Getting the right procurement policies for equipment and...
Getting the right procurement policies for equipment and devices will be critical as FirstNet is built, said Brian Hendricks, Nokia Solutions and Networks technology policy head, on a panel late Monday at the Telecommunications Industry Association conference in National Harbor,…
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Md. Hendricks said last year’s spectrum law, which created FirstNet, made clear how important purchasing policies will be to the success of the network. “The law was very specific about avoiding some of the policy of the past which allowed for proprietary solutions, which puts you on a very, very shallow innovation curve and it’s very costly,” he said. “But the procurement environment itself must be one that encourages robust competition and choice.” For FirstNet to be a success, “you want as many software and equipment players coming to the table to compete for this business as you possibly can get,” he said. It isn’t clear how many carriers will participate in the network, Hendricks said. “The role we have played in our outreach to FirstNet and to government partners has been about how you can keep the cost down and part of that, we believe, fundamentally, is having as many people participating bringing infrastructure to the table as possible.” What exactly “the business model is going to be for FirstNet I think is still forming,” said Jeffrey Marks, Alcatel-Lucent senior counsel. “We want to bring as much to the table as possible, and it may be that one national carrier may not have every geographic area covered. You need utilities. You need rural carriers.” Motorola Solutions is ready to work with public safety on FirstNet, said Catherine Seidel, chief-global spectrum and regulatory policy. “Certainly there is a desire, I think by all of us, to ensure that experiences are leveraged and that public safety has the ability to use this network in a way that meets their requirements.” TIA speakers said minimizing the number of states that opt-out of FirstNet, one option under the law, is also important to success of the first responder network. “There isn’t an official process to get opt in early,” said Marks. “But to the extent that FirstNet can get states excited and motivated and signing on the dotted line to be an active participant is very important.”