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Feds handing out special emergency phone cards
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - Special calling cards are being handed out
that ensure critical communications continue despite congested
phone lines after a terrorist attack or natural disaster, a federal
official told utility regulators from 15 states.
Kenneth Moran, director of defense and security for the Federal
Communications Commission, spoke about the cards at a conference of
state utility regulators Monday.
Federal programs have been set up to ensure that federal and
state government agencies, fire and police departments, the largest
national banks, and public utilities can communicate without delays
during emergencies, Moran said.
Included is the distribution of special calling cards, which
will prioritize any calls made by using the special numbers on
them.
Any qualifying group can contact the National Communications
System - part of the Department of Homeland Security - to request
the cards, which have been distributed since 1995. Each card is
issued to an individual, with a name printed on it.
"You go to NCS, you tell them who you are and what you do, and
the NCS will say 'yes' or 'no,"' Moran said.
Groups can also request a special activation feature for cell
phones to be used with a code during congestion of cell-phone
networks after disasters.
Phone networks often become clogged during times of disasters.
On Sept. 11, 2001, AT&T's national long-distance, land-line traffic
was twice as much as it ever had before in a single day, Moran
said.
The cellular activation feature is available only on T-Mobile
networks now but will expand to five other carriers in the next two
years, including Cingular and Sprint.
Another program, started in the late 1980s, allows groups to
request the National Communications System to identify certain
phone numbers as priority lines. Phone companies will restore these
lines first in the event of a disaster that causes an outage.
The states represented at the regulatory conference were
Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota,
Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota,
Texas and Wisconsin.
----
On The Net:
Federal Communications Commission: http://www.fcc.gov
National Communications System: http://www.ncs.gov
(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
that ensure critical communications continue despite congested
phone lines after a terrorist attack or natural disaster, a federal
official told utility regulators from 15 states.
Kenneth Moran, director of defense and security for the Federal
Communications Commission, spoke about the cards at a conference of
state utility regulators Monday.
Federal programs have been set up to ensure that federal and
state government agencies, fire and police departments, the largest
national banks, and public utilities can communicate without delays
during emergencies, Moran said.
Included is the distribution of special calling cards, which
will prioritize any calls made by using the special numbers on
them.
Any qualifying group can contact the National Communications
System - part of the Department of Homeland Security - to request
the cards, which have been distributed since 1995. Each card is
issued to an individual, with a name printed on it.
"You go to NCS, you tell them who you are and what you do, and
the NCS will say 'yes' or 'no,"' Moran said.
Groups can also request a special activation feature for cell
phones to be used with a code during congestion of cell-phone
networks after disasters.
Phone networks often become clogged during times of disasters.
On Sept. 11, 2001, AT&T's national long-distance, land-line traffic
was twice as much as it ever had before in a single day, Moran
said.
The cellular activation feature is available only on T-Mobile
networks now but will expand to five other carriers in the next two
years, including Cingular and Sprint.
Another program, started in the late 1980s, allows groups to
request the National Communications System to identify certain
phone numbers as priority lines. Phone companies will restore these
lines first in the event of a disaster that causes an outage.
The states represented at the regulatory conference were
Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota,
Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota,
Texas and Wisconsin.
----
On The Net:
Federal Communications Commission: http://www.fcc.gov
National Communications System: http://www.ncs.gov
(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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