FirstNet News
Last Wednesday, FirstNet held an open house to unveil its state-of-the-art FirstNet Innovation and Test Lab in Boulder, Colorado. The lab will be a “plug and play” environment in which FirstNet and its future private industry partner will test public safety features, devices, and applications (apps) before they are deployed. This testing will help reduce the time to initially field test and deploy public safety features of the FirstNet Network, including quality of service, priority, pre-emption, and other future mission-critical services and applications. The lab will also be the foundation for a future FirstNet Training/Experience Center for hands-on training, demonstration, and user evaluation of future FirstNet Network technologies and applications. Various FirstNet Board members were on hand to hear CEO Mike Poth and CTO Jeff Bratcher’s remarks at the event.
On Tuesday, FirstNet Board member Jeff Johnson gave a keynote speech at the National Fire Protection Association’s Responder Forum in Charlotte, North Carolina. His presentation focused on FirstNet and the Fire Service, and set the stage in part for the rest of the day’s discussions.
On Thursday, FirstNet participated in a panel at the 17th Annual Conference of TribalNet, an organization of Tribal IT professionals. The session touched on previous data collection efforts, how State Plan delivery will be done via the State Plans Portal, the governor’s decision, and the differences between opting in and opting out.
FirstNet is busy preparing for the Fall 2016 SPOC Meeting on Wednesday and Thursday of this week in Phoenix, Arizona. The fourth semi-annual meeting will provide a unique venue for targeted dialogue on activities and key considerations around State Plan development and delivery. This meeting structure is based on SPOC feedback, and creates planned, coordinated opportunities for individualized conversations with FirstNet leadership, staff, and subject matter experts.
This week, FirstNet will be participating in the 2016 Republican Governors Association Annual Conference in Orlando, Florida; an Early Builders Working Group Meeting in Phoenix, Arizona; the New Jersey EMS Conference in Atlantic City; a conference call of the New York State Association of Fire Chiefs; and the 2016 Texas EMS Conference in Dallas.
FirstNet posted two blog entries this past week: On Veterans Day, in appreciation of those who serve and PSAC Profile: International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP). All blog posts are available on the FirstNet blog at: www.firstnet.gov/newsroom/blog.
News from the PSAC, States and Territories
The PSAC’s Early Builders Working Group (EBWG) is meeting in person on Tuesday November 15, to introduce new project representatives to the group and discuss project updates. The EWBG will also share lessons learned and planned future events.
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.