MINNEAPOLIS (January 5, 2017) – In an effort to encourage more participation of women and girls in the wireless industry, the Radio Club of America (RCA) has created a new section on the radioclubofamerica.org website called “Wireless Women” designed to assist women considering careers in wireless and encouraging girls to get involved with technology. Information includes resources such as “Notable Women in Wireless,” “RCA’s Vivian Carr Award,” “Professional Wireless Organizations for Women,” web resources for females of all ages interested in wireless, plus a list of universities with both an engineering focus and a significant female student population. Continue reading
Month: January 2017
FCC Changes January Meeting Date
January 3, 2017–The FCC has changed the date of its next open meeting to Jan. 31. The meeting is slated to begin at 10:30 a.m. It was originally scheduled for Jan. 26. By statute, the FCC must hold a public meeting once a month.
Responses to Alabama RFP Due Jan. 31
January 3, 2017–The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA) has set a Jan. 31 deadline for responses to its request for proposals (RFPs) for an alternative plan for deploying a public safety broadband radio access network (RAN) in the state. After originally setting two deadlines for bids, the agency in October established a deadline of 15 business days after the First Responder Network Authority’s (FirstNet) announcement of a partner (TRDaily, Oct. 14, 2016). However, the agency noted in a Dec. 29 news release that a contract award is expected to be delayed further by litigation and that FirstNet officials have indicated they will be ready to move forward quickly once a contract is awarded. “Based on FirstNet’s continued diligence towards providing the 56 states and territories with a viable state plan as soon as 90 days after the announcement of its nationwide partner, ALEA has determined that it is in the state’s best interest to establish a final deadline for Alabama’s PSBRAN,” it said. “This will allow the state to properly review RFP proposals prior to delivery of the state’s FirstNet draft state plan.”
Courtesy TRDaily
FCC Seeks Comment on North Dakota Waiver
January 3, 2017–The FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau is seeking comment on a waiver request filed by the state of North Dakota that would permit it to use 155.4750 megahertz within 25 kilometers of the U.S.-Canada border for interagency coordination during emergencies. Comments are due Jan. 27 and replies Feb. 13 in FCC file number 0007016716.
Andy Seybold’s Public Safety Advocate, January 5, 2017
A Look Back and A Look Forward Happy New Year to all! I hope 2017 is the best ever for each and every one of us! Last year was both a good year and a bad year for FirstNet. It was perhaps great because FirstNet issued the RFP for the partner to build, manage, and operate the Nationwide Public Safety Broadband Network (NPSBN). It was great because it worked a lot more with the states, federal agencies, and others interested in the network and its capabilities. It was also great because the office of the CTO announced and then opened the FirstNet Innovation and Test Lab, and continued to focus on network specifics while others in FirstNet were busy planning for the time after the RFP is awarded. And because in 2016 there was a new buzz and excitement about FirstNet.
However, it was also a bad year for a number of reasons, the first and most traumatic being the inability of FirstNet to announce the RFP winner and future FirstNet Partner due to a court action taken by Rivada because it had been cut out of the final phase of the contract review. This action will delay the outcome until March or April of 2017, but I don’t believe it will change the outcome. This delay is particularly unfortunate since momentum was building for FirstNet and Public Safety to reach the next major milestone and begin the long trek putting in the network. It felt like a Christmas morning with no presents underneath the tree. The other bad news items were but minor annoyances compared to the delay in awarding the contract. There was some grumbling among the states regarding the opt-in and opt-out procedures, the timing, the amount of work a state must do to qualify, and the uncertainty of a state being able to successfully negotiate a contract for use of the FirstNet spectrum. Continue reading
Virginia Gets Approval for Channel Relocation
January 3, 2017–The Policy and Licensing Division of the FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau has released an order authorizing Virginia “to proceed with relocation of existing 700 MHz narrowband operations to state-licensed channels and [granting] a conditional waiver of the requirement to coordinate Virginia’s operations on these channels with the Commonwealth of Kentucky (Kentucky).” The action will help Virginia relocate its operations from spectrum licensed to the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet). “To facilitate Virginia’s relocation from FirstNet’s spectrum, we find good cause to permit Virginia to select 48 state channels for licensed use at the Virginia-Kentucky border and to exceed 40 dBuV/m field strength at the border with Kentucky on these channels when it retunes its system,” the order said.
Courtesy TRDaily
Trump Names Bossert Homeland Security Assistant
January 3, 2017–President-elect Donald J. Trump last week announced the appointment of Thomas Bossert as assistant to the president for homeland security and counterterrorism, with a portfolio including cybersecurity issues. Mr. Bossert, who is a former deputy homeland security adviser to President George W. Bush, has since 2009 operated a homeland and national security consulting business and has been a senior cybersecurity fellow at the U.S. Atlantic Council. Continue reading
Rosenworcel Highlights Safety, E-Rate, Lifeline Progress During Tenure at Agency
January 3, 2017–Outgoing FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel has highlighted progress that the FCC made on a number of fronts during her nearly five-year tenure, including adopting text-to-911 and indoor 911 location accuracy rules, modernizing its E-rate and Lifeline programs, adopting net neutrality regulations, and making spectrum available for 5G services. Ms. Rosenworcel’s tenure officially ended today with the end of the 114th Congress because the Senate did not vote on her nomination for a second term before it completed its business last month (TRDaily, Dec. 12, 2016).
In an 11-page statement released Dec. 30, Ms. Rosenworcel reviewed the progress that the FCC made – and the issues that she championed – since she became a Commissioner in May 2012. For example, Ms. Rosenworcel cited progress that has been made by carriers and public safety on text-to-911. “They are also working together to provide dispatchable location technology so that for every wireless call to 911—indoors and outdoors—first responders can find you,” she said. “This is a big and important update to 911 and I am proud that the solution I forged on this matter is a bipartisan one. I also worked with public safety officials to highlight funding challenges—from the diversion of 911 fees for purposes unrelated to emergency communications to the need for support programs for next generation 911 under the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act.” Continue reading
FirstNet Weekly Update to the Public Safety Advisory Committee (PSAC) – January 3, 2017
FirstNet News
2016 was a busy year for FirstNet, with nearly 700 high-level consultation and outreach engagements across the 56 states and territories, as well as Canada, Greece, South Korea, and the United Kingdom. This includes SPOC Engagement Meetings, Governance Body Meetings, Metro Engagement Meetings, Executive Engagement Meetings, and Consultation Task Team Meetings. In addition, members of the FirstNet team were involved in hundreds of smaller meetings, one-on-one engagements, conferences, and other engagements throughout 2016 to make FirstNet a success.
Looking forward into 2017, FirstNet has confirmed more than 30 speaking engagements thus far in no less than 15 states and territories, as well as the United Kingdom. In particular, FirstNet is looking forward in the near-term to the National Association of EMS Physicians (NAEMSP) Expo in New Orleans, Louisiana; the United South and Eastern Tribes (USET) Impact Week Meeting in Arlington, Virginia; and the Journal of Emergency Medical Services’ (JEMS) EMS Today Conference and Expo in Salt Lake City, Utah.
This week, FirstNet will be participating in a Rhode Island Interoperable Communications Committee meeting in Lincoln; the Consumer Electronics Show Broadband and Government conferences in Las Vegas, Nevada; and a Vermont Public Safety Broadband Committee meeting in Waterbury.
Recently, FirstNet posted three new blog posts: FirstNet @ CES 2017: How FirstNet will transform the future of public safety, PSCR’s Innovation Accelerator Program Announces $30 million Grant Program to ‘Pull the Future Forward’ for Public Safety and PSAC Profile: International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM). All blog posts are available on the FirstNet blog at: www.firstnet.gov/newsroom/blog.
Media Watch
*The information provided is copied as-is from the media outlet source and is not edited by FirstNet. Links to non-Federal Government websites do not constitute endorsement of any product, service, organization, company, information provider, or content. Clicking on non-Department of Commerce hyperlinks will direct you to websites that are not under the Government’s control.
StateScoop 12/28: NIST Stakes $30 Million Grant for Public Safety Broadband Apps and Innovations
http://statescoop.com/nist-stakes-30-million-grant-public-safety-broadband-apps-innovations
There is $30 million up for grabs for organizations that can deliver digital tools for the nation’s first public-safety communications network. The First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet), tasked to coordinate the network’s launch, advertised the grant in a blog post on Dec. 22, saying it would look for solutions that accelerated research and development of broadband technologies for first responders. Funding comes from $300 million in congressional support for the new network, and the grants are released by the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s (NIST) Public Safety Communications Research Division (PSCR).
Web and Social Media
FirstNet’s social media presence grew at the normal rate the past two weeks. Twitter gained 57 new followers, now at 4,769. Facebook has 563 followers. LinkedIn now has 1,800 followers. YouTube has 368 subscribers.
Do you have something you want to feature in the weekly update, such as a conference date, personnel announcement, or news article showcasing the work of your organization? Please send it to PSAC@firstnet.gov for possible inclusion in an upcoming update.
Andy Seybold’s Real World Intelligence, January 3, 2017
Dismantle the FCC? A Really, Really Bad Idea!
The new administration’s transition team assigned to work with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has made public comments about dismantling or redefining the FCC. It makes one wonder whether they understand some of the most important functions and duties performed by the FCC. They have been quoted as saying these could be doled out to other federal agencies including the Federal Trade Commission, and the states. The idea of dismantling the FCC is not new; it has been bandied around DC over the years. However, talk such as this shows a lack of understanding of the purpose of the FCC and the depth of knowledge necessary to carry out its duties.
Today’s talk about dismantling the FCC centers on its role in major telecommunications issues such as mergers, acquisitions, net neutrality, and other high-level actions. However, it is important to look deeper into what the FCC does on other levels. Without the FCC, who would oversee the radio spectrum and ensure it is used properly and spectrum users do not cause harmful interference to others also using it?
Politics often plays a role in the arguments over the FCC. Prior to this transition team’s comments about dismantling or transferring the FCC’s responsibilities to other agencies, Congress periodically threatened the same thing as well as defunding the FCC or that portion charged with enforcing a new rule they don’t like or that their lobbyists don’t want on the books.
Today’s FCC under the leadership of Tom Wheeler has spent its time wisely, improving the world of telecommunications and pushing for the adoption of broadband and Internet access for all. Some of the actions taken by the commissioners have been criticized by companies the FCC regulates, by Congress, and even some pundits. However, I believe steps taken by this FCC have been with the goal of modernizing telecommunications and its rules and regulations to carry the FCC and the nation in today’s telecommunications world and take us well into the future. Continue reading