International Association of Fire Chiefs To Testify on FirstNet

1503030058). Recently, the Congressional Research Service released a report, dated Feb. 27, on the progress of the building effort and issues for Capitol Hill to consider. Congress "may be interested in the composition of private sector partnerships formed by FirstNet and individual states, not only for their business plans but also for the inclusion of a wide variety of stakeholders,” the 26-page report said. “For example, are rural and tribal wireless carriers included as business partners? Do secondary access agreements support services that meet social goals, such as for telemedicine, or are they exclusively for commercial purposes? Is competition in providing wireless services being enhanced or hindered?” CRS also discussed the state opt-out provision and cited concern among industry observers if “many states choose to build their own radio access networks,” with costs then possibly going up as economies of scale are lost. “A state that has its plans approved by the FCC may not be able to meet stipulated requirements when its network is built; absent any action by the FCC to enforce technical requirements, the goal of seamless interoperability across all broadband systems may be jeopardized,” CRS noted. “States operating within and outside the FirstNet deployment plan may, over time, have difficulty in finding the funds to complete radio access network build-outs, leaving significant gaps in what is intended to be nationwide coverage.” Congress “may want to consider ways to ensure that FirstNet will be self-sustaining and that the states will have adequate funds to participate in FirstNet and to maintain public safety communications networks,” CRS said. A FirstNet spokesman declined comment on the report