FirstNet News

FirstNet participated last week in the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) Annual Conference in San Diego, California. FirstNet Board Chair Sue Swenson, Board members Chris Burbank and Rich Stanek, and President TJ Kennedy led and presented at workshops and committee meetings, speaking on the progress of FirstNet and answering many questions. Sue Swenson also addressed the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) town hall on Sunday, which was held concurrently with the IACP Conference.

FirstNet has completed 44 State Governance Body Consultation Meetings with a meeting in Connecticut last week. On Tuesday, FirstNet met with the Connecticut Public Safety State Interoperability Executive Committee in Hartford. Most of the discussion revolved around the current timeline for a network partnership, State Plan presentation, and deployment of the FirstNet network.

On Thursday, FirstNet met with the Florida Sheriffs Association’s leadership in Tallahassee to discuss the state’s data collection efforts and how the association can help educate the 67 sheriffs’ departments across the state on FirstNet. In addition, the team provided a FirstNet overview to the Tallahassee Fire Rescue Department and fielded questions from the firefighters and medics on how the FirstNet Network will help them do their jobs.

FirstNet was also in Lincoln, Nebraska last week attending a Wednesday meeting of the Nebraska Public Safety Broadband Working Group. FirstNet provided an update on FirstNet and the timing of FirstNet’s network partner selection.

This week, FirstNet will be participating in the Nebraska APCO/NENA Conference – 9-1-1 Goes to Lincoln in Lincoln; a National Association of State 9-1-1 Administrators meeting in Kansas City, Missouri; the Virginia Governance Body Meeting in Roanoke; the Virginia APCO/NENA Interoperability Conference in Roanoke; the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials Special Committee on Wireless Communication Technology Annual Meeting in Tampa, Florida; the Tennessee Highway Safety and Operations Conference in Nashville; the California Fire Chiefs Association Annual Conference in Sacramento; The Oregon Fire District Directors Association Conference in Bend; and Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement public meetings in Nashville (TN), Atlanta (GA), Frankfort (KY), Montgomery (AL), Morrisville (NC), Columbia (SC), and Orlando (FL).

Please remember to register for the Fall 2016 SPOC Meeting, and book your hotel before the block closes on October 26.

FirstNet posted two blog entries this past week: Dedicated Broadband Plays Key Role in Emergency Management and Broadening Consultation in the Big Sky State. All blog posts are available on the FirstNet blog at: www.firstnet.gov/newsroom/blog.

 Media Watch

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Government Technology 10/19: Need for FirstNet Greater Than Ever, First Responders Say

http://www.govtech.com/public-safety/Need-for-FirstNet-Greater-Than-Ever-First-Responders-Say.html

The government organization charged with building the nation’s first high-speed data network for first responders says it will make its first contract award soon. It will likely happen in November, although no firm date is set. With an award on the $7 billion First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) program potentially just weeks away, first responders say that despite years of planning, they still have more questions than answers when it comes to the future LTE communications backbone.

Fire Chief 10/20: Inside Look: Fire, emergency responders test FirstNet

http://www.firechief.com/2016/10/20/inside-look-fire-emergency-responders-test-firstnet/

Public safety providers in central Ohio had the chance to experience the future of broadband for managing emergency incidents. Using a dedicated public safety 700 MHz LTE broadband network — FirstNet — constructed exclusively for this event, public safety personnel from fire, law enforcement, EMS, public safety telecommunications and other agencies came together to learn what a dedicated high-speed data [network] will mean for public safety agencies in the United States.

Web and Social Media

FirstNet’s social media presence grew at the normal rate this week.  Twitter gained 23 new followers, now at 4,399.  Facebook has 470 followers.  LinkedIn now has 1,713 followers.  YouTube has 341 subscribers.