FirstNet News
The FirstNet Board will convene an open public meeting on June 30, 2016 between 8:30 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. CST, preceded by an open public meeting of the FirstNet Governance and Personnel, Finance, Technology, and Consultation and Outreach Committees on June 29, 2016 between 1:00 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. CST. The meetings will be held at 172 West Adams Street, Chicago, Illinois 60603 and available via webcast on the FirstNet website. For more information click here.
FirstNet has now completed 27 State Governance Body Consultation Meetings, with meetings in Ohio, New Mexico, and the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) last week. Discussions at these engagements focused on the opt-in/opt-out decision and timeline, sustainability and coverage of the FirstNet network, the deployment process, subscription and device costs, and user fees in both rural and urban areas. These meetings have increasingly been paired with metropolitan and executive consultation elements, in addition to Quality of Service, Priority and Preemption (QPP) Consultation Task Team (CTT) meetings. Region VI held its QPP CTT engagement following the New Mexico Governance Body meeting, which included 30 public safety representatives.
Last week, FirstNet attended two major law enforcement events in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Board member Sheriff Rich Stanek attended the Major County Sheriffs’ Association Summer Meeting in his capacity as the group’s Vice President for Homeland Security, providing updates on FirstNet to the Homeland Security Committee. Sheriff Stanek, Ehrin Ehlert, and PSAC Chair Chief (Ret.) Harlin McEwen also attended the National Sheriffs’ Association Annual Conference, and presented at multiple committee meetings including the Emerging Technology and Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) Committee.
Also engaging the law enforcement community, Chief McEwen and Amanda Hilliard provided FirstNet and PSAC updates to over 100 attendees representing 48 states and territories (primarily state police), approximately 15 federal agencies, and Canada at The International Justice and Public Safety network (Nlets) 49th Annual Business Meeting. Approximately half of the state attendees indicated participation in state FirstNet planning efforts
Last week, FirstNet President TJ Kennedy provided a brief FirstNet update to the Criminal & Social Justice Committee at the U.S. Conference of Mayors’ 84th Annual Conference in Indianapolis, Indiana. In his remarks, President Kennedy stressed the importance of Mayors’ participation to gain support for network deployment and encourage service adoption.
Also last week, FirstNet participated in a meeting of the Canada-United States Communications Interoperability Working Group in Ottawa, Canada. The meeting was co-chaired by Public Safety Canada and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, with representation from the Federal Communications Commission, the National Public Safety Telecommunications Council, Canadian Border Services, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, amongst others.
Last week, FirstNet published a new entry on its blog: Smart Response for Smart Cities, which included a companion video explaining how the FirstNet Network will support Smart City initiatives, including the Internet of Things. All blog posts can also be accessed at: www.firstnet.gov/newsroom/blog.
This week, FirstNet is participating in the Idaho FirstNet planning committee meeting in Fort Hall; Ohio FirstNet long term evolution (LTE) Pilot Media Day in Beavercreek; the National Homeland Security Conference in Tampa, Florida; the Utah Governance Body meeting in Sandy; Chicago Police and Fire Department meetings; a Pennsylvania North Central Regional Task Force meeting in Williamsport; the Region 1 QPP CTT meeting in Framingham, Massachusetts; the Washington-Allegany-Garrett Interoperability Network Committee briefing in Cumberland, Maryland; the FirstNet Committee and Board meetings in Chicago, Illinois; the Virginia Regional Preparedness Advisory Committee for Interoperability (RPAC-I) Region 7 meeting in Fairfax; and the Missouri EMS Association meeting in Lake of the Ozarks.
News from the PSAC, States and Territories
The Identity, Credential and Access Management (ICAM) and Local Control Task Teams are on track to submit their final recommendations to FirstNet via the PSAC Executive Committee (EC) no later than July 28, 2016.
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 Communications 6/23: If FirstNet is Not the Answer, Does Someone Have a Better Alternative?
http://urgentcomm.com/blog/if-firstnet-not-answer-does-someone-have-better-alternative
If this was a typical government program built on the notion that it would return to Congress and seek additional funding, there might be an argument to kill FirstNet. But that’s not the case. If a contractor performs in the manner outlined in the RFP, FirstNet should be self-sustaining for 25 years. In other words, FirstNet should require no more taxpayer funding for the next 25 years, as a result of a public-private partnership agreement. Isn’t that what every Republican—and every taxpayer—wants from a government initiative
Web and Social Media
FirstNet social media continues to grow. Facebook has 172 followers, Twitter gained 45 new followers and is now at 3,842 followers, while LinkedIn has 1,577 followers. YouTube now has 286 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.