Federal Technology Service and the Defense Switched Network

How GETS is accessed

GETS is accessed through a dialing plan and Personal Identification Number (PIN) card verification system. The user dials a universal access number in area code 710 using common telephone equipment. A prompt directs the entry of the user's PIN and the telephone number. Once the user is authenticated as a valid, his or her call receives special treatment.

Effectiveness

GETS is designed to provide 90% call completion rates when call volume is eight times greater than normal capacity. In actual emergencies, GETS has consistently met or exceeded this completion rate.

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"When the going gets tough, GETS keeps you going."

References

* [http://gets.ncs.gov/ GETS Web Site]