47 CFR § 202.1 - Policies.

(a) The telecommunications resources of the Nation will be available for government use during crises and emergencies, wartime and non-wartime, and to satisfy the needs of the public welfare and safety.

(b) The National Plan for Telecommunications Support in Non-Wartime Emergencies provides procedures for planning and using National telecommunications assets and resources in support of non-wartime emergencies, including those covered by the Disaster Relief Act of 1974, in Presidentially declared Emergencies and Major Disasters, Extraordinary Situations, and other emergencies.

(c) An NS/EP Telecommunications Service Priority (TSP) System will provide procedures to authorize priority treatment for the provisioning and restoration of NS/EP telecommunications services for wartime and non-wartime emergencies.

(d) In wartime emergencies, facilities management will remain decentralized to the extent feasible to assure continued flexibility of operational response to critical needs, subject to the management direction and overriding authority of those officials delegated to act for and with the consent of the central point of authority within the Federal Government.

(1) Federally owned, leased, and/or operated telecommunications facilities, systems, and networks will be managed during such an emergency by the agency normally controlling the facility, system, or network except that all operations will be subject to the management direction and authority of the officials delegated overall management responsibility for Federal Government systems.

(2) Facilities other than those of the Federal Government, with the exception of radio stations in the Aviation Services and certain classes of radio stations in the Maritime Services, will be managed by the authorized common carrier or other person owning and operating such facilities subject to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) guidance and direction or in accordance with State or local plans if not subject to FCC jurisdiction.

(3) Radio stations in the Aviation Services and those aboard vessels in the Maritime Service will be subject to the control of the Secretary of Defense during a national emergency.

(e) The Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy is the single point of authority within the Federal Government for the wartime emergency functions under section 706 of the Communications Act (47 U.S.C. 606) with respect to the allocation and use of surviving resources in support of national objectives enunciated by the President. Authority may be redelegated as necessary and when it can be exercised within boundaries established by Presidential authority.

(f) Radio frequency utilization during a wartime emergency will be in accordance with authorizations, assignments, and mobilization plans in existence at the onset of the emergency. Subject to the overriding control of the Director, OSTP, under the President's War Emergency Powers, spectrum management regarding the authorization and assignment of radio frequencies will be made by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTLA) for the Federal Government, and the Director, OSTP, through the FCC, for all other entities subject to the Commission's jurisdiction. Radio stations are subject to closure if considered a threat to national security.

(g) Section 706 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, confers authority to the President in the matter of suspension of all rules and regulations pertaining to the use and operation of telecommunications facilities, public or private during wartime emergencies.