Sec. 202.1 Policies.
(a) The telecommunications resources of the Nation will be available
for government use during crises and emergencies, wartime and non-
wartime, and to satisfy the needs of the public welfare and safety.
(b) The National Plan for Telecommunications Support in Non-Wartime
Emergencies provides procedures for planning and using National
telecommunications assets and resources in support of non-wartime
emergencies, including those covered by the Disaster Relief Act of 1974,
in Presidentially declared Emergencies and Major Disasters,
Extraordinary Situations, and other emergencies.
(c) An NS/EP Telecommunications Service Priority (TSP) System will
provide procedures to authorize priority treatment for the provisioning
and restoration of NS/EP telecommunications services for wartime and
non-wartime emergencies.
(d) In wartime emergencies, facilities management will remain
decentralized to the extent feasible to assure continued flexibility of
operational response to critical needs, subject to the management
direction and overriding authority of those officials delegated to act
for and with the consent of the central point of authority within the
Federal Government.
(1) Federally owned, leased, and/or operated telecommunications
facilities, systems, and networks will be managed during such an
emergency by the agency normally controlling the facility, system, or
network except that all operations will be subject to the management
direction and authority of the officials delegated overall management
responsibility for Federal Government systems.
(2) Facilities other than those of the Federal Government, with the
exception of radio stations in the Aviation Services and certain classes
of radio stations in the Maritime Services, will be managed by the
authorized common carrier or other person owning and operating such
facilities subject to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) guidance
and direction or in accordance with State or local plans if not subject
to FCC jurisdiction.
(3) Radio stations in the Aviation Services and those aboard vessels
in the Maritime Service will be subject to the control of the Secretary
of Defense during a national emergency.
[[Page 832]]
(e) The Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy is
the single point of authority within the Federal Government for the
wartime emergency functions under section 706 of the Communications Act
(47 U.S.C. 606) with respect to the allocation and use of surviving
resources in support of national objectives enunciated by the President.
Authority may be redelegated as necessary and when it can be exercised
within boundaries established by Presidential authority.
(f) Radio frequency utilization during a wartime emergency will be
in accordance with authorizations, assignments, and mobilization plans
in existence at the onset of the emergency. Subject to the overriding
control of the Director, OSTP, under the President's War Emergency
Powers, spectrum management regarding the authorization and assignment
of radio frequencies will be made by the National Telecommunications and
Information Administration (NTLA) for the Federal Government, and the
Director, OSTP, through the FCC, for all other entities subject to the
Commission's jurisdiction. Radio stations are subject to closure if
considered a threat to national security.
(g) Section 706 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended,
confers authority to the President in the matter of suspension of all
rules and regulations pertaining to the use and operation of
telecommunications facilities, public or private during wartime
emergencies.
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