06/08/15
FirstNet Outreach Phase 1 Milestone
Wednesday we will be joined by Governor Terry Branstad, the Department of Public Safety, the commissioner, and men and women in uniform of the Iowa Statewide Interoperability Communications System Board (ISICSB) to celebrate a FirstNet milestone.
06/04/15
FirstNet Experiences Seamless Multi-Network Connectivity for Public Safety and Commercial LTE Networks
Sierra Wireless is the first to provide a seamless multi-network connectivity for FirstNet and commercial LTE networks. Band 14 networks are deployed in select areas of the U.S. and provide the ability to seamlessly switch between the dedicated public safety network and commercial network. The ability to transition is necessary to maintain connectivity and ensure that first responders can do their jobs safely.
05/27/15
FirstNet: Who Will Pay
Industry Day, held in Virginia on May 15, shed some light on the financial challenges that FirstNet is facing. John Quinlan, FirstNet’s deputy chief financial officer for strategic planning said in a release, “We do think [financial sustainability is] achievable, because we have significant assets at our disposal.
05/20/15
FirstNet Holds Industry Day
The first “Industry Day” for FirstNet (the First Responder Network Authority) was held last week with more than 425 in attendance in person or via webcast.
05/13/15
FirstNet: Why We Need It
An outage in Arizona demonstrates the dire need for a public service network like FirstNet. For about 15 hours no one could “access the Internet, call 911, use cellular devices, pay with credit cards or get cash from ATMs.” These may sound like an inconvenience to some, but to others who are experiencing a medical emergency or worse, it can mean life or death.
05/06/15
FirstNet: RFP Draft is Released
An article from GCN announces that FirstNet has released a draft of its request for proposal (RFP). FirstNet wanted to release the draft documents to give maximum opportunity for input for the final RFP. The final RFP is scheduled to be issued later this year.
04/29/15
FirstNet holds First State Point of Contact Meeting
In an article from Bill Schrier, a FirstNet State Point of Contact (SPOC), Schrier gives his impressions from the FirstNet SPOC first meeting.
04/22/15
FirstNet: Addressing Hurdles
In an article written by Joe Boucher, Chief Technology Officer at Mutualink, Boucher address three hurdles for FirstNet to overcome in order to make an effective public safety broadband network. He then provides several tactical approaches to solving these problems.
View Boucher’s thoughts in this Urgent Communications article.
04/15/15
FirstNet: This is National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week
Since 1994, the second full week of April has been considered National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week. This week is dedicated to the men and women who answer the phones and help you at your most helpless time, when you call 911.
04/08/15
FirstNet Public Safety Advisory Committee Builds Working Relationships with Tribal Representatives
In late February, the FirstNet Public Safety Advisory Committee (PSAC) met with tribal representatives for the first Tribal Working Group (TWG) meeting. The group’s goals are to ensure “full participation by federally recognized tribes in the nationwide public safety broadband network (NPSBN)” according to a FirstNet blog post.
