Any and all FirstNet RFP responses were to have been submitted by this past Tuesday. However, there seems to be some confusion over if and when FirstNet will release names of the bidders. I have spoken to several people who regularly submit RFPs to various federal agencies and have been told that the names but not the bidding prices are made public soon after the RFP due date. Even so, it appears from information I received third-hand that the Contracting Officer for the U.S. Department of the Interior is treating this differently and has thus far, I am told, stated that in this case the names of those submitting bids will not be released. This should make for a very interesting PSCR meeting.
Monday, June 6 is an open meeting of the Public Safety Advisory Committee (PSAC) and the PSCR event itself starts on Tuesday with the FirstNet Chairwoman, Sue Swenson, delivering the opening keynote address. I doubt if we will hear anything of substance relating to the RFP responses but you never can tell. Perhaps FirstNet will use this keynote to publically announce the bidders. Meanwhile, it has been fun taking part in the many email, Twitter, and even voice conversations about who may be bidders. One should be Rivada Networks whose CEO supposedly announced it responded to the RFP early and is 100% compliant. While I have heard that statement from several sources, I have not seen it on the Internet so perhaps it was relayed to me in error. Be that as it may, the consensus is there were four bidders. I think there might be a couple more and would not be the least bit surprised if someone no one expected showed up. I hope more than four companies responded so FirstNet and the myriad of others who will be engaged in the process of selecting the best bid will have more choices and will select the one vendor that has taken the time to provide a response that is more about what the Public Safety community can expect from the network rather than how much money they think they will make using FirstNet’s spectrum on a secondary basis.
Next week should be a fun week in San Diego, I cannot wait to hear all of the rumors, discussions, and “insider” comments about the RFP responses. In reality the only thing that matters at this point is if FirstNet received more than a single response so there is some competition and proposals can be compared to find which one is in the best interests of the Public Safety community. In the June issue of MissionCritical Communications I just received digitally, is the full article that appeared in an earlier email post. The article is entitled, “Rethinking FirstNet and LMR” and was written by John Facella, a good friend of mine who has been around in the Public Safety market for a long time. John is now a consultant and from time to time we work together on projects. I enjoyed reading his article because he discusses resetting FirstNet’s goals to those originally taken to Congress (before FirstNet) to build a nationwide data and video-only network leaving Land Mobile Radio intact, and letting the telephony and text traffic make use of the commercial carriers, at least until the First Responder community is accustomed to using the new network and learns its capabilities as well as its limitations. The article can be found here: http://rrmediagroup.com/Features/FeaturesDetails/FID/667 See some of you at PSCR in San Diego! Andy Seybold
FirstNet RFP Deadline for Proposals Closes, Award Planned for November – mccmag.com via Google Alerts Jun 2 16:45 Networks | Systems … The First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) will begin the evaluation process of the request for …
Mike Poth: FirstNet Eyes Public Safety Broadband Network Contract Award in November – GovConWire via Google Alerts Jun 2 13:30 wireless communications The First Responder Network Authority closed the process Tuesday for the submission of final bids from vendors interested …
FirstNet to Hold Public Meeting of the Public Safety Advisory Committee – FirstNet via Google Alerts Jun 1 16:45 May 31, 2016 (RESTON, VA) The First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) will convene an open public meeting of the Public Safety Advisory …
Rivada Networks Announces Appointments of Governor Martin O’Malley and Governor Jeb Bush to Board of Directors – PR Newswire Jun 3 09:40 NEW YORK, June 3, 2016 /PRNewswire/ — Rivada Networks today announced the appointments of former Governors Jeb Bush (R – Florida) and Martin O’Malley (D – Maryland) to its board of directors. The appointments come as the company prepares to unveil its bid to build out FirstNet’s…
Why security is critical to the development and continued success of FirstNet – McAfee via Google Alerts Jun 2 16:45 As a former Border Patrol agent, I know FirstNet will be an incredible boon for the public safety community. But the network’s integrity will be tested, …
FirstNet’s bidding deadline has passedwhat we know now – Urgent Communications via Google Alerts Jun 2 15:30 That is a big step, as public-safety officials who remember the failed 700 MHz D Block auction of 2008when the FCC received no qualifying bids to …
FirstNet on Developing Apps for Public Safety (APCO – Association of Public-Safety … – Newsoneplace.com via Google Alerts Jun 2 08:45 Source: APCO – Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials …
Cisco EHWIC-4G-LTE-ST= Wireless Module – Precision Data Products via Google Alerts Jun 3 09:01 EHWIC-4G-LTE-ST and EHWIC-4G-LTE-VZ: Multimode LTE for carriers that operates LTE on 700-MHz (band 13), 1700/2100-MHz (band 4 AWS), …
Policymakers Must Promote Deployment and Development of IoT – Competitive Carriers Association via Google Alerts Jun 3 08:50 Washington, DC June 2, 2016 Today, in comments filed with the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), Department …
Virtual reality and IoT – Digitimes via Google Alerts Jun 3 08:25 Narrow-Band IoT (NB-IoT) or LTE for IoT is an important technology being standardized by 3GPP using a narrowband radio technology specially …
Public-safety LTE market ‘nascent’ and ‘additive’ – lte-applications.com via Google Alerts Jun 3 08:00 Brown described FirstNet as the largest public-safety LTE market opportunity but said that the effort to build a nationwide public-safety broadband …
Comments to the NTIA on the Benefits, Challenges, and Potential Roles for the Government in … – Center for Data Innovation via Google Alerts Jun 3 07:35 The National Telecommunication and Information Administration (NTIA) has requested comments on the benefits, challenges, and potential roles for …
Ericsson Radio – Facebook via Google Alerts Jun 3 06:01 Narrowband #IoT standardization soon finalized, reported by our research blog: https://t.co/dESufb80lV #nbiot.
NTIA Tells UAS Operators Not to Drone On – Privacy Law Blog via Google Alerts Jun 2 21:15 By Adam Waks on June 2, 2016 Posted in Invasion of Privacy …
15 things you need to know about Ireland’s National Broadband Plan – Siliconrepublic.com via Google Alerts Jun 2 15:50 To ensure the success of the project, the Department of Communications, …
RELM Wireless Receives Contract Extension Totaling $1.9 Million From the Transportation … – PR Newswire via Google Alerts Jun 2 10:16 … compliant equipment regardless of the manufacturer, was established by the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials and is approved …
Viability of professional LTE services over satellite links validated by Teltronic, MOME and Hispasat – lte-applications.com via Google Alerts Jun 2 02:30 These results not only demonstrate the viability of using VSAT links with broadband networks, they also consolidate our defence and public safety …
Broadcasters Campaign to Bring Next-Gen TV to US Screens – Morning Consult via Google Alerts Jun 1 14:30 According to NAB’s spokesman Dennis Wharton, the FCC’s failure to approve new standards would bring danger to the market and public safety.
China Mobile : to Deploy Narrow Band Internet of Things – 4 Traders via Google Alerts Jun 1 06:00 BEIJING, June 1, SinoCast — Chief scientist for China Mobile Research Institute said that the company will deploy narrow land Internet of Things by the …