The Communications Sector is a critical and indispensable component of the US economy. It forms the core foundation of operations for businesses, government agencies, and public safety institutions. In accordance with the Presidential Policy Directive 21, the Communications Sector is deemed critical as it acts as an enabler across all vital infrastructure sectors.
The past quarter-century has seen the sector transform from being primarily a voice services provider into an industry that is competitive, diverse, and interconnected. The sector's services are delivered using various transmission systems like terrestrial, satellite, and wireless systems. The delivery of these services has become interconnected; companies operating within the sector depend on each other to deliver, transfer, and connect their traffic. They routinely share facilities and technology to guarantee mutual compatibility.
As private entities own and operate most of the communications infrastructure, they bear the primary responsibility for protecting the sector's infrastructure and assets. In partnership with the federal government, they continuously predict, anticipate, and respond to outages in the sector. They understand how such outages may affect the national leadership's ability to communicate in crisis times, influence other sectors' operation, and impact recovery and response efforts.
The Communications Sector is intricately linked with various other sectors. These include: