scope:

This Technical Report (TR) contains a service description of the Emergency Telecommunications Service (ETS). ETS is intended for use in a variety of networks and provides preferential call/session setup capabilities that are used to support emergency response/recovery activities and disaster responders. ETS provides preferential connectivity for any authorized user from any originating point in the public network and to any destination point in the public network. It includes support of preferential connectivity and communications across multiple network types (e.g., circuit-switched networks, wireless network/mobile radio access, cable, satellite, or packet-based multi-media networks). ETS includes priority for all access types, network call setup, and delivery of the call. In addition, ETS requires specific non-call associated signaling and higher priority handling of all related non-call associated signaling.

In addition to providing a common service description across multiple types of networks, this TR is intended to provide a snapshot for different network types of:

Internetwork interfaces,

Network architectures,

Information flows,

High-level descriptions of the associated protocol and procedures, and

Interactions with other services/capabilities (e.g., IEPS, HPC).

The specific features of ETS communications include, but are not limited to:

Ubiquitous Access: This allows ETS to be accessible by authorized users from any location and any terminal equipment.

Selection of multimedia and telephony services: This includes providing the calling party with access to both multimedia and telephony services. This feature is limited within this Technical Report to telephony services.

International connectivity where supported by law and agreement: This includes the capability to interconnect to other similar national services as well as the capability to interwork with the International Emergency Preference Scheme (IEPS).

Rapid authentication of authorized ETS users, early in the call/session setup process and indicated in the forward direction to subsequent networks: This is intended to protect the network from corruption and from intrusion.

Security protection of ETS traffic: This includes providing security at least at the level of an ordinary call.

Preferential access to telecommunications facilities: This facilitates delivering a request for ETS service to a network when available access resources are scarce.

Preferential establishment of ETS communications through multiple network types.

Preferential routing of ETS traffic: This may include features such as queuing for available resources, exemption from certain restrictive network management functions and reservation of some routes specifically for ETS traffic.

Preferential completion of ETS traffic to the destination end user.

Optional preemption of non-emergency traffic (where consistent and compliant with local, national and regulatory provisions, for example, not interfering with E911 calls, etc.).

Allowable degradation of service quality requested for an ETS call/session to increase the probability that it will be successfully set up. This feature does not apply in the PSTN.

Allowable degradation of service quality for established traffic to increase the probability that a new ETS call/session will be successfully set up. This feature does not apply in the PSTN.

Interchange of critical telecommunications service management information, e.g., to facilitate restoring service levels for ETS traffic on a priority basis.

OAM&P functionality, e.g., to facilitate restoring service levels for ETS traffic on a priority basis.