Sec.  4.13   Reports by the National Communications System (NCS) and by special
offices and facilities, and related responsibilities of communications
providers.

   Reports by the National Communications System (NCS) and by special offices
   and facilities (other than 911 special offices and facilities) of outages
   potentially affecting them (see paragraphs (a) through (d) of  Sec. 4.5) shall be
   made according to the following procedures:

   (a) When there is a mission-affecting outage, the affected facility will
   report the outage to the NCS and call the communications provider in order
   to determine if the outage is expected to last 30 minutes. If the outage is
   not expected to, and does not, last 30 minutes, it will not be reported to
   the  Commission.  If it is expected to last 30 minutes or does last 30
   minutes, the NCS, on the advice of the affected special facility and in the
   exercise of its judgment, will either:

   (1)  Forward  a  report of the outage to the Commission, supplying the
   information for initial reports affecting special facilities specified in
   this section of the Commission's Rules;

   (2) Forward a report of the outage to the Commission, designating the outage
   as one affecting “special facilities,” but reporting it at a level of detail
   that precludes identification of the particular facility involved; or

   (3)  Hold  the  report  at  the  NCS due to the critical nature of the
   application.

   (b) If there is to be a report to the Commission, an electronic, written, or
   oral report will be given by the NCS within 120 minutes of an outage to the
   Commission's  Duty  Officer,  on  duty  24  hours  a  day in the FCC's
   Communications and Crisis Management Center in Washington, DC. Notification
   may be served at such other facility designated by the Commission by public
   notice or (at the time of the emergency) by public announcement only if
   there is a telephone outage or similar emergency in Washington, DC. If the
   report is oral, it is to be followed by an electronic or written report not
   later than the next business day. Those providers whose service failures are
   in any way responsible for the outage must consult and cooperate in good
   faith with NCS upon its request for information.

   (c)  Additionally,  if  there is to be a report to the Commission, the
   communications provider will provide a written report to the NCS, supplying
   the information for final reports for special facilities required by this
   section of the Commission's rules. The communications provider's final
   report to the NCS will be filed within 28 days after the outage, allowing
   the NCS to then file the report with the Commission within 30 days after the
   outage. If the outage is reportable as described in paragraph (b) of this
   section, and the NCS determines that the final report can be presented to
   the  Commission  without  jeopardizing matters of national security or
   emergency preparedness, the NCS will forward the report as provided in
   either paragraphs (a)(1) or (a)(2) of this section to the Commission.
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                        Last updated: August 7, 2006