FirstNet News
FirstNet CEO Mike Poth will be testifying tomorrow at the Senate Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, Innovation and the Internet hearing titled, “FirstNet Oversight: An Update on the Status of the Public Safety Broadband Network.” The hearing will start at 9:30 AM EST. Other witnesses at the hearing include Mr. Jeffrey McLeod, Director of Homeland Security and Public Safety Division, National Governors Association; Major General Arthur J. Logan, Single Point of Contact (SPOC), State of Hawaii and Hawaii Adjutant General; and Mr. Andrew Katsaros, Assistant Inspector General for Audit, U.S. Department of Commerce. To watch the webcast, please visit this page for more information: http://www.commerce.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2016/6/firstnet-oversight-an-update-on-the-status-of-the-public-safety-broadband-network
FirstNet has now completed 23 State Governance Body Consultation Meetings with meetings in Kansas, Missouri, and Wyoming last week. Discussions at these engagements focused on the request for proposal (RFP) process, State Plans, the opt-in/opt-out decision and timeline, sustainability and coverage of the FirstNet network, the deployment process, subscription and device costs, and voice capabilities.
Last week, CEO Mike Poth and Ed Parkinson attended the Western Governors Association (WGA) meeting in Wyoming. 10 governors, along with their senior policy advisors and Chiefs of Staff, attended, providing FirstNet the opportunity to discuss with them opt-in/out, revenue and rural coverage
On the tribal front, FirstNet staff joined the Maine FirstNet team to meet with several Maine tribal representatives in Indian Township, Maine. The meeting was attended by the Passamaquoddy and Penobscot Tribal Nations public safety, emergency management, and tribal leadership. Most of the discussion addressed coverage objectives, current communications challenges, and the variety of public state response capabilities and operations supported. The Passamaquoddy Tribal Governor/Chief also met with the delegation during the visit.
On the national front, FirstNet staff participated in the National Association of State 9-1-1 Coordinators (NASNA) semi-annual membership meeting and the National Emergency Number Association’s (NENA) Annual Conference and Expo in Indianapolis, Indiana. FirstNet, along with NG9-1-1, presented at both events, while FirstNet had an exhibitor booth at the NENA conference
Also last week, FirstNet staff met with Board members of the International Association of Fire Chiefs Hazardous Material Section in Baltimore, Maryland. The meeting was attended by leaders of fire service hazardous materials responders, the Chemical Safety Board, the railroad industry, FBI, and the Combating Terrorism Technical Support Office (CTTSO). The railroad representative demonstrated an application developed for responders’ use during rail incidents, and the CTTSO provided information on new technology developments in remote sensor technology and data standards. Both the railroad application and CTTSO sensor technology are areas of interest for FirstNet. The FirstNet presentation illustrated use during HazMat response and the importance of data access to maintain firefighter safety. Members of the PSAC’s Early Builders Working Group (EBWG) Texas (Harris County) project provided additional supporting comments based on their experiences in planned and unplanned events on the network
Last week, FirstNet published two new entries on its blog, including a repost from EMS World Magazine, Building the Internet of Lifesaving Things, and PSCR Conference 2016 Showcases Global Advancements in Public Safety Broadband. All blog posts can also be accessed through the FirstNet blog landing page at: www.firstnet.gov/newsroom/blog.
This week, FirstNet is participating in Canada US (CANUS) Communications Interoperability Working Group (CIWG) meeting in Ottawa, Canada; the New Mexico Public Safety Forum in Albuquerque; the Northern Mariana Islands Governance Body meeting in Saipan; the Pennsylvania Northwest Regional meeting in Meadville; a National 911 Program webinar on the state of 9-1-1; the Ohio Governance Body Meeting and Executive Meetings in Columbus; the Pennsylvania Northwest Central Regional meeting in Ridgeway; the Region VI quality of service, priority and preemption (QPP) CTT meeting in Santa Fe, New Mexico; the Major County Sheriffs’ Association Summer Meeting and National Sheriffs’ Association Annual Conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota; the Washington State Association of Public Safety Communications Officials (APCO)/NENA Public Safety Communications Conference in Kennewick; the International Justice and Public Safety Network (Nlets) annual business meeting in St. Pete Beach, Florida; the Pennsylvania Southwestern Regional meeting in Pittsburgh; the New England Fire, Rescue and EMS Conference in Mashantucket, Connecticut; and the U.S. Conference of Mayors 84th Annual Conference in Indianapolis, Indiana.
News from the PSAC, States and Territories
The Identity, Credential and Access Management (ICAM) and Local Control task teams held their final meetings last week. Both task teams are on track to submit their final recommendations to FirstNet via the PSAC Executive Committee (EC) no later than July 28, 2016.
The PSAC Executive Committee (EC) is holding its monthly meeting on Monday, June 20.
The EBWG is holding its monthly meeting on Wednesday, June 22, to discuss project updates and share lessons learned.
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.
Urgent Comm 6/16: pdvWireless announces bid for FirstNet, belief that FCC will release NOI on 900 MHz broadband proposal
Officials for pdvWireless this week confirmed the company’s much-rumored bid to build a nationwide public-safety broadband network (NPSBN) for FirstNet and expressed “frustration and disappointment” with the FCC regarding a proceeding centered around a pdvWireless proposal to transform 900 MHz LMR spectrum to broadband use.
Web and Social Media
FirstNet social media continues to grow. Facebook has 156 followers, Twitter gained 40 new followers and is now at 3,796 followers, while LinkedIn has 1,568 followers. YouTube now has 285 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 Yancy Edwards at yancy.edwards.ctr@firstnet.gov for possible inclusion in an upcoming update.