NRSC Emergency Preparedness and Response Checklist

This document was compiled from several years’ experience by service providers responding to actual emergency situations and provides general guidance regarding preparedness for and response to a wide array of emergency situations.

Service Providers: Outage Reporting Structure and Potential Types of 9-1-1 Outages

This technical report guides providers of all types that report service impacting outages to the PSAP community. Additionally, this document provides education to the public safety community on the types of outages that may occur and the information that may be available from the provider. A template that is consistent in nature to ease consumption by the PSAP while providing known information that is pertinent and actionable was also developed. The template and definitions contained within this technical report represent a consensus effort achieved by a working group that included representation from carriers, third party providers, 9-1-1 industry associations, and the PSAP community.

Network Reliability Steering Committee 2015-2016 Operational Report

This report provides a snapshot of the issues addressed by the NRSC over the last two years (2015-2016). As you will see, the efforts of the NRSC, guided by input from member company subject matter experts as well as the FCC, are primarily directed toward ensuring that meaningful data is being collected and analyzed to better understand the cause and mitigation of outages. Ultimately, the NRSC utilizes this information to develop industry guidance that directly impacts and improves the nation’s networks. These efforts build upon previous NRSC work and form a strong foundation for ensuring that communication networks continue to be reliable and resilient. This foundation is especially useful in light of ongoing momentous changes to the communications network, including the significant growth of wireless networks and the evolution to an All-IP network. The nation depends on these networks to provide emergency communications, enable commerce, and support individual communications. As these changes to the network occur, the NRSC remains committed to, and will continue working toward, maintaining network reliability and resiliency.

NRSC Bulletin No. 2017-002: “Silent Alarm Failures” Investigation

ATIS NRSC has been investigating a concern raised by the FCC associated with what is perceived to be outages that are not detected by equipment alarming (e.g., non-intrinsic alarming for translation failures, input errors, etc.). The NRSC has reviewed the issue and determined that some existing industry recommendations can be provided to reduce the frequency of these failures from occurring and mitigating the impact of these types of failures if they do occur.

NRSC Bulletin No. 2017-001: DS3 Non-Simplex Outages

During 2016, the NRSC DS3 Non-Simplex Task Force gathered National Outbreak Reporting System (NORS) data from all of the NRSC members for the period between March 2015-October 2016 and conducted extensive analysis to attempt to determine if there were any underlying actionable causes to the rise in reportable outages. This Bulletin will describe the analysis and the resulting recommendations; however, other than increased vigilance, no actionable tasks were identified.

NRSC Bulletin No., 2016-001: Fiber Cut Related Outage Data Analysis & Recommendations

Summarizes the activity and conclusions from the NRSC Fiber Cut Task Force study of an upward trend of outage reports attributable to “fiber cut”. No clear cause for the increase in fiber cut outages was found; however, the NRSC recommended several actions for mitigating fiber cut outages.

Network Reliability Steering Committee 2013-2014 Operational Report

This report provides a snapshot of the issues addressed by the NRSC over the last two years (2013 – 2014). The efforts of the NRSC, guided by input from member company subject matter experts as well as the FCC, are primarily directed toward ensuring that meaningful data is being collected and analyzed to better understand the cause and mitigation of outages. Ultimately, the NRSC utilizes this information to develop industry guidance that directly impacts and improves the nation’s networks. These efforts build upon previous NRSC work, and form a strong foundation for ensuring that communication networks continue to be reliable and resilient. This foundation is especially useful in light of ongoing momentous changes to the communications network, including the significant growth of wireless networks and the evolution to an All-IP network. The nation depends on these networks to provide emergency communications, enable commerce, and support individual communications. As these changes to the network occur, the NRSC remains committed to, and will continue working toward, maintaining network reliability and resiliency.

Disaster Roaming Guide and Resource

This document provides a guide that Wireless Service Providers can use as a checklist of procedures and available resources to facilitate roaming during disasters.

NRSC Pandemic Checklist

In 2009, the NRSC compiled a checklist of voluntary industry Best Practices and relevant links to be used in preparation for a pandemic event. This document represents the addition of applicable Best Practices in response to the Ebola outbreak in 2014-2015 and the restructuring and subsequent development and addition of new Best Practices in response to COVID-19 in 2020.

NRSC Bulletin No. 2014-001, Planned Maintenance Related Outages

The Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions (ATIS) Network Reliability Steering Committee (NRSC) recently completed a study of outages that use the new set of cause codes related to planned maintenance activity. The new cause codes were introduced to the Network Outage Reporting System (NORS) following a study of outages related to procedural issues. The objective of the study was to address the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) concern regarding what is described as an observed increase in the number of planned maintenance outage reports filed in NORS, based on the FCC’s outage reporting thresholds.

Network Reliability Steering Committee 2010-2012 Operational Report

The Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions’ (ATIS) Network Reliability Steering Committee (NRSC) addresses network reliability improvement opportunities of service providers and vendors, in a noncompetitive environment, and allows participants to develop standards, technical requirements, technical reports, bulletins, Best Practices, and reports on the health of the nation’s communications networks. The NRSC also coordinates industry improvements in network reliability through outage analysis. The mission statement of the NRSC is to improve network reliability by providing timely consensus-based technical and operational expert guidance to all segments of the public communications industry. The NRSC is deeply committed to intra-industry collaboration, which is essential in ensuring that the industry’s expertise is available to monitor and address critical trends in the reliability of our nation’s public communications networks. The NRSC addresses these critical trends by; 1) Identifying potential network reliability issues through an opportunity evaluation process; 2) Establishing teams to work specific reliability issues; 3) Conducting special studies to develop industry recommendations and/or Best Practices; 4) Providing industry feedback to the Federal Communications Commission Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau (FCC PSHSB) on network reliability and on the FCC’s Network Outage Reporting System (NORS) and Disaster Information Reporting System (DIRS); and 5) Serving as a public educational resource on network outage trends and the industry’s ongoing efforts to resolve network reliability concerns. This Operational Report covers the period of 2010 through 2012.

Analysis of Large DS3 FCC Reportable Outages

This paper discusses the investigation process and findings of the NRSC from its examination of large DS3 outages as identified in NORS reports for which the reason reportable was 1,350 DS3 minutes from January 2010 through September 2012.

NRSC Bulletin No. 2013-002: DS3 Simplex

Summarizes the investigation of the Large and Simplex DS3 Outage Subteam of DS3 Simplex conditions from January 2010 through December 2012.This Bulletin recommends a number of Best Practices which could contribute to the reduction of DS3 simplex conditions.

NRSC Bulletin No. 2013-001: Copper Theft Deterrent

Summarizes the work of the Copper Theft Subteam throughout 2012 and plans for future work. Also provides a coherent list of minimum legislative requirements recommended for metal recyclers to deter the sale of stolen copper and/or metal.

NRSC Bulletin No. 2012-001: Wireless Outages

Summarizes the findings and recommendations of the NRSC’s Wireless Outage Study Subteam, initiated in January 2012 to address data presented to the NRSC by the FCC at the December 12, 2011, NRSC public meeting showing that the frequency of Network Outage Reporting System (NORS) outage reports for the wireless category was outside statistical control limits, and that the frequency trend line was increasing.

NRSC 9-1-1 CAMA Trunk Throughput Optimization Analysis

This paper addresses the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions’ (ATIS) Network Reliability Steering Committee’s (NRSC’s) review of Centralized Automatic Message Accounting (CAMA) trunks used in some 9-1-1 configurations. As part of this review, incidents of high call volume and the current 9-1-1 architecture were reviewed. This report provides the industry with recommendations to assist in mitigating these types of incidents in the future; as well as, to maximize 9-1-1 call throughput to PSAPs during high call volume conditions.

Network Reliability Steering Committee 2008-2009 Biennial Report

This Biennial Report reviews observed industry network reliability trends and associated recommendations for the years of 2008 and 2009. Within this report, a multitude of studies are presented in which representatives from NRSC member companies partnered to address an observed trend or an identified industry need. The resulting analysis and guidance includes insights as to the major cause(s) of a concern and the specific, actionable countermeasures the industry believes would effectively address the issue.

NRSC Bulletin No. 2009-008: E-911 Outages

Summararizes the findings and recommendations of the NRSC’s E-911 Outage Study Subteam, which was formed to investigate the statistically significant increasing number of E-911 outages.

NRSC Bulletin No. 2009-007: Wireless Outages

Summarizes the findings and recommendations of the NRSC’s Wireless Outage Study Subteam, which was formed to investigate if the wireless outages reported by the industry were increasing at a statistically significant rate from May 2005 through May 2009.

NRSC Bulletin No. 2009-006: Wireline Outages

Summarizes the findings and recommendations of the NRSC’s Wireline Outage Study Subteam, which was formed to investigate the statistically significant increasing number of wireline outages being filed by the industry.

NRSC Bulletin No. 2009-2: DS3 Outages

Summarizes the findings and recommendations of the NRSC’s DS3 Outage Study Subteam, which was formed towards decreasing the number of DS3 outage reports submitted to the FCC’s Network Outage Reporting System (NORS).

NRSC Bulletin No. 2009-1: Hardware Sparing

Summarizes the findings of the NRSC’s Hardware Sparing Subteam, which was formed to investigate industry-wide events that were believed to be related to the management of spare hardware.

Network Reliability Steering Committee 2006-2007 Biennial Report

This Biennial Report reviews observed network reliability trends and associated industry actions regarding the nation’s communications networks for the years of 2006-2007.

NRSC Bulletin No. 2008-1: Digital Cross-Connect Systems

Summarizes the findings of the NRSC’s Digital Cross-Connect System (DCS) Subteam, which was formed to investigate a FCC report which asserted that DCS outages were outside of control parameters.

NRSC Bulletin No. 2007-1: E-911

Contains the findings of the NRSC in their analysis of Major E911 outages (affecting 300,000 users for 60 minutes or more) for the time period January 2005 through July 2006. This report also presents suggested best practices towards reducing these outages.

NRSC Bulletin No. 2006-2: FCC Outage Reporting

This bulletin contains FCC outage reporting recommendations to service providers.

NRSC Special Study: Report on Major E911 Outages

The NRSC’s public report on Major E-911 network outages and recommendations towards decreasing them.

NRSC Hurricane Checklist

This document was compiled over the course of several years by service providers responding to actual emergency situations and provides general guidance regarding preparedness for and response to a wide array of emergency situations.

NRSC Bulletin No. 2006-1: DS3 Simplex

Summarizes the findings of the NRSC’s DS3 Simplex Subteam, which was formed to investigate a FCC report which asserted that DS3 Simplex outages were outside of control parameters.

NRSC Special Study: Report on DS3 Simplex Events

The NRSC’s public report on DS3 Simplex-related network outages.

2004 NRSC Annual Report

This Annual Report reviews the health of the wireline telecommunications networks for the year 2004, as determined by statistical analysis of major outages reported by service providers to the FCC. This analysis is intended to advise the various stakeholders of the telecommunications industry on the network reliability results that were observed during the previous year from a very special perspective. While any individual company can analyze their own major outage events, only the NRSC brings the industry together in a non-competitive setting to objectively analyze the macro outage data for the United States wireline telecommunications industry, and when necessary, cooperatively bring to bear the industry’s resources when problems are identified. The statistical analysis techniques employed by the NRSC are objective methodologies that were developed and approved by the ANSI accredited ATIS Standards Group on Network Reliability and Performance.

NRSC Special Study: Repot on Synchronization Outages for 2Q2004

The NRSC’s public report on synchronization outages for the second quarter of 2004.

2003 NRSC Annual Report

This Annual Report reviews the health of the nation’s wireline communications networks for the year 2003, as well as trends observed over the past eleven years of outage reporting to the FCC.

NRSC Bulletin No. 2004-1: 2003 Northeast Blackout

Summarizes the findings of the NRSC with regard to a study performed to investigate outages resulting from the 2004 Northeast Blackout. The Bulletin provides Best Practices for review, and suggests a new Best Practice.

Northeast Blackout Power Outages Study Group Report

The public presentation of the NRSC’s findings regarding the widespread blackout power outages that occurred in the northeastern United States during 2004.

2002 NRSC Annual Report

This Annual Report reviews the health of the wireline telecommunications networks for the year 2002, as well as trends observed over the last ten years of outage reporting to the FCC. It was a year of challenge as the Telecommunications Industry addressed dimensions of reliability that were brought to the forefront following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack. A major focus of the Network Reliability and Interoperability Council VI (NRIC VI) is Homeland Security, and the collective effort of its members and contributors has resulted in the addition of approximately 500 new Best Practices (now 750 total) in the areas of Physical Security, Cyber Security, Public Safety, and Disaster Recovery. The criticality of the nation’s communications infrastructure is highlighted as never before, and the industry’s cooperation and commitment to service and reliability has never been more important.

Power Outages Study Group: Executive Summary

An executive summary of the findings of the NRSC’s Power Outage Study Group.

Timing Outages Task Group: Executive Summary

An executive summary of the findings of the NRSC’s Timing Outages Task Group.

2001 NRSC Annual Report

This Annual Report reviews the health of the wireline telecommunications networks for the year 2001, as well as trends observed over the last nine years of outage reporting to the FCC. The past year was an extraordinary one, marked by dramatic events that have highlighted the criticality of the nation’s communications infrastructure. Telecommunications reliability was not only challenged by natural disasters, but also by the damage as a result of the September 11th terrorist attack. The industry’s cooperation and commitment to service and reliability enabled it to meet these challenges.

Standard on Outage Classification

This Standard provides a standard on the classification of outages for use by the telecommunications industry.

Categorization of Equipment Deployed Within Communications Networks for Use in Outage Classification and Analysis

This Technical Report offers a categorization of the equipment used in legacy, converged, and next generation networks that can be used in outage classification and analysis.

Analysis of FCC-Reportable Service Outage Data

This Technical Report provides methods (guidelines and algorithms) for the analysis of service outage data reported to the FCC in response to outage reporting requirements which became effective in January 2005. These techniques are provided as an aid to the telecommunications industry including the individual reporting service providers and agencies and committees with access to the reports or data captured from the reports.