EMP Assessment of Common-Carrier Communications Systems

Since 1982 AT&T Bell Laboratories has been performing nuclear weapons effects assessments, including the response to high-altitude electromagnetic pulse, of modern digital telecommunications systems. These assessments were performed under funding from the National Communications System, and were designed to provide information on the response of critical assets of the AT&T communication network to the far-ranging effects of nuclear weapons. The purpose of this paper is to provide a survey of the results of these assessments.