Definition[]
A Telecommunications Service Priority (TSP) is
| “ | [a] program that authorizes National security and emergency preparedness (NS/EP) organizations to receive priority treatment for vital voice and data circuits or other telecommunications services. As a result of hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, and other natural or man-made disasters, telecommunications service vendors frequently experience a surge in requests for new services and requirements to restore existing services. The TSP Program provides service vendors a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) mandate to prioritize requests by identifying those services critical to NS/EP. A TSP assignment ensures that it will receive priority attention by the service vendor before any non-TSP service.[1] | ” |
Overview[]
"The Telecommunications Service Priority (TSP) program is underpinned by FCC rules that require telecommunications service providers to give provisioning or restoration priority to critical circuits supporting NS/EP functions. To qualify for TSP, an applicant must file a formal request to the NCS, meet specific NS/EP criteria, and be granted a TSP assignment (Levels 1–5) by the NCS. The rules of Title 47 require carriers to restore telecommunications services with TSP assignments before other, non-TSP services are restored. (See Title 47 C.F.R. Pt. 64, Appendix A.)"[2]