Industry Canada Emergency Telecommunications - Priority Access for Dialing (PAD) - Formerly Line Load Control (LLC)

• What is Priority Access for Dialing?
• Why Do I Need Priority Access for Dialing?
• How do I get Priority Access for Dialing?
• Is Priority Access for Dialing available for all types of phones?
• EMERGENCY TELECOMMUNICATIONS DATA SYSTEM (ETDS)

• How Does it Work?
• Who do I contact for more information?

• Reference Documents

What is Priority Access for Dialing?

LLC is a dated term that refers to a network management control method used to limit the telephone line load on a telephone switch so that priority lines can continue to be used when the switch is fully loaded with traffic. Depending upon the telephone company, you may hear LLC referred to as Essential Line Treatment or Essential Services Protection. In choosing to use the new term, PAD, Industry Canada captures all these technologies to better describe the purpose of the feature. Therefore, when applied, PAD permits dialing (originating a telephone call) from a phone that has been identified as essential. LLC, on the other hand, is the most restrictive of all the network management tools and would be applied only when all other measures are exhausted.

Today, extraordinary levels of traffic on Canadian telephone systems are controlled by a sophisticated array of network management tools. Calls to and from the various switching stations can be re-routed to opposite ends of the country in order to find a connection path. In addition, when a severe overload occurs, selective blocking can be applied to the long distance network to ensure service for the majority of callers. All these controls are used for just seconds or minutes at a time to control the flow of calls over the network during peak periods, much like traffic signals are used in the city. All these measures help ensure that Canadians receive the best telephone service when caller traffic is exceptionally high.

Why Do I Need Priority Access for Dialing?

If your emergency response or support organization is concerned about the possibility of not being able to dial when you pick up the phone, then essential users in this organization need PAD. In addition, the PAD data may be used to identify telephone numbers that are a priority in the restoration of telephone service following a disaster. It should also be noted that priority access for outgoing calls has been established on most public pay telephones located in areas accessible 24 hours per day, (e.g. street corners). Therefore, not everyone needs to be in the PAD database. If there is a need to phone someone urgently, one can also rely on using the nearest public pay telephone should they experience difficulty getting dial tone for their regular line.

How do I get Priority Access for Dialing?

Industry Canada works closely with other federal departments and the emergency measures organizations of provincial governments to collect the PAD data. The provinces, in turn, work with the provincial governments and municipalities. The administration of the PAD system is primarily hierarchical. Each user of the system has an administrator, so, to get a better sense of how you can participate, contact your local PAD administrator.

In Canada, the Priority Access for Dialing program is managed by Industry Canada in partnership with the Provincial/Territorial governments and with the cooperation of the participant telephone companies. In the nation's capital and each of the five regions, (Pacific, Prairie and Northern, Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic), Industry Canada representatives coordinate the collection of PAD records, and through agreements with the other levels of government, cooperative methods of maintaining this data have evolved.

The PAD contact information is normally drawn from emergency or disaster plans. Agencies identify those who need to originate calls through such plans and the related numbers are then submitted for entry. Most regions attempt to update their records twice a year, but with reductions in resources occurring throughout government, this frequency is becoming increasingly difficult to maintain.

To determine your organization’s eligibility for this service, please contact the applicable administrator listed in this chart.

Is Priority Access for Dialing available for all types of phones?

Priority Access for Dialing is available on the major wired telephone carriers’ networks throughout Canada. It attempts to ensure that those identified will be able to obtain dial tone from their local switch. It does not guarantee that a call will be completed, as this may involve inter-switch connections that may or may not be congested or out of service. Industry Canada is currently evaluating the possibilities of implementing technology intended to ensure end-to-end priority connections in the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) but have not yet been successful in securing funding for this initiative.

The provision of telephone service in Canada is becoming increasingly competitive, and this means that the services provided by the various telephone companies can differ widely. This is the case with priority access. The major service providers are able to provide priority service, but this may not be the case for all competing telephone service providers though Industry Canada is trying to emphasize the importance of this service with these new service providers.

Priority service is also available for some wireless phones. Please consult this link for information on Wireless Priority Service (WPS)

EMERGENCY TELECOMMUNICATIONS DATA SYSTEM (ETDS)

ETDS is the database used to manage the collection of emergency telecommunications priority services data (PAD and WPS) at all three levels of government. Agencies are provided access to their data using common internet browsing tools. Entry and update of records is possible through a simple user interface using widely available browsers. Telephone company access, in turn, permits the download of telephone numbers for installation on central office switches.

Currently, all regions in Canada are updating their PAD records using the ETDS. Access to the system is limited to those with the appropriate identification and password. Additional security is provided by encryption of all data passing between the server and the browser, limited access to the data, and validation of user connection.

How Does it Work?

Once logged into the system, you are presented with the group or groups that you manage. Choosing one, you are presented with a screen of data about that group and a list of those contacts within that group. Scrolling down displays the individual contacts and their associated numbers and related information. A number of options are presented that allow you to create new entries, and delete or change existing data. A comprehensive help system is provided to guide you along if you have difficulty.

The system is designed to accept numbers for all types of telephone service, plain old telephone service (POTS) including fax numbers, cellular service providers, mobile satellite services (MSAT) or any other number that requires priority access or restoration. Although not all of the above services have priority access capability at this time, such numbers may be identified without setting a priority flag for future implementation and/or to identify restoration priority.

Once you have made the necessary changes and entered your data, it will be made available to the appropriate telephone service provider for entry or update of their records. The telephone companies also have access to the system, but with additional features to allow them to filter for the numbers they manage and to download the information in a common data format. Security is maintained. The telephone company only sees a list of numbers with no associated names or identification. A report is provided for all users that identifies the download activity of each telephone company in the system.

Who do I contact for more information?

The on-line user's guide provides more information about the Priority Access for Dialing program in Canada and may also be printed. See also reference documents below for documentation on PAD. You can also visit the organization section of this site for a list of contacts in your region who can provide further information about the system at the local level.

See also Reference Documents:

• National Emergency Arrangement for Telecommunications (NEAT)



• Telco Guidelines and Download Procedures



• Private Branch Exchange (PBX)