Category Telegram

the general designation for a telegraphic communication of importance and priority. In the USSR telegrams are divided into categories and dispatched in the sequence extra-category, priority (including SOS telegrams and storm telegrams warning of dangerous weather or natural disasters), high governmental, governmental, express, and ordinary. Telegraph offices are required to dispatch extracategory and SOS telegrams immediately, priority telegrams within three to six minutes, high-governmental, governmental, and express telegrams within 20 minutes, and ordinary telegrams within 40 minutes (with delivery to the addressee within one hour).