Verizon Communications, Inc., said today it supports a request by the Colorado Public Safety Broadband Governing Body (CPSBGB) asking the FCC to clarify guidelines and requirements concerning interoperability and roaming between the nationwide public safety broadband network being built by AT&T, Inc., for the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) and wireless carriers (TR Daily, July 9).

“Interoperability between and among all first responders, regardless of the network they use, is vitally important, and promoting interoperability was one of the principal reasons Congress established FirstNet. It is important that industry standards and agreements between network providers, equipment vendors, and application developers ensure that interoperability objectives are achieved,” Verizon said in an ex parte filing in PS docket 16-269. “Verizon supports the development of such standards and agreements, and looks forward to working with FirstNet, AT&T, the public safety community, and others in the industry, to achieve those goals. Interoperability should be supported across the entire public safety ecosystem and should include interoperability for services, applications, and features (e.g., priority and preemption protocols) used by first responders. The Commission should seek input on this important matter from other public safety agencies and interested stakeholders by placing CPSBGB’s request on Public Notice as soon as possible.”

But amid speculation that the state planned to seek to withdraw its request, TR Daily asked officials there if that was the case.

“We are working to ensure that Colorado can benefit the most from FirstNet’s investment in Colorado. While the intent of the FCC filing was to bring attention to the ongoing need to collaborate with vendors and our local communities, we will work directly with our partners to address these concerns. We plan to provide this update to the FCC,” replied Brandi Wildfang Simmons, chief communications officer and public information officer for the Colorado Governor’s Office of Information Technology. Asked if that meant it would seek to withdraw its request, she replied, “We are looking into our available options.”- Paul Kirby, paul.kirby@wolterskluwer.com

Courtesy TRDaily