@Mark Ollig
What if the nation’s telecom network became overly congested?
There would be immediate disruption across emergency services, business, government, healthcare, and everyday life.
Nationwide, this would create confusion and probably some panic.
According to the US Wireless Industry Association, the United States had 447,605 operational cell sites at year-end 2024.
The cell sites’ calls interconnect with the public switched telephone network (PSTN) through standard switching platforms and assorted interconnection gateways.
By late 2024, the industry directory Cloudscene listed more than 5,400 US data centers.
Technical glitches and interruptions with the nation’s communications network can occur from more than just fiber cuts.
A massive cyberattack could overwhelm communication networks, data centers, AI systems, and their redundancy backup networks.
Severe solar storms, also known as coronal mass ejections (CMEs), can disrupt the ionosphere, interfere with satellite communications and radio signals, and cause power grid issues that can impact telephone and internet networks.
And one I prefer not to think about: an electromagnetic pulse from a high-altitude nuclear detonation could devastate electronic circuits and transformers; turning off both broadband and legacy switching platforms, and probably a lot of us.
In 2018, the telecommunications network supported both legacy digital systems and modern soft-switch platforms, connecting billions of calls and internet sessions daily.
The same year, I received a Government Emergency Telecommunications Service (GETS) authorized card from the Department of Homeland Security.
CISA states that GETS provides priority access and prioritized call processing in the local and long-distance segments of landline telephone networks during emergencies.
“GETS supports national security and public safety communications for government officials, emergency responders, and critical infrastructure owners and operators,” CISA stated.
Priority communications for government began with the National Communications System in the 1960s; GETS launched in 1994 and moved under DHS in 2003.
GETS is used in telecom networks across all 50 states.
Today, CISA manages GETS and Wireless Priority Service (WPS) through its Emergency Communications Division.
To use Wireless Priority Service, an authorized and provisioned user dials *272 before the destination number on a supported wireless network.
Authorization and provisioning are handled by CISA and the user’s cellular carrier. Calls are prioritized once they enter the public switched telephone network.
Satellite calls also receive GETS priority when they are downlinked through a PSTN gateway.
Authorized GETS users can make calls using various telecom devices, including rotary and touchtone phones; cell and satellite phones; and telephones used by diplomatic, government, and military personnel.
In 2018, many legacy digital telecom platforms from the 1980s and 1990s, such as Nortel’s DMS, AT&T’s 5ESS, and Stromberg-Carlson’s DCO, were in use alongside modern soft-switches, including Metaswitch.
Legacy platforms could be accessed from dedicated terminals, dial-up modems, and Telnet for programming and maintenance, which I utilized while working in the telephone industry.
The Office of Emergency Communications (now CISA’s Emergency Communications Division) documentation states that GETS supports priority applied to PSTN call setup.
Authorized users can access GETS from their Globalstar, Inmarsat, or Iridium satellite phones.
Priority treatment is applied once the call passes into the PSTN.
Iridium offers true global coverage, serving all continents, oceans, and both polar regions.
Inmarsat covers nearly the entire globe, allowing users to connect from almost anywhere, except for the most remote areas near the North and South Poles.
Globalstar offers regional coverage, with reliable service in most of North America, parts of South America, Europe, northern Asia, and Australia.
My 2018 GETS user guide explained that the Enhanced Mobile Satellite Services (EMSS) program ensures secure communications for authorized users by utilizing the Iridium satellite network and a dedicated Department of Defense (DoD) gateway.
This gateway bridges secure voice and data communications with military networks and the commercial PSTN.
Through GETS, calls made via the Enhanced Mobile Satellite Services (EMSS) receive priority as they pass through this gateway.
From a landline, cellphone, military or government phone, satellite phone, or computer workstation, an authorized user first dials any required access codes, followed by 1-710-xxx-xxxx.
After the GETS tone, they enter their PIN (personal identification number) and call the destination (area code plus number).
Once the call reaches the PSTN, GETS priority call routing is applied.
The 710 area code is reserved for the US Government Emergency Telecommunications Service.
The Iridium satellite network stands out with its unique ability to operate as a self-contained, intelligent telephone switchboard in space, designed to process and route calls between satellites and to the PSTN.
The 2018 diagram’s text and diagrams show GETS access authorization, enhanced routing, and priority treatment.
The diagram shows entry points into the PSTN for private branch exchange (PBX) telephone systems for government and business, as well as special secure phones and equipment.
It also illustrates cellular networks, international gateways, fax lines, the Diplomatic Telecommunications Service (DTS), and the Defense Switched Network (DSN).
At the top of the diagram are the Inmarsat, Iridium, and Globalstar satellites with their downlinked gateways into the PSTN, along with NETWORX, which provides voice, data, video, mobile, satellite, and internet services for government operations throughout the US.
A person seated at a computer workstation accessing the PSTN via GETS is shown on the bottom right.
The diagram shows access lines from phones, towers, and satellites feed back into the map’s PSTN hub.
The GETS card displays the Department of Homeland Security seal with a bald eagle holding an olive branch and arrows, encircled by a blue band reading “US Department of Homeland Security.”
While working in the telecom industry, GETS authorization enabled me to bypass congested network paths using priority call routing, allowing me to access, diagnose, and troubleshoot various legacy digital telecom platforms.
The official CISA link for the Government Emergency Telecommunications Service (GETS) is: https://bit.ly/3Ve8vtx.
