Telecommunications Information Notice  06-03
Government Emergency Telecommunications Service (GETS) and Wireless Priority Service (WPS)

July 11, 2006

Government Emergency Telecommunications Service (GETS)
Government Emergency Telecommunications Service (GETS) is an emergency communications service designed to be used when National Security and Emergency Preparedness (NS/EP) personnel are unable to complete emergency calls through their regular telecommunications means. GETS uses a calling card to provide federal, state, local government, and industry NS/EP users with a higher probability of call completion during periods of natural or man-made disasters or emergencies that cause congestion or network outages. GETS features are implemented as software enhancements to the telephone switches throughout the Public Switched Network (PSN).

GETS access control is accomplished through the use of Personal Identification Numbers (PINs) to ensure only authorized users gain access to GETS features and protect against fraud.

To be eligible for GETS, an organization must have requirements for emergency telephone services and qualify as a part of the NS/EP community, defined by the National Communications System (NCS) as governmental or non-governmental organizations that directly support at least one of the following:

• National security leadership
• National security posture and population warning
• Public health, safety, and the maintenance of law and order
• Public welfare and maintenance of the national economic posture
• Disaster recovery

To request GETS cards, agency telecommunication coordinators (TCs) must submit a GETS/WPS Request Form 26. The form is found at http://gets.ncs.gov/docs/GETS_WPS_Request_Form.doc. TCs must fill out the sections which pertain to the GETS card request and fax or email the form to one of the following:

GETS card will be mailed to users outside the Baton Rouge area by Certified Mail Return Receipt. Users in the Baton Rouge area may pick up and sign for GETS cards at the Office of Telecommunications Management (OTM), 150 Third Street, 10th floor, Baton Rouge, Louisiana. If you do not indicate via email to the OTM contacts for GETS that you wish to pick up cards at OTM, the card will be mailed to your agency by Certified Mail Return Receipt. The cost of Certified Mail Return Receipt will be passed to your agency via the OTM bill.

Billing Rates for GETS
There is no one time or monthly recurring charge for GETS. GETS calls are billed at a rate of $0.10 or $0.074 per minute (depending on the carrier) for calls within the US and its territories, Canada, and most of the Caribbean. International and operator-assisted calls are billed at commercial rates. GETS usage will be billed on the OTM bill and supporting documentation will be mailed to users. Agencies will be billed at actual cost plus 3%. A Support Service fee of 0.5% shall be applied to the monthly cost of this service.

Wireless Priority Service (WPS)
Wireless Priority Service (WPS) allows authorized NS/EP personnel to initiate calls during an emergency when cellular networks may be congested. During emergencies, cellular providers can experience congestion in their networks, severely curtailing the ability to use cellular services. To facilitate completion of critical calls during these high usage events, WPS gives authorized NS/EP personnel priority cellular access before subscriber who do not have WPS. WPS will not preempt calls in progress and does not guarantee call completion.

WPS gives authorized NS/EP personnel priority access to available cellular resources during emergency situations. In addition, WPS is complementary to, and can be used in conjunction with, the GETS card. This ensures a high probability of call completion in both the landline and cellular portions of the Public Switched Network (PSN). Not all wireless providers currently offer the WPS feature. If your current wireless provider does not offer the WPS feature, you must be willing to cancel service with your provider and establish service with a vendor who does offer the feature. Please contact Beckie Sicard at the Office of State Purchasing at 225-342-6634 to determine if the WPS feature is offered by your wireless service provider.

Key federal, state, and local government personnel who serve in NS/EP leadership positions are eligible for WPS. The following criteria have been established to identify critical NS/EP leadership functions and determine WPS eligibility.

• Executive leadership and policy makers
• Disaster response/military command control
• Public health, safety, and law enforcement command
• Public services/utilities and public welfare
• Disaster recovery

To request WPS, agency TCs must submit a GETS/WPS Request Form 26. The form is found at http://gets.ncs.gov/docs/GETS_WPS_Request_Form.doc. TCs must fill out the sections which pertain to WPS and fax or email the form to one of the following:

Billing Rates for WPS
Cost may vary by cellular, but they are limited to a maximum of:

• $10.00 one time activation fee
• $4.40 per-month service fee
• $.75 per minute for WPS (*272) calls

WPS charges are in addition to the basic calling plan. Applicable charges will be billed on the cellular services bill.

The OTM Catalog of Services has been updated to reflect this information.

Questions regarding this notice should be directed to Rose Trahan at Rose.Trahan@la.gov or 225-342-7718.