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Government Telephone Preference Scheme
The Government Telephone Preference Scheme (GTPS) was a British system for limiting outgoing calls from landlines if the network was overloaded during an emergency. Numbers registered under the GTPS were still be able to make outgoing calls if the service was limited. All telephones were still be able to receive calls. The scheme was decommissioned in 2017. There were three categories of use – the most essential were called Preference Category I, limited to 2% of lines of a telephone exchange. According to a British government document, they were intended to be limited to "lines vital to the prosecution of war and to national survival". The second category – Preference Category II – were for lines needed for the community and these and Preference Category II were limited in total to 10% of the exchange. All other users were in Category III. The scheme was established in the 1950s. The scheme ceased to accept new numbers from 2013 due to the replacement by service providers o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Landline
A landline is a physical telephone connection that uses metal wires or optical fiber from the subscriber's premises to the network, allowing multiple phones to operate simultaneously on the same phone number. It is also referred to as plain old telephone service (POTS), twisted pair, telephone line, or public switched telephone network (PSTN). Landline services are traditionally provided via an analogue copper wire to a telephone exchange. ''Landline service'' is usually distinguished from more modern forms of telephone services which use Internet Protocol based services over optical fiber ( Fiber-to-the-x), or other broadband services ( VDSL/Cable) using Voice over IP. However, sometimes modern fixed phone services delivered over a fixed internet connection are referred to as a "landline" (i.e., non-cellular service). Characteristics Landline service is typically provided through the outside plant of a telephone company's central office, or wire center. The outside plant ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
PSTN
The public switched telephone network (PSTN) is the aggregate of the world's telephone networks that are operated by national, regional, or local telephony operators. It provides infrastructure and services for public telephony. The PSTN consists of telephone lines, fiber-optic cables, microwave transmission links, cellular networks, communications satellites, and undersea telephone cables interconnected by switching centers, such as central offices, network tandems, and international gateways, which allow telephone users to communicate with each other. Originally a network of fixed-line analog telephone systems, the PSTN is now predominantly digital in its core network and includes terrestrial cellular, satellite, and landline systems. These interconnected networks enable global communication, allowing calls to be made to and from nearly any telephone worldwide. Many of these networks are progressively transitioning to Internet Protocol to carry their telephony tra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United Kingdom Warning And Monitoring Organisation
The United Kingdom Warning and Monitoring Organisation (UKWMO) was a British civilian organisation operating to provide UK military and civilian authorities with data on nuclear explosions and forecasts of fallout across the country in the event of nuclear war. The UKWMO was established in 1957 and funded by the Home Office and used its own premises which were mainly staffed by Royal Observer Corps (ROC) uniformed full-time and volunteer personnel as the fieldforce. The ROC was administered by the Ministry of Defence but mainly funded by the Home Office. The only time the combined organisations were on high alert in the Cold War was during Cuban Missile Crisis in October and November 1962. The organisation was wound up and disbanded in November 1992 following a review prompted by the government's Options for Change report. Its emblem-of-arms was a pair of classic hunting horns crossing each other, pointed upwards, with the enscrolled motto "Sound An Alarm", a title also used ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Royal Observer Corps
The Royal Observer Corps (ROC) was a civil defence organisation intended for the visual detection, identification, tracking and reporting of aircraft over Great Britain. It operated in the United Kingdom between 29 October 1925 and 31 December 1995, when the Corps' civilian volunteers were stood down (ROC headquarters staff at RAF Bentley Priory stood down on 31 March 1996). Composed mainly of civilian spare-time volunteers, ROC personnel wore a Royal Air Force (RAF) style Uniforms of the Royal Air Force, uniform and latterly came under the administrative control of RAF Strike Command and the operational control of the Home Office. Civilian volunteers were trained and administered by a small En cadre, cadre of professional full-time officers under the command of the Commandant Royal Observer Corps; latterly a serving RAF Air Commodore. Overview In 1925, following a List of committees of the United Kingdom Parliament, Defence Committee initiative undertaken the previous year, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mobile Telephone
A mobile phone or cell phone is a portable telephone that allows users to make and receive calls over a radio frequency link while moving within a designated telephone service area, unlike fixed-location phones ( landline phones). This radio frequency link connects to the switching systems of a mobile phone operator, providing access to the public switched telephone network (PSTN). Modern mobile telephony relies on a cellular network architecture, which is why mobile phones are often referred to as 'cell phones' in North America. Beyond traditional voice communication, digital mobile phones have evolved to support a wide range of additional services. These include text messaging, multimedia messaging, email, and internet access (via LTE, 5G NR or Wi-Fi), as well as short-range wireless technologies like Bluetooth, infrared, and ultra-wideband (UWB). Mobile phones also support a variety of multimedia capabilities, such as digital photography, video recording, and gaming. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
MTPAS
MTPAS (Mobile Telecommunication Privileged Access Scheme) is a procedure in the UK for prioritising access to the mobile telephone networks for privileged persons (members of emergency services as designated at a local level). It replaced ACCOLC in 2009. MTPAS is only available to Category 1 and 2 Responders (as defined in the Civil Contingencies Act 2004) and partner organisations which directly support them at the scene of an emergency incident. Using an agreed protocol, the Police Gold Commander, in charge of the response to a major incident, notifies all network operators that a major incident has been declared and activation is then their responsibility. As a result of the incident, mobile telecommunications networks may experience an abnormally high concentration of calls. If networks become congested, handsets installed with a privileged access SIM will stand a much higher likelihood of being able to connect to their network and make calls than other customers. How it wor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
ACCOLC
ACCOLC (Access Overload Control) was a procedure in the United Kingdom for restricting mobile telephone usage in the event of emergencies. It is similar to the GTPS ( Government Telephone Preference Scheme) for landlines. This scheme allowed the mobile telephone networks to restrict access in a specific area to registered numbers only and is normally invoked by the Police Incident Commander (although it can be invoked by the Cabinet Office). The emergency services are responsible for registering their key numbers in advance. ACCOLC was replaced by MTPAS (Mobile Telecommunication Privileged Access Scheme) in 2009. Purpose The purpose of ACCOLC (US) was to restrict non-essential access to cellular phone networks during emergencies. This actively prevents unnecessary usage from congesting the cell networks, thus allowing emergency services personnel priority for communications. It also serves to control information flow in and out of a declared emergency area. Mobile networks ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
AUTOVON
The Automatic Voice Network (AUTOVON, military designation 490-L) was a worldwide American military telephone system. The system was built starting in 1963, based on the Army's existing Switch Communications Automated Network (SCAN) system. In June 1966, the Air Defense Command voice network was cut over to the new service. In 1969, AUTOVON switching centers opened in the United Kingdom, and later in other European countries, Asia, the Middle East, and Panama. It was a major part of the Defense Communications System (DCS), providing non-secure switched voice services. The system was replaced in the early 1990s by the Defense Switched Network. Circuits AUTOVON used a combination of its own constructed circuits and other lines operated by AT&T Corporation and smaller independent telephone companies, connected by high-speed switching centers produced by Automatic Electric Company to exchanges located far from other civilian or military targets. In the US the cables were predomi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Civil Contingencies Secretariat
The Civil Contingencies Secretariat (CCS), created in July 2001 and disbanded in July 2022, was the executive department of the British Cabinet Office responsible for civil defence, emergency planning in the United Kingdom. The role of the secretariat was to ensure the UK's resilience against disruptive challenge, and to do this by working with others to anticipate, assess, prevent, prepare, respond and recover. Until its creation in 2001, emergency planning in Britain was the responsibility of the Home Office. The CCS also supported the Civil Contingencies Committee, commonly known as COBRA. Formation In the aftermath of the Year 2000 problem, Y2K bug scare, the Fuel protests in the United Kingdom#2000, fuel protests of 2000, flooding in Autumn 2000 western Europe floods, autumn 2000, and the 2001 United Kingdom foot-and-mouth outbreak, foot and mouth epidemic of 2001 the UK government felt that the existing emergency management policies and structures were inadequate to dea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Emergency Management In The United Kingdom
An emergency is an urgent, unexpected, and usually dangerous situation that poses an immediate risk to health, life, property, or environment and requires immediate action. Most emergencies require urgent intervention to prevent a worsening of the situation, although in some situations, mitigation may not be possible and agencies may only be able to offer palliative care for the aftermath. While some emergencies are self-evident (such as a natural disaster that threatens many lives), many smaller incidents require that an observer (or affected party) decide whether it qualifies as an emergency. The precise definition of an emergency, the agencies involved and the procedures used, vary by jurisdiction, and this is usually set by the government, whose agencies (emergency services) are responsible for emergency planning and management. Defining an emergency An incident, to be an emergency, conforms to one or more of the following, if it: * Poses an immediate threat to life, he ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
