The Association of Public Safety Communications Officials is “discouraging” discussion...
The Association of Public Safety Communications Officials is “discouraging” discussion of state opt-out of FirstNet because the procedures aren’t fully developed, Chief Counsel Jeff Cohen said at a National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors annual meeting in New Orleans.…
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FirstNet’s success relies on states not opting out as well as the network containing costs and delivering the services, he said. Another challenge will be cost, said Charlotte Shared Services Director Chuck Robinson, who ran that city’s suspended public safety broadband network (CD Sept 5 p1). Cost for band 14 devices is “going to be a lot more -- and I can tell you that from personal experience,” he said. He estimated the cost is about double the cost of most current devices and that it will take many years for people to transition away from current technology. States may be able to save money through consolidation, said Ken Budka, senior director of advanced mission critical communications at Bell Labs-Alcatel Lucent. He emphasized “getting out of silos and looking into all of the assets that a state has."