Telecommunications Information Notice  06-02
Telecommunications Service Priority (TSP) For State of Louisiana Agency Users

May 30, 2006

As a result of hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, and other natural or manmade disasters, telecommunications service vendors may become overwhelmed with requests for new telecommunications services and requirements to restore existing telecommunications services. The Telecommunications Service Priority (TSP) program provides service vendors with a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) mandate for prioritizing service requests by identifying those services critical to national security/emergency preparedness. A telecommunications service with a TSP assignment is assured of receiving full attention by service vendors before a non-TSP service.

The TSP system provides a coding scheme for the priority provisioning and restoration of National Security Emergency Preparedness (NSEP) telecommunications services. NSEP telecommunications services are those services critical to the maintenance of a state of readiness or response to and management of any event or crisis that causes or could cause harm to the population, damage property, or threaten the security of the United States. Only organizations that meet the NSEP requirements are able to get this service.

Organizations eligible for a TSP assignment include, but are not limited to:

• Federal government
• State governments
• Local governments
• Foreign governments

TSP categories are as follows:

• Category A--National security leadership
• Category B--National security posture and U.S. population in attack warning
• Category C--Public health, safety, and maintenance of law and order
• Category D--Public welfare and maintenance of national economic posture
• Category E--Emergency

Agency and OTM Responsibilities

To move orders for the State of Louisiana to priority status in the most expeditious manner with our vendors, the State of Louisiana Office of Telecommunications Management (OTM) will request a TSP number from the National Communications Systems Office for each inventory item requiring the service. Agency Telecommunication Coordinators (TCs) must request TSP numbers via form 315 (Telecommunications Service Priority System/TSP Request for Service Users). The form 315 can be found online at http://tsp.ncs.gov/forms/SF315.pdf.

Agency TCs should indicate if the TSP request is for provisioning or restoration.

• Provisioning priority is obtained to facilitate priority installation of new telecommunications services. There are one time charges from vendors for priority provisioning for TSP. For priority provisioning users are required to fill out numbers 2, 7h, 7i, 8, 10 and all of 11 on the form 315. Users should fax the completed form 315 to OTM for submission to the National Communications Systems Office. Once the TSP number is assigned by NCS, the number will be provided to the appropriate vendor by OTM. TSP numbers will be maintained on OTMs telecommunications inventory. One time charges will be billed on the OTM bill.
• Restoration priority is applied to new or existing telecommunications services to ensure restoration before any other service. Priority restoration is necessary for a TSP service because interruptions may have an adverse effect on the supported NSEP function. Telecommunications service vendors should restore existing TSP services before provisioning new TSP services. Users should be aware that TSP restoration priorities must be requested and assigned before a service outage occurs. There are monthly recurring charges from vendors for TSP priority restoration. For priority restoration of services users are required to fill out numbers 2, 6d, 7h, 7i, 8, 10, and all of 11 on the form 315. Users should fax the completed form 315 to OTM for submission to the NCS office. Once the TSP number is assigned by NCS, the number will be provided to the appropriate vendor by OTM. TSP numbers will be maintained on OTMs telecommunications inventory. One-time and monthly recurring charges will be billed on the OTM bill.

Billing for TSP Provisioning, Restoration and Changes

There are vendor specific monthly recurring charges and non recurring charges associated with TSP provisioning, restoration and changes to the level of service. Please refer to the OTM Catalog of Services for one time and monthly recurring charges for the TSP program.

Requests for TSP numbers for voice orders should be faxed to Linda Baumann at 225-342-7757. Requests for TSP numbers for data orders should be faxed to Lois Williams at 225-342-7372.

If you have questions about the TSP program, contact Rose Trahan at 225-342-7718 or rose.trahan@la.gov.