The state decision on whether to opt out of FirstNet...
The state decision on whether to opt out of FirstNet “doesn’t happen today,” said NTIA Program Manager Laura Pettus Friday during a Broadband US TV discussion of the $7 billion national public safety network. She first described in a presentation…
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followed by a conversation with several others the FirstNet implementation grant process that’s currently receiving applications. “We've heard from almost every state, that they plan to participate,” Pettus said. She said the more than $100 million in grants is “not a lot of money” when divided up but “extremely valuable” as an upfront infusion to kick off states’ stakeholder consultation process. “The opt-out decision happens down the line.” Even if a state opts out, the network it creates will still have to fold into what will be a nationwide network either way, she added. Participants debated FirstNet’s necessary level of hardening standards, its choice of LTE, potential collaboration with utilities and other entities, the sufficiency of funding and potential controversy over what attorney and co-moderator Marty Stern of K&L Gates called “a wireless carrier-centric approach” laid out at the FirstNet board’s first meeting last fall. Alcatel-Lucent Director-Mission Critical Broadband Solutions Michael Hardiman and Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials Chief Counsel Jeff Cohen said the network will primarily be used to transfer data but could include non-mission critical voice, useful as a backup. Cohen has heard guesses from vendors that mission-critical voice may be possible in four to 12 years, he said, saying there’s reason to be optimistic but no one can know for sure. Cohen spoke highly of the FirstNet board’s initial presentations on possible network design and credited them as part of its “excellent opportunity” to solicit feedback, captured in NTIA’s fall notice of inquiry. NTIA’s Pettus underscored the “priority of stakeholders” that the FirstNet board is considering, with a focus on public safety and state, local and tribal stakeholders now. “They're all a part of the plan,” she said, referring to the limitations of FirstNet’s “skeleton staff” now.