Month: November 2016

OEC Outreach Clips: Security Tops NASCIO 2017 Priorities List, Source Mission Critical Communications

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The National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) released its top 10 state chief information officer (CIO) priorities for the coming year. Security, consolidation and cloud services continued to top the list as state technology leaders look toward 2017.  The State CIO Top 10 showed IT security strategies and tools are at the top of the list across the states, with security topping the list of priority strategies for the third consecutive year. Cloud services and consolidation/optimization remained at the top as second and third rated priorities.  “The survey results show a strong alignment between strategic plans and technology investment,” NASCIO President and Connecticut CIO Mark Raymond said. Security Tops NASCIO 2017 Priorities List

 

FirstNet Weekly Update to the Public Safety Advisory Committee (PSAC) – November 21, 2016

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FirstNet News

FirstNet held the Fall 2016 SPOC Meeting last week in Phoenix, Arizona with more than 150 combined SPOCs and SPOC Team members from 51 states and territories. The meeting included facilitated discussions about State Plan development and delivery and the people, priorities, and processes States will focus on during the next year, as well us updates from the Office of the Chief Technology Officer, Public Safety Communications Research, and Early Builders. Additionally, the meeting included individual consultation sessions with each of the 51 states and territories in attendance and a dedicated “Conversation Room,” which allowed SPOCs and their teams the opportunity for numerous individualized conversations with FirstNet Board members, executives, leadership, staff, and subject matter experts. Continue reading →

DoT to Release Cellphone Aircraft NRPM

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November 18, 2016–The Department of Transportation is ready to release an often-delayed notice of proposed rulemaking concerning the use of cellphones for voice calls during flight. The item has been scheduled for release multiple times, but was delayed. The item is projected for publication tomorrow, according to a DoT update. In 2014, DoT released an advance notice of proposed rulemaking seeking views on whether it should ban wireless device calls on airplanes (TRDaily, March 4, 2014).

In 2015, a DoT advisory committee recommended that the agency leave it up to airlines to decide whether to permit passengers to use their wireless devices for voice calls during flight (TRDaily, Sept. 2, 2015). The DoT rulemaking was launched in the wake of a controversial NPRM adopted by the FCC in 2013 that proposed permitting airlines to allow passengers to use devices for voice communications above 10,000 feet (TRDaily, Dec. 12, 2013).

Courtesy TRDaily

California Issues FirstNet RFI

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November 18, 2016–California is the latest in a series of states to seek information from industry about whether it would be better for the state to opt out of having the First Responder Network Authority’s (FirstNet) partner build its radio access network (RAN). The California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) has issued a request for information asking industry to “suggest compelling business models and approaches for the building, deployment, and operation of a state-deployed broadband statewide public safety Radio Access Network (RAN) within California as an alternative to the FirstNet deployed RAN. Continue reading →

OEC Outreach Clips: FPIC Releases Encryption Documents

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To support public safety, the Federal Partnership for Interoperable Communications (FPIC) Security Working Group (SWG) collaborated with SAFECOM, the National Council for Statewide Interoperability Coordinators (NCSWIC), and other Department of Homeland Security (DHS) entities to develop a series of guidelines, best practices, and considerations for public agencies considering implementation of encrypted communications. FPIC Releases Encryption Documents

OEC Outreach Clips: DHS Issues IoT Security Strategic Principles, Source Mission Critical Communications

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The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a set of “Strategic Principles for Securing the Internet of Things (IoT), Version 1.0.” These principles highlight approaches and suggested practices to fortify the security of the IoT and will equip stakeholders to make responsible and risk-based security decisions as they design, manufacture and use internet-connected devices and systems. The purpose of these principles is to provide stakeholders with tools to comprehensively account for security as they develop, manufacture, implement or use network-connected devices. DHS Issues IoT Security Strategic Principles

Andy Seybold’s Public Safety Advocate, November 22, 2016

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The Future of Public Safety Communications First of all, I’d like to wish a very happy Thanksgiving week to all of you in the United States, and I hope all of our out of country readers have a great week too! Now for the subject at hand. While we are waiting for FirstNet to announce the RFP winner and the future FirstNet Partner, I have been thinking about the future of Public Safety Communications. Here are some of my thoughts: 1) Will it become all about FirstNet and LTE for voice, data, video, location services, and anything else Public Safety needs to properly communicate both on a daily and major incident basis? a. If so, how long will the transition take and what needs to be done to prepare FirstNet? 2) Will it remain split between existing Land Mobile Radio (LMR) systems across the country and FirstNet? a. Will there be devices that are combination FirstNet and LMR-capable and if so when? 3) Will the Public Safety community end up on FirstNet for data, video, and interoperable PTT with 700-MHz LMR being the only band used for off-FirstNet voice communications? 4) Will FirstNet be stillborn and Public Safety be left only with the spectrum it has today minus the T-Band (470–512-MHZ shared TV channels), which has been taken away from the 11 major metro areas that really need it to communicate.

The answer could be one of the above, some of the above, or more than likely for a long time, choices 1, 2, and 3 in various configurations. Unfortunately, the chances of reversing Congress’ taking away the T-Band and returning it for TV service (for the less than 20% who watch TV over the air?) are slim to none. The spectrum is worth too much money as the 600-MHz auctions will require repacking the TV stations in the 600-MHz portion of the band into the lower TV spectrum including the T-Band channels. After all, money is king in DC, nothing else seems to matter to those steering our ship. Our only chance is if the 600-MHz auctions fail. The disconnect between what Public Safety needs and what it will end up with has nothing at all to do with technology issues, rather it is primarily based on political and funding issues.

The Public Safety community is fairly vocal about what it needs to do their jobs, protect the citizens of the country, and to protect themselves. However, what Public Safety needs takes allocations of funds, sometimes from local cities and counties, sometimes from states, and sometimes from the federal government. The disconnect is that those who control the purse strings are elected officials, not Public Safety personnel. Elected and appointed folks have been using cell phones for a number of years now. Yes, they have suffered a few dropped calls, and perhaps a lack of service during a major incident, but on the whole they would tell you the wireless phones in their hands are: 1) Very reliable 2) Fully Interoperable 3) Affordable 4) Easy to use 5) Inexpensive They don’t understand that the wireless operator for their nation, city, or county pays to provide them with service and has spent $30 billion, $40 billion, or more to build and operate the network. All they know is what it costs them personally or what it costs their city, county, or state for the device and service.

These elected officials are the same ones who are presented with recommendations to award an RFP contract to a Land Mobile Radio vendor for several million dollars to replace or enhance its jurisdiction’s LMR systems. These folks “know” from what they have read and what the non-Public Safety community is promising, that FirstNet will negate the need for LMR and all the money their jurisdiction is having to pay to keep it operational. There is, and always has been, a big disconnect between elected officials who control the funds for a jurisdiction and those charged with protecting that jurisdiction who are often denied the funds they require to help them do the job and keep the citizens and Public Safety community safe. After all, the elected official can punch a few buttons and talk to anyone anywhere in the world in only a few seconds. Why does Public Safety need more than that?

Over the years there have been hundreds of articles aimed at the political community about the needs of the Public Safety community. Unfortunately, there have also been many technologists or people who work on standards who are NOT within the Public Safety community who continue to point out how close we are to having, for example, Mission Critical Push-To-Talk (PTT) over FirstNet and how soon FirstNet will become the only network Public Safety will ever need. None of these folks have, I believe, ridden in a police car, fire rig, or EMS van on a Friday or Saturday night for an entire shift listening to the radio, responding to calls, and listening to what other units are responding to so they are up to speed and perhaps can start moving in the direction of what sounds like a bad incident. They have probably never been standing in a Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) or dispatch center as I have on July 4th in Los Angeles when each paramedic squad is assigned to an incident and then, in route, is reassigned to an incident deemed more critical. Continue reading →

FirstNet Weekly Update to the Public Safety Advisory Committee (PSAC) – November 14, 2016

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FirstNet News

Last Wednesday, FirstNet held an open house to unveil its state-of-the-art FirstNet Innovation and Test Lab in Boulder, Colorado. The lab will be a “plug and play” environment in which FirstNet and its future private industry partner will test public safety features, devices, and applications (apps) before they are deployed. This testing will help reduce the time to initially field test and deploy public safety features of the FirstNet Network, including quality of service, priority, pre-emption, and other future mission-critical services and applications. The lab will also be the foundation for a future FirstNet Training/Experience Center for hands-on training, demonstration, and user evaluation of future FirstNet Network technologies and applications. Various FirstNet Board members were on hand to hear CEO Mike Poth and CTO Jeff Bratcher’s remarks at the event.

On Tuesday, FirstNet Board member Jeff Johnson gave a keynote speech at the National Fire Protection Association’s Responder Forum in Charlotte, North Carolina. His presentation focused on FirstNet and the Fire Service, and set the stage in part for the rest of the day’s discussions.   Continue reading →

Moore: State Opt-Outs “Highly Complementary” to FirstNet

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November 10, 2016–States that seek to opt out and build their own radio access networks (RANs) would be taking an action that “is highly complementary” to those of the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet), according to Chris Moore, senior vice president-business development for Rivada Networks LLC. “What’s troubling to me frankly … is opt-out has been viewed as anti-FirstNet, when, in fact, it is not, it is highly complementary,” Mr. Moore said during a webinar today that was organized by “IWCE’s Urgent Communications.”

Rivada submitted a bid to FirstNet to build and operate a nationwide public safety broadband network. He was asked if Rivada wins the bid, whether it would not want states to seek to opt out. “Not necessarily,” he replied.

He said that going through the process of examining alternatives to FirstNet’s state plans can be useful for states, and he expressed concern that FirstNet wants to discourage states from considering their options. He also said states should be permitted to use grant funds to examine alternative plans, something they are not permitted to do, and the government should not discourage opt-outs by refusing to award grants for that purpose. Mr. Moore also said he disagrees with those who contend that opting out “is a false choice or is a non-choice.” Continue reading →

APCO, DHS Teaming on Public Safety Mobile Apps

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The Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials International is working with the Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Directorate to improve mobile apps for the public safety community. “Under this partnership, DHS S&T is providing a grant and other support to APCO to refine an evaluation program designed to ensure interoperability, reliability, and security for public safety apps used by the general public and state and local agencies,” APCO said. “This will include collaboration with public safety professionals, app developers, and security experts through workshops, direct consultation, and stakeholder events,” the group said.