Nationwide Wireless Priority Service

The Nationwide Wireless Priority Service (WPS) is a system in the United States that allows high-priority emergency telephone calls to avoid congestion on wireless telephone networks. This complements the Government Emergency Telecommunications Service (GETS), which allows such calls to avoid congestion on landline networks. The service is overseen by the Federal Communications Commission and administered by the Office of Emergency Communications (OEC) in the Department of Homeland Security. WPS was previously administered by the National Communications System (NCS) which had been created by President Kennedy by a Presidential Memorandum on August 21, 1963 and expanded by President Reagan by Executive Order 12472 on April 3, 1984. On July 6, 2012, President Obama signed Executive Order 13618, which eliminated the NCS as a separate organization; it was merged into the Office of Emergency Communications (OEC), which had been created in 2007. A ceremony to retire the colors of the NCS and to celebrate the legacy of the organization was held on August 30, 2012 in Arlington, VA.

During a local or national emergency, wireless telephone networks are likely to become congested with calls. Even absent emergencies, some towers and networks receive more calls than they can handle. WPS allows high-priority calls to bypass that congestion and receive priority by dialing *+272+DST_NUMBER+send (the 'star' key followed by 272 followed by the destination number followed by the dial key). The system is authorized only for use by National Security and Emergency Preparedness personnel, classified into five categories:

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