Some ISPs can qualify for priority restoration of telecommunications
circuits under the federal Telecommunications Service Priority (TSP)
program. Its not too complicated, and the people at the NCS are fairly
helpful, see <http://tsp.ncs.gov/> Licenses for Business and/or Utility
radio frequencies are available so you don't need individual operator
licenses for your operations staff. Of course, as we know, IP can run
almost anything.
I've set these up as part of an ISP's contingency plans. Remember, the
time to set them up is before the disaster.
Exchange points are obvious places for networks to connect and share
emergency information between providers. It could range from an out-of-band
web server to a private NOC voice bridge.
As I mentioned most of the people you need to deal with are helpful.
But if you need some pointers on how to contact the right government
office, drop me a note.
I hope some folks find contingency planning of relevance to network operators.