Wireless Priority Service (WPS)

Wireless telecommunication services are increasingly vital to the ability to coordinate and respond to crises.

WPS is an enhancement to basic mobile service that allows Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness (PSEP) calls to queue for the next available service channel while minimizing impact on consumer access to the same wireless infrastructure. WPS will not, however, preempt a call in progress, nor will it guarantee the completion of priority calls.

WPS is not intended for use by all emergency personnel. It is only authorized for key PSEP leadership positions. Eligible users are key Federal, Provincial, Territorial and Municipal government and critical industry personnel who have PSEP or continuity of government responsibilities.

Requests for Wireless Priority Service may now be submitted electronically by group/contact managers via the Emergency Telecommunications Data System (ETDS) web-site at https://urgent.ic.gc.ca.

The manual form process for WPS is no longer required. With the new on-line function, group/contact managers can request approval for WPS in a similar manner as requesting Priority Access for Dialing (PAD) service for landlines. However, WPS requests for mobile phones will be electronically submitted to the appropriate WPS Federal or Provincial Approval Authority for approval or denial. When approval for a contact is obtained through the ETDS, a wireless service provider, who supports WPS, can be approached to subscribe to the feature (fees may apply).

The specific on-line process is outlined within the ETDS User Guide which can be accessed by clicking on "Help" once you are logged in.

Group/contact managers may submit any federal requests and any municipal and provincial requests for the provinces of Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Québec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta.

Other provinces, namely Newfoundland Labrador and British Columbia are currently in the process of instituting their respective Approval Authority program. As these provinces' Approval Authority programs come on stream, updates will be posted on this site.

• User Guide - Wireless Priority Service (WPS) - Provincial Approval Authority
• WPS Approval Process
  
• List of priority levels
  

Contact us for more information
E-mail:wps.info@ic.gc.ca
Telephone: 1-866-266-9031
Fax: .............1-613-993-4433

See also:

• Canadian Wireless Priority Service: Preliminary Study