City firms get priority phone access

Large London financial institutions are to be given priority access to telephone networks in the event of a disaster.

The Tripartite Financial Authorities (made up of the Bank of England, the Financial Services Authority and HM Treasury) has published a report stating that large City organisations should be given priority over all non-999 telephone traffic as from 2006.

The group is building what it calls the Enhanced Government Telephone Preference Scheme (EGTPS) in the wake of disruptions to phone lines that occurred after the London 7 July bombings.

The report said: "Although the landline network is generally resilient, it too can become congested following major disruption, as happened on 7 July. For this reason, there is benefit in ensuring landline communication can be maintained by way of a priority user scheme... This scheme will ensure that calls from EGTPS numbers are given priority over all other non-999 traffic. It will therefore provide a highly resilient landline communication for use in a crisis."

But some security experts are unsure how the scheme would affect workers trying to contact loved ones.

"I guess what they should do is allow these firms to make calls but not at the expense of other people making calls," said former financial services security manager Alan Phillips, CEO of training firm 7Safe. "If it's on a separate network that's fine. But it's not a nice gesture, is it?"

Priority phone access will be given to companies chosen to be included in the government's critical national infrastructure (CNI), which is supported by public funds, the report said.

"The intention is for CNI firms to be sponsored on to the scheme at cost by the relevant department (the Treasury for the financial sector)," said the report.