GETS Pilot Program

WHAT WILL PARTICIPATION IN THE GETS PILOT PROGRAM DO FOR MY ORGANIZATION?

The Financial and Banking Information Infrastructure Committee (FBIIC) in coordination with the Financial Services Sector Coordinating Council (FSSCC) and the National Communications System (NCS) is sponsoring a pilot program of the Government Emergency Telecommunications Service (GETS). The pilot program will be conducted in order to foster preparedness for national emergencies and/or natural disasters that may impact the financial services sector. The pilot program will primarily focus on financial organizations in the hurricane regions, and will extend throughout the States of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, as well as Washington, D.C.

The United States Banking and Finance Sector is the backbone for the world’s economy. Today, there is a wide range of potential threats facing the sector ranging from natural disasters, national emergencies, to a possible worldwide flu pandemic. Consequently, financial regulators and private sector owners and operators continuously collaborate to maintain a high degree of resilience in the face of a myriad of potential disasters, be they intentional or unintentional.

During times of emergency, the financial services sector needs to be assured that its calls will go through. The GETS card can be used in an emergency or crisis situation when the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) is overloaded (congested) and the ability to complete a call by normal means is significantly decreased. When financial organizations use a GETS card, they will have the assurance that their calls will receive priority routing through the PSTN and will have a very high call completion rate.

WHAT IS GETS?

GETS is a nationwide priority telecommunications service intended for use in a crisis, disaster, or other emergency, when the probability of completing a phone call has significantly decreased. GETS is implemented as a calling card and provides access authorization and priority treatment in the PSTN through a unique dialing plan and personal identification number (PIN). A GETS call can be placed using a standard desk set, secure phone, facsimile, or cellular phone. More information about the GETS program, including Frequently Asked Questions, is available on the NCS web http://www.ncs.gov/ under Services.

FBIIC GETS PILOT PROGRAM

The FBIIC and the FSSCC are promoting participation in this pilot program through an agreed upon and coordinated communication strategy involving:

• Federal and State Financial Regulators
• Financial Services Sector Associations
• Regional Private/Public Partnerships

Communication efforts by the above organizations will focus on the importance of the program, the criteria for participation, the process for submission, and the intended and appropriate uses for participation in the GETS pilot program. Equally important, the results of this pilot program will facilitate a re-evaluation of the current GETS sponsorship criteria for financial organizations with the goal of enhancing greater deployment of GETS cards nationwide.

For the purposes of this pilot program, the FBIIC has a new process for financial organizations in the target areas to submit GETS applications. This submission and approval process will be a collaborative effort involving representatives from the FBIIC and the FSSCC, State regulators, financial services sector associations, and regional partnerships.

The approval standards for a financial organization to be admitted in this pilot program will be based on the existing FBIIC GETS policy and other factors. The FBIIC agencies have determined that to qualify for GETS sponsorship, organizations must support the performance of National Security/Emergency Preparedness (NS/EP) functions necessary to maintain the national economic posture during any national or regional emergency. In particular, the FBIIC agencies view maintenance of the national and local economic posture as the minimization of systemic disruption to the financial system directly related to the operation of critical financial markets and related essential services and systems.

Essential services and systems are those that have no easily accessible substitute and that are necessary to support one of three critical NS/EP functions in key financial markets and payment mechanisms: (1) necessary crisis response and coordination activities in your region or community; (2) resumption and maintenance of economic activity in your region or community; and (3) the orderly completion of outstanding financial transactions and necessary offsetting transactions that must be completed to avoid a major impact to the regional economic stability.

Process for requesting participation in the GETS Pilot Program:

1. The application for the pilot program is available online at http://www.fbiic.gov/getspilotprogram/GETS_Pilot_Program_application.pdf. Please press the submit button or print out the application and fax to (202) 622-2310. The deadline for submission for the application is May 2, 2008.
2. Once the deadline for submissions has passed, the Department of the Treasury will coordinate individual conference calls with the relevant Federal and State regulators in May for each of the pilot States. The American Bankers Association (ABA) and the Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA), and any regional partnership to which any of the applicants belong may also participate in these calls. The applicants themselves will NOT participate on the calls.
3. The conference calls will afford the opportunity for invited parties to explain why a particular institution should be permitted to participate in the GETS pilot program.
4. Subsequent to each State’s call, the primary Federal and/or State regulator will make the final decision as to whether an applicant should be permitted to participate in the pilot program.
5. The organizations requesting to participate in the pilot program will be notified as to whether their application has been approved in May 2008.
6. In June, approved financial organizations will receive an email from NCS with directions to the online process for obtaining their GETS card(s).
7. GETS card(s) will be sent to the approved financial organizations in June 2008.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

• What is the benefit of participating in the GETS pilot program?
  • Financial organizations will have the ability to complete telephone calls over the public switch telephone network during times of network congestion.
• How long will it take for a financial organization to receive their GETS card once a regulator has decided to allow them to participate in the program?
  • We anticipate that organizations will receive their GETS card(s) within ten business days.
• Will there be another pilot program for other regions of the country?
  • Determination of future pilot programs will be made based upon the success of the initial GETS pilot program.
• Does the GETS card have an expiration date?
  • No.

The following FBIIC agencies will be participating in the GETS pilot program:*

• Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
• Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS)
• Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)
• Department of the Treasury
• National Association of State Credit Union Supervisors (NASCUS)
• Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC)
• Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO)
• Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS)
• Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

*If your Federal or State regulator is not listed above please apply for a GETS card through the regular GETS process. The application is available at http://www.fbiic.gov/gets/GETS_policy.htm.