FirstNet News
FirstNet was in Las Vegas, Nevada, last week to participate in several events held in conjunction with the CTIA – The Wireless Association’s Super Mobility 2016. CEO Mike Poth gave a FirstNet update on Thursday as one of a number of educational sessions at the Rural Wireless Summit, which offers education and networking events on the rural wireless industry. He discussed FirstNet’s timeline and the rural benchmarks built into the RFP. Director of Government Affairs Ed Parkinson presented Wednesday during a session on FirstNet and Next Generation 9-1-1 at Wireless U., a two-day policy and technology seminar for state legislators. He presented an overview of FirstNet, as well as the anticipated timeline and potential role of state legislatures regarding the Governors opt-in/out decision.
FirstNet began a new series of video blogs last week, titled Looking Back and Looking Forward: The Future of Public Safety Communications in the Post 9/11 Era. In addition to the initial post, FirstNet posted three blog entries from the series: Vlog: A Broadband Network Will Enable Public Safety to Work “Unthrottled”; Rick Bartee On The Benefits of Data for Search and Rescue; and Chad Weber on How Public Safety Broadband Can Help Rural Law Enforcement. FirstNet posted one additional blog last week: IAFC Passes Resolution in Support of the Nationwide Public Safety Broadband Network. All blog posts are available on the FirstNet blog at: www.firstnet.gov/newsroom/blog.
FirstNet has now completed 39 State Governance Body Consultation Meetings with a meeting in Florida last week with the FloridaNet Executive Committee in Tallahassee. Primary discussion topics included the definition of local coverage, costs, the governor’s decision, and the opt-out timeline.
From the tribal team, Margaret Muhr was in Banning, California on Thursday for a meeting of Southern California Tribal Emergency Managers. Attendees included six tribes, the Morongo Casino, the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services’ Exercise Division, and representatives from Riverside and San Bernardino Counties.
This week, FirstNet will be participating in a Federal Communications Commission Region 19 700/800MHz Committee meeting in Kennebunkport, Maine; a New York Governance Body Meeting in Albany; a PSAC Executive Committee meeting and Tribal Working Group meeting in Boulder, Colorado; the Ohio 9-1-1 Symposium in Columbus, Ohio; the South Dakota Emergency Management Association Conference in Aberdeen; the North Dakota Emergency Management Association Annual Conference in Bismarck; a New Hampshire Statewide Interoperability Executive Committee meeting in Concord; and Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement Public Meetings in Indianapolis (Indiana), Jefferson City (Missouri), Columbus (Ohio), Topeka (Kansas), and Lincoln (Nebraska).
News from the PSAC, States and Territories
The PSAC’s State/Local Focus Group held its quarterly teleconference last Wednesday, September 7, to discuss stakeholder messaging strategies and current outreach efforts.
The PSAC’s Executive Committee (EC) is holding its annual in-person meeting on Wednesday, September 14 in Boulder, Colorado at FirstNet’s Office of the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) headquarters. The Tribal Working Group (TWG) is also holding an in-person meeting in Boulder, Colorado on September 15 and 16.
Media Watch
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Firehouse 9/8: IAFC Votes to Support FirstNet
http://www.firehouse.com/news/12254907/iafc-votes-to-support-firstnet
As the 15th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the IAFC has voted to support the enhancement of communications for responders.Homeland Security Today 9/8: FirstNet Making Progress Towards Nationwide Public Safety Broadband Network
The First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) took another step closer to the implementation of the Nationwide Public Safety Broadband Network (NPSBN) with the approval of a budget package for Fiscal Year (FY) 2017. The FirstNet Board approved a $6.585 billion budget to support the award of a Network contract and associated task orders in FY17, including $85 million for FirstNet operations. The $6.5 billion will be paid over the course of the contract as development and operational milestones are achieved.
Web and Social Media
FirstNet’s social media presence grew at the normal rate this week. Twitter has 4,172 followers, and Facebook has 404 followers. LinkedIn now has 1,671 followers, and YouTube has 327 subscribers.