FirstNet likely will require more than the $7 billion the...
FirstNet likely will require more than the $7 billion the federal government has committed to the network, NTIA and other officials acknowledged at a NARUC conference panel in Portland, Ore., late Monday. Seven billion dollars is “probably not” enough investment…
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to kickstart the public safety network, said NTIA Acting Chief of Staff Angela Simpson. Others agreed, including Jeff Cohen, Association of Public Safety Communications Officials counsel and architect of the February FirstNet law, and Jackie McCarthy, CTIA director of state regulatory affairs. “Public safety had asked for a lot more” money initially, Cohen said. The $7 billion is “definitely” not enough and “it necessitates cooperation of all the stakeholders at this table,” McCarthy said. The panelists agreed that funding will need to come from FirstNet partnerships, “usable applications,” reasonable cost models and potentially fees and other ways to build the interoperable system in a financially viable way. The panel’s topics focused on why utilities and public safety will need to work together on the 700 MHz spectrum.