It's Good To Be The King

I wonder if the first presidents to have to deal with telegraphs and television had the same concerns as this guy:

If being ruler of the free world weren't enough for President Elect Barack Obama, when he's sworn in, he'll never wait for an open telephone line, either.

Yup, access to the National Communications System is just one of the perks to being the President. Put in place by President Kennedy in 1963, the NCS' priority call system is for emergencies when the phone lines may be full but government officials need to make a call.

The NCS contains many different calling options, but the Wireless Priority Service is definitely the most convenient. As described by CNET:

[it] gives authorized users including what NCS calls "senior members of the presidential administration" a higher-priority connection to the cell tower. WPS is accessed by dialing *272 before the destination phone number—but, alas, will only work if your mobile provider has authorized your phone. And the federal government needs to approve.

Now for Obama to get the whole Blackberry situation straightened out. [CNET]

Having constant service is nice but if you're in a tunnel, you're in a tunnel. Sorry, Mr. President.