No FirstNet Plans Without State and Local Input, Board Members Assure Officials
"There is no business plan -- there is research,” said FirstNet board member Jeff Johnson, CEO of the Western Fire Chiefs Association and FirstNet’s head of outreach, referring to more than 400 pages of FirstNet material cited at a recent board meeting. “But there is no plan until we've listened to you.”
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Bureaucratic imperfections have created challenges, such as the degree to which FirstNet has consulted its Public Safety Advisory Committee, said Johnson. Lack of PSAC consultation created controversy recently (CD May 1 p3). “We've got some challenges with our PSAC,” Johnson acknowledged, but pointed out that the PSAC was designated “a representative board” and thus is “not a direct extension of the federal government.” Some FirstNet information can’t be shared outside the federal government, one of the “legal obstacles” which limits how the board can share information and collaborate with the committee, Johnson said. His email inbox is full of exchanges devoted to improving this sharing, he said: “I am very optimistic that we'll get more efficient at it.” He and other board members disagreed with a tabled resolution introduced by fellow board member Paul Fitzgerald, but FirstNet has promised a review of its concerns -- which claim a lack of transparency and public safety consultation -- and the review results “will be made public,” he added.
Other factors aren’t completely aligned with the FirstNet legislation as it passed last year, Johnson said. The legislation “is awesome, but it’s not perfect,” he said, saying it’s not “precisely aligned” with the FirstNet implementation grants that NTIA is issuing as well or with NTIA’s $4 billion broadband stimulus grant program.
"It’s an opportunity for you to speak directly to FirstNet,” NGA Center for Best Practices Homeland Security and Public Safety Division Director Thomas MacLellan told the gathered chief information officers and other state officials from the Mid-Atlantic states and territories. He urged them to consider “common challenges” as the ideas about the network evolve. “You may see our messages and what we say evolve over time,” Johnson said. “We're learning. And I think we're going to learn together.” FirstNet calls for a “concurrent process” of action with “lots of moving parts” rather than the “serial process” that some may be looking for, he said.
The two-day workshop in Arlington, Va., included representatives of Delaware, the District of Columbia, Kentucky, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Virginia and West Virginia. Budgets constrained the workshop’s refreshments, which consisted of water alone, MacLellan said with an apology. “We'd frankly like to have twice-as-big teams here,” he said. “We'd like to be bigger, but we can’t.” The event featured multiple panel discussions with board members, breakout sessions and opportunities for the different attendees to talk with one another. FirstNet General Manager Bill D'Agostino and board member Charles Dowd also attended the workshop.
The workshop discussions included a breakdown of potential network details and how FirstNet views device cost. “You better find it attractive enough to buy it or we fail. Fair?” Johnson asked of attendees. The network has the potential to serve as “a force multiplier,” with a score that “should dramatically have a downward pressure on the price” of devices, he said. But Johnson stressed the unknowns of the process. “I hope to be brave enough -- it’s not chief-like -- to say I don’t know,” he said of costs. “There’s so much we do not know.”
FirstNet anticipates a “three in one” approach now, said board member Craig Farrill, former chief technology officer at AirTouch. He said that approach would utilize terrestrial, satellite and deployable communications technology. The proven, next-generation technology is 4G LTE, which is “being adopted as the standard for public safety,” Johnson said. The network is currently estimated to need about 35,000 sites to cover 99.6 percent of the population and the nation’s highways, Farrill said, an estimate of 3.8 million square miles. Terrain ruggedness will affect radio propagation, and wind levels and seismic activity will influence how FirstNet goes about hardening the network, he said. FirstNet will have to figure out the best ways to achieve public safety-grade hardening and will need to secure the network against any cyberthreats: “This cannot be a network that gets hacked.” He described five pieces to the hardening: coverage, reliability, levels of backup, emergency communications and group communications. The network is likely to have “enormous capacity” and be saved from some congestion problems by dynamic priority access technology, he said.
FirstNet board members expressed their desire to collaborate with state and local entities. “Jeff and I have been looking forward to this day for about five months now,” said Farrill. He laid out FirstNet’s thinking about the network but emphasized “we're going to be talking about concepts today, not decisions.” Farrill called for alliances rather than “cheap” criticism: “There are a lot of critics in the world.” Johnson stressed that “our goal is to continue to consult” with state and local entities in what he called “an ongoing process.” Both board members compared and contrasted perceptions versus realities with the network. They stressed that local officials would manage the network and that it would be likely to augment, rather than replace, land mobile radio for years to come. Revenue from the network will go toward FirstNet, not serve as a revenue opportunity for states. “We couldn’t do it without you,” Johnson said, calling for “frank talk” and “directness.”
FirstNet will begin data collection later this year as states start receiving implementation grants in mid-summer, board members said. FirstNet plans to send out 17 different requests for information on different subject areas, Farrill said. The regional meetings will continue for the next month and a half, followed by individual state visits starting in June.