Each week as I sit down to write this post for the end-of-the-week email blast, I first review the happenings of the week and emails I received about previous posts. Sometimes these emails thank me for my comments, sometimes there are comments that I got something wrong or don’t understand the issue well enough, and sometimes I am called a curmudgeon, which is defined in the Merriam-Webster dictionary as: “a person (especially an old man) who is easily annoyed or angered and who often complains.” I would rather think of myself as a realist who asks questions and tries to come up with answers. Perhaps my blog title, “Tell It Like It Is,” explains who I am or maybe I should have been born in Missouri, the “show me” state. I do tend to get annoyed easily but usually that annoyance has to do with those who talk about what the Public Safety community needs when they have never worn a badge, put on a turnout coat, or saved the life of a patient in the back of an EMS rig. (Yes, I have done these things.)
One of the things I recently reacted to was the crowning of Mission-Critical Push-to-Talk as a killer application for FirstNet’s broadband network when in fact it has yet to be deployed on a network that has yet to be built. This seems to be wishful thinking. My answer is that yes, PTT over a truly Mission-Critical LTE network could in fact become one of the killer applications for FirstNet. But ONLY after those in charge of the folks in the field whose lives sometimes depend on voice communications agree that PTT over FirstNet is an application, a technology, or whatever you want to call it, that they will trust their people’s lives to, and not before. By now we all know that FirstNet has extended the due date for the FirstNet partner RFP response until the end of May, basically adding another two weeks to the two weeks it was already extended. I believe this is a good move on the part of FirstNet.
I have said before that this is a complex bid, with many moving parts and many ways in which a responding company or consortium of companies can consider the requirements and propose solutions that will achieve the basic goals perhaps in ways that have not yet been considered. No bidder wants to submit a half-baked response simply because it doesn’t have enough time to review what it is proposing and poke holes in it prior to the submission date. I believe this additional two weeks probably won’t result in more responses but in better responses that will then be easier to evaluate. This is the middle of April, which means the RFP response due date is only six weeks away. In the scheme of things and considering how slowly government projects normally unfold, these extra weeks won’t be noticed in the long run. Granted, we won’t know anything for a long time I am sure but at least the next phase of the process will be underway. FirstNet’s goal is still to choose the winning partner prior to the end of 2016 so that the real work can begin in 2017. (February 2017 is five years after the law that created FirstNet was passed.)
The Upcoming Public Safety Communications Research (PSCR) Public Safety Stakeholder meeting to be held in San Diego in early June should be very interesting. Not only for the always-good information that comes out of this event but also because it will be held only a short while after the RFP responses have been submitted. While I don’t expect any comments from FirstNet about who bid, I do expect some comments, and probably some rumors, about who bid and what it will mean to the Public Safety community. I have already made my reservations for this event and hope to see you there, too. For more information please see: http://www.pscr.gov/about/highlights/psbb_062016/ And finally from our friends at inside towers, a very good article about FirstNet’s Keynote at the Competitive Carriers Association (CCA) spring event: https://insidetowers.com/category/featured-story/ Andrew M Seybold
FirstNet extends Nationwide Public Safety Broadband Network deployment proposal deadline to … – Homeland Preparedness News via Google Alerts Apr 14 11:15 The First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) announced on Monday that it has extended the deadline for proposals for the deployment of the …
National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week – The Glen Rose Reporter via Google Alerts Apr 15 05:15 The event, sponsored by the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) is held to honor the men and women who are often …
FirstNet does not expect any further RFP deadline extensions – RCR Wireless News via Google Alerts Apr 14 14:55 … track in announcing partners by the end of the year to build out its planned public safety mobile broadband network, despite a recent move to extend …
CTIA fights controversial budget cap for Lifeline program – FierceWireless via Google Alerts Apr 14 14:15 The FCC voted two weeks ago to extend Lifeline to help enable low-income Americans to access broadband Internet on computers and mobile …
National Broadband Plan – Public Safety Elements – Cyber Security and Critical Infrastructure … – grovevideo.top via Google Alerts Apr 14 09:40 Cyber security is a new area for Commission. We have a number of exciting recommendations here. First of all we are building on a pattern of work …
Grant reform : the faster and smarter funding for first responders [sic – vipifyaku.ru via Google Alerts Apr 14 07:50 Faster and Smarter Funding for First Responders Act of …
The Department of Commerce Wants to Get a Handle on the Internet of Things – JD Supra via Google Alerts Apr 14 21:10 The U.S. government has noticed, and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), part of the Department of Commerce, …
FCC Bureaus Approve Use Of Broadband Service Labels – The National Law Review via Google Alerts Apr 14 14:15 The approved label for mobile broadband service, on the other hand, …
Senator Vernon White – Canada’s Public Safety Broadband Network videos, TV shows, movies … – grovevideo.top via Google Alerts Apr 14 13:15 Watch CATAAlliance’s Chief Business Officer, Kevin Wennekes, as he interviews the Honourable Vernon White, Senator, Senate of Canada, in a …
Narrow-band IoT announcement on track for Huawei – ZDNet Apr 14 06:50 After NB IoT standards ‘freeze’ in June 2016, Huawei is expecting to make its own announcement during the second half of the year, with plans to then implement smart parking at Shanghai Disney.
Coalition Files FCC Petition for Voluntary Use of New Broadcast TV Transmission Standard – Business Wire Apr 13 16:10 WASHINGTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–A coalition of consumer technology companies, commercial and public television stations and public safety advocates today filed a joint petition with the FCC for a new broadcast transmission standard.
Utility Awarded U.S. Patent 9282495 for Automatic Switching to the Optimal Cellular Data Network – PR Newswire via Google Alerts Apr 12 10:10 With this new patented technology, Rocket IoT devices will automatically switch between 3G, 4G-LTE and FirstNet cellular communications networks …
AT&T Set for Higher Cash Flow – Barron’s via Google Alerts Apr 12 07:00 The strong free cash flow should help AT&T should it pursue both the FirstNet [public safety communications network] opportunity and the upcoming …
The FCC aims to restore competition in the business broadband market, may help slash costs – CIO via Google Alerts Apr 9 13:10 For more than a decade, critics of Verizon and AT&T have pushed the FCC to address these so-called “middle-mile” data connections, which link …
CenturyLink, Frontier to FCC: Subsidize Voice Networks in Remote Areas – Phone+ Apr 9 06:31 While commending the FCC for adopting rules to fund the second phase of the Connect America Fund, the carriers requested aid to support Americans who are not covered by the broadband subsidies, still dependent on voice services, and live in rural areas that are very expensive to serve.