States are “critical partners” in developing FirstNet, Board Chairman Sam...
States are “critical partners” in developing FirstNet, Board Chairman Sam Ginn wrote in a Thursday letter to all 56 U.S. governors of states, territories and the District of Columbia. He wanted to formally introduce state leaders to FirstNet and its…
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priorities and summarized the initial efforts of the $7-billion national public safety network, he said. The FirstNet board is creating a committee to “lead our collaboration with states, localities, tribes and other jurisdictions,” initially guided by board member Chief Jeff Johnson, Oregon’s former state interoperability executive committee chair, according to the letter. Johnson will work with board members Wellington Webb, former Denver mayor, and Teri Takai, former chief information officer of Michigan and California, to “guide our consultation efforts pending the formal appointment of members,” Ginn said. The National Association of Attorneys General sees “potential here for both tremendous benefit and significant costs to states,” NAAG Executive Director Jim McPherson said in a notice Thursday encouraging states to pay attention to FirstNet (http://xrl.us/bnv7kb). He cautioned about FirstNet’s challenges of funding, structure and implementation and noted the FirstNet board “surprisingly does not include any current state officials.” Attorneys general will start receiving FirstNet questions from governors, legislators and money-hungry telecom firms soon, he predicted. “The potential exists for states to be left with substantial costs,” he said of concerns that current FirstNet funding is “woefully inadequate” for the task. The FirstNet board will be reaching out in “the near future” to governors for “detailed understanding” of state needs, Ginn said. The letter also describes steps states can take to prepare for NTIA’s implementation grant program and the Thursday deadline for comments on current FirstNet proposals. “You will be hearing again from us soon,” Ginn told governors.