scope:

These guidelines encompass the cooperative network management¹ actions (that may be) required of interconnected network operators during emergency conditions associated with disasters that threaten life or property and cause congestion in the public telecommunications networks. Network management actions should optimize the integrity of the public telecommunications networks while obtaining the maximum use of the network capability during a disaster condition. These guidelines address the network actions required to relieve congestion in the public telecommunications networks caused by traffic overload and/or failures resulting from the disaster conditions. Examples of disaster conditions that would benefit from these guidelines are:

♦ Natural disasters (such as hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, and the like);

♦ Major accidents (such as transportation, industrial, or environmental); or

♦ Civil disturbances (such as terrorist acts or other similar events).

It is recognized that public telecommunications networks consist of multiple non-homogeneous interconnected networks that are based on different technologies (e.g., circuit-switched, wireless, IP, and ATM) and architectures supporting a variety of services. In some cases, the specific types of network management actions needed may be dependent upon the underlying technology, architecture, or service being provided. Guidelines for technology specific network management actions are beyond the scope of this standard, but may be provided in future standards. See Annex B for additional information on what types of future standards may be needed.

Purpose

The purpose of this standard is to delineate network traffic management actions that should be performed prior to and during disaster conditions. This standard is applicable to all telecommunications network operators that are interconnected to the public telecommunications networks. A coordinated network traffic management response by all affected network operators should ensure the integrity of the public telecommunications networks.

¹ The term network management may have a broad connotation as defined in ITU-T TMN Recommendations (e.g., M.3010, M.3320, and M.3400) or a narrow connotation as defined in the ITU-T E.410 Recommendation series and this standard, both of which are focused on congestion control, or what may be termed network traffic management.