FirstNet News

NTIA Reports: FirstNet Board Leaders Announce Plans to Retire

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Today, FirstNet Board Chair Sue Swenson and Vice Chair Jeffrey Johnson notified Assistant Secretary of Commerce David Redl of their resignation from the FirstNet board. Formal letters of resignation have been submitted to U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross.

The Secretary of Commerce is responsible for appointing the 12 non-permanent members of the FirstNet board, which includes 15 voting members. The other three seats are filled by the Attorney General, the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget. In addition, the Secretary of Commerce appoints the board chair, while the board chair selects the vice chair. Swenson’s term as board chair expires today, and Johnson is stepping down from his vice chair role, also effective today. Swenson and Johnson served two years of their 2016 three-year appointments.

“Secretary Ross and I are grateful for the leadership that Sue Swenson and Jeff Johnson demonstrated in leading FirstNet from a true startup to nationwide deployment,” said Redl. “We are deeply appreciative of their commitment to public safety and service to their country. The Department and FirstNet have identified talented, experienced candidates for the FirstNet board that will carry on Sue and Jeff’s good work. We look forward to announcing those appointments later this year.”

In April, NTIA issued a notice to recruit candidates to replace board members whose terms were ending and received responses from a wide range of qualified applicants. With today’s resignations, there will be seven seats to fill. The board’s next quarterly meeting is in December.

“It has been an honor and a privilege to serve public safety over the past six years. Having accomplished what Chief Johnson and I set out to do back in 2012 with the deployment of the Nationwide Public Safety Broadband Network (NPSBN) across all 56 states and territories with AT&T, it seems like the right time to transition,” Swenson said. “We remain committed to the FirstNet mission and will seek ways to continue our support of FirstNet in the years following our service.”

“It was a privilege to serve with Sue and represent the fire service community on the FirstNet board,” Johnson said. “I am confident that FirstNet will continue to succeed as it pursues its mission of providing a dedicated broadband network for every first responder in the country.”

Swenson, Johnson Resign From FirstNet Board

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First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) Chairwoman Sue Swenson and Vice Chairman Jeff Johnson resigned from the FirstNet board today, as Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross prepares to appoint a new board chair. Ms. Swenson and Mr. Johnson, who were inaugural board members who sat on the board since FirstNet was created in 2012, had one year remaining until they would have been forced to leave the board due to term limits.

Ms. Swenson’s tenure leading the board ended today, as she was term-limited from continuing after having served two, two-year terms as chairwoman. The board chair names the vice chair. Mr. Johnson had served as vice chairman since 2014, replacing Ms. Swenson in that position after she was promoted to chairwoman.

“It has been an honor and a privilege to serve public safety over the past six years. Having accomplished what Chief Johnson and I set out to do back in 2012 with the deployment of the Nationwide Public Safety Broadband Network (NPSBN) across all 56 states and territories with AT&T, it seems like the right time to transition,” Ms. Swenson said in a statement. “We remain committed to the FirstNet mission and will seek ways to continue our support of FirstNet in the years following our service.”

“It was a privilege to serve with Sue and represent the fire service community on the FirstNet board,” Mr. Johnson said. “I am confident that FirstNet will continue to succeed as it pursues its mission of providing a dedicated broadband network for every first responder in the country.” Continue reading →

Andy Seybold’s Public Safety Advocate, August 15, 2018

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FirstNet the Authority and More.  With AT&T beating every due date, dealing with its coverage issues head-on, and deploying Band 14 ahead of schedule, not to mention certifying new FirstNet-approved devices, sometimes we forget FirstNet is the most important public/private partnership this nation has ever seen. When Congress formed FirstNet in 2012, it became an independent authority under the auspices of the National Telecommunications and Information Association (NTIA), which is a part of the Department of Commerce. FirstNet the Authority, as it has become known, was responsible for putting together the FirstNet request for proposal, distributing it, and making the award. Even with the delays caused by others, it shepherded the request through to a successful conclusion and awarded the FirstNet contract to AT&T.

Since then, the focus for public safety has been on FirstNet (Built by AT&T) and not so much on FirstNet the Authority although it continues to play many important roles going forward including being the final authority on how well AT&T is doing against the deliverables established both in the RFP and in the final contract. FirstNet the Authority still has a large staff of qualified people working with federal, state, and local agencies to ensure they fully understand the importance of joining FirstNet (Built by AT&T) and how to go about it. It is the checks and balances organization that, if AT&T strays from the goals set up in the contract (which to my knowledge it has not done) FirstNet the Authority has the clout to ensure AT&T gets back on track.

It is easy to see exactly how engaged both FirstNet the Authority and its board of directors have remained throughout the process. Its last meeting was held August 13, 2018, after the APCO show. Each committee reported to the board on activity that impacts FirstNet. Fiscal highlights for 2018 include that AT&T earned a sustainability payment of $5.5 billion, and the Authority was once again given a clean bill of health by the Inspector General (IG) in his report. This makes five years in a row the IG passed the Authority with high marks. Furthermore, the finance committee reported it met the financial requirements of FirstNet while staying under budget, perhaps one of a very few government-related agencies that does stick to its budget. During 2019, it appears as though funds will be made available for independent validation and verification of the public safety network coverage, which is an important task.  Read the Entire Post Here. Continue reading →

FirstNet Board Approves FY 2019 Budget

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The First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) board today approved a $240 million budget for fiscal year 2019, which includes $81 million for program and administrative operations, $81 million for a new reserve fund, and $78 million for a new reinvestment in network enhancements account.

The operational budget is on an obligations basis and includes a 10% reallocation allowance, while the reinvestment budget is also on an obligations basis and will also include any additional sources of funds for FY 2019, which begins Oct. 1. The FY 2019 operations budget projects $76.5 million in expenses.

FirstNet officials stressed during a meeting, which was held via teleconference and Webex, that FirstNet operations will not be impacted if the government shuts downs due to a lapse in congressional appropriations because it does not rely on annual appropriations.  FY 2019 will be the first year that FirstNet will be funded by payments from its network partner, AT&T.

FirstNet Chief Financial Officer Kim Farington said that FirstNet staff will conduct an analysis and prepare recommendations to the board for use of the reinvestment funds. FirstNet Chief Executive Officer Mike Poth said the target is for him to present the board a reinvestment plan during FY 2019, saying that it will be developed with input from the public safety community.

“While we have a budget, we’re evolving from a planning organization to an operating organization,” board Chairwoman Sue Swenson said, adding that discussion will continue on the best way to use the authority’s funding. Continue reading →

Andy Seybold’s Public Safety Advocate, August 9, 2018

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APCO and FirstNet.  The busiest booth at the APCO conference in Las Vegas was by far the FirstNet booth. There was plenty of great activity on the show floor, but the exhibit area was smaller than in previous years simply because APCO has changed over the 30-plus years I have been a member. It is now much more of a dispatch/PSAP-focused organization. To be sure, those who run and work in Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs) and dispatch centers are vital to the world of public safety, but APCO’s roots were broadly based on communications in the field, from the dispatch center out.

Both the exhibit floor and the comments I heard while walking it reflect this change. Yes, Motorola, Harris, JVCKenwood/EFJohnson, and Icom were still there with their booths and products but many of the Land Mobile Radio (LMR) vendor companies are no longer showing their wares at APCO. FirstNet and companies that are FirstNet partners were there in place of these vendors. In the FirstNet booth there were demonstrations from Sonim, Sierra Wireless, Cradlepoint, ESChat, RapidDeploy, and more. Time and time again those who were exhibiting told me they did not think anyone walking the floor had purchase decision-making authority.

Unlike in the past, there were only a few tower, antenna, and LMR-associated companies. Several times I was asked why the National Emergency Number Association (NENA), the 911 organization, and APCO don’t simply merge and be done with it. APCO has changed and if it was not for FirstNet as a major sponsor, I am not sure the show could survive. The focus of APCO is now more dispatch and PSAP-oriented but I was not blown away by Next-Generation 9-1-1 (NG911) vendors on the show floor either. NG911 is the next big thing to happen to public safety communications after FirstNet. In reality, the two should have been planned and executed together since both NG911 and FirstNet are based on broadband technologies. However, the feds only saw fit to dribble out a little funding to NG911 and many of the states are still skimming 911 revenue off for their own, non-911 use. Read the Entire Post Here. Continue reading →

Correction: Verizon Fires Back at AT&T Criticism of Safety Offering

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A story in August 8’s TR Daily misquoted Mike Maiorana, senior vice president–public sector for Verizon Enterprise Solutions, as saying that AT&T, Inc.’s public safety business has increased since it was awarded the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) contract. He said Verizon’s public safety business has increased since that time.

Courtesy TRDaily

Verizon Fires Back at AT&T Criticism of Public Safety Offering

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LAS VEGAS — Verizon Communications, Inc., fired back today at AT&T, Inc.’s suggestion that Verizon was “misleading public safety” in its description of Verizon’s public safety broadband offering. Verizon also suggested that AT&T is being “inconsistent” because it criticizes Verizon’s virtual public safety core while touting the benefits of virtual network functions elsewhere.

During an interview with TR Daily this morning at the APCO 2018 show here, Mike Maiorana, senior vice president–public sector for Verizon Enterprise Solutions, responded to comments that an AT&T executive made in an interview with TR Daily earlier this week.

During the earlier interview, Chris Sambar, SVP-FirstNet for AT&T, which is the First Responder Network Authority’s (FirstNet) network partner, suggested that there are “inconsistencies” concerning how Verizon sells its public safety offering, for which it has built a virtual public safety core (TR Daily, Aug. 7).

“Verizon is purposely obfuscating the difference between a virtual and a dedicated core,” he said. He said that while AT&T offers “always-on preemption,” public safety entities have told AT&T that Verizon has said its preemption involves wireless priority service (WPS), which is a voice offering, and at times has said preemption is offered today while other times has said it would be offered later this year.

“I don’t understand why they are misleading public safety,” Mr. Sambar added. “We’re being very clear about what we’re offering.”

“I think it’s disappointing that AT&T needs to disparage Verizon’s messaging in the marketplace and question our integrity in how we serve our customers,” Mr. Maiorana said today. “This is a segment that builds trust and buys services based on long-standing performance. It’s not a customer segment that buys on promises of the future or marketing rhetoric. So we have a long-standing history at Verizon of leading in this customer segment.” Continue reading →

FirstNet Users Describe Benefits of Network

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LAS VEGAS — Subscribers to the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) network being built by AT&T, Inc., stressed the benefits of the system during a session this afternoon at the APCO 2018 show here.

Since May, FirstNet has been used for events such as active shooters, floods, search and recovery missions, tornadoes, wildfires, and a huge boat race, said Ray Lehr, a FirstNet consultant and former public safety official for the city of Baltimore and the state of Maryland.

Todd Early, director of the Public Safety Communications Service in the Texas Department of Public Safety, said FirstNet resources have been deployed for five events such as wildfires and mass shootings at a school and church. The network allows personnel in his department to be “proactive” rather than “reactive,” he said, enabling it to assess what coverage is available before first responders even arrive.

“It’s sped up what’s needed in those areas quite tremendously,” he said. He emphasized the benefit of priority service for first responders. He said his agency has 12,000 to 13,000 FirstNet devices. Continue reading →

FirstNet Shifts to Engaging Individual Agencies

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LAS VEGAS — The First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) plans to continue to engage public safety stakeholders as AT&T, Inc., works on building out the nationwide public safety broadband network, but FirstNet is setting its sights on consulting directly with individual agencies, David Buchanan, FirstNet’s executive director-public safety advocacy, said during a session this morning at the APCO 2018 show here.

He noted that the pivot represents a large task given the 60,000 public safety agencies in the U.S.

FirstNet wants to capture the inputs from agencies and forward them to AT&T to ensure that the network continues to meet the needs of its users, he said. The goal is to help agencies “optimize FirstNet inside their agencies,” he said.

Since June 20, FirstNet has had more than 115 engagements attended by more than 1,500 stakeholders, said Mr. Buchanan, adding that FirstNet believes there is “a strong craving from public safety” to hear from FirstNet.

He mentioned that upcoming agency engagements are scheduled in Richmond, Va., Guam, and Minnesota.

FirstNet has developed an agency engagement workshop program that includes an agency operations and technology workshop, a data capture workshop, a products and services workshop, and after-action review engagement. It also has launched a podcast to get the word out, he said.

Asked what types of questions he hears from stakeholders, Mr. Buchanan said, “I think we caught a lot of people by surprise,” adding that some were not ready for the network and others were still not familiar with it. He said among the issues for workshops and other discussions are local control and priority service levels. —Paul Kirby, paul.kirby@wolterskluwer.com

Courtesy TRDaily

Verizon Executive Touts Offering, Takes Shot at AT&T

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LAS VEGAS — A Verizon Communications, Inc., executive today touted his company’s public safety broadband offering, which is competing with the service being offered by AT&T, Inc., which is building the nationwide public safety broadband network for the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet).

During a session this afternoon at the APCO 2018 show here, Michael Maiorana, senior vice president–public sector for Verizon Enterprise Solutions, repeatedly suggested that Verizon offers the coverage, performance, reliability, and sustainability that the public safety community wants. He also touted Verizon’s historical dominant share of the public safety market and its decades in working with that sector.

“I am a promoter of FirstNet,” Mr. Maiorana said, adding that it “has helped raise the bar” on serving the public safety community.

“FirstNet is not a mandatory program. AT&T has to earn your business. Verizon has to earn your business,” he noted, adding that public safety would benefit with Verizon’s innovation and service and probably its superior pricing.

He also said Verizon has a 450,000-square-mile coverage advantage over the next carrier, adding of AT&T, “They’ll never catch up.”

“If you don’t have coverage, you’ve got a brick in your hand,” he said. “All of these innovation services are really only as good as the network they are on.”

Mr. Maiorana also noted that Verizon has pushed for his company to be permitted to be interoperable with AT&T’s FirstNet network, saying it is possible because both carriers have systems built on 3GPP standards, which he said is “a pathway to true interoperability.”  That would allow subscribers to both carriers to communicate via push-to-talk (PTT) and to be recognized at the same priority levels. FirstNet and AT&T oppose allowing core-to-core interoperability. Continue reading →