As in other areas of current military concern, economics play a large part in defining DSN in the 1990s and beyond. DISA monitors traffic along its existing lines, much like those people on the side of a busy thoroughfare who count cars during the rush hour. An internal program monitors DSN switches, samples call flow and tells system engineers what's happening. If the number of calls rises dramatically in a particular area, DISA adds more trunk lines, although not immediately. One of the minor phenomena of Autovon and DSN is the so called high and dry connections.
People usually hang up and try again.
Eventually, they manage to complete their connection. DISA strongly recommends that consumers call the Dranesville control center and report a bad connection. The DSN number to Dranesville is 550-1611. But DoD has other places to spend that money. As we head toward the turn of the century, DSN will continue evolving into the planned integrated network its designers envisioned.