featured advocacy activity: first responder network ......2019/06/03 · civic coders are invited...
TRANSCRIPT
FIRST RESPONDER NETWORK AUTHORITY | MONDAY, JUNE 3, 2019
The Public Safety Advocacy Update comes to your inbox with a quick look at events and information you need to stay up to date with the First Responder Network Authority.
Featured Advocacy Activity: First Responder Network Authority gathers public safety input across America’s heartland
The Iowa Statewide Interoperable Communications System Board (ISICSB) hosted a Region VII User Forum in Altoona, Iowa, last week, in conjunction with the First Responder Network Authority. The event gathered key public safety agencies to hear more about the First Responder Network Authority’s Roadmap (Roadmap) and highlight latest developments and key initiatives underway across Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, and Missouri.
The First Responder Network Authority’s Executive Director of Public Safety Advocacy Dave Buchanan welcomed participants with a video showcasing the West Des Moines EMS use of the FirstNet network. Early adopter Dave Edgar, Assistant Chief for West Des Moines EMS, shared his experience communicating with FirstNet’s advanced capabilities and EMS-related apps designed to
improve patient care and response times. “Now my communications system [FirstNet] goes ocean to ocean, from Canada to Mexico and everything in between,” said Edgar about operating over the FirstNet network. “If we’re all on the same network, and singing off the same sheet of music, we can go 1000 miles away to help someone.”
Dave Buchanan next discussed how imperative public safety input is to the Roadmap, noting that “the Roadmap is an illustration of how we want to invest in the network moving forward.” With a focus on the Roadmap’s five domains – coverage and capacity, situational awareness, voice communication, secure information exchange, and the user experience, participants were given an opportunity to learn more about each of these domains in stand-alone sessions led by First Responder Network Authority staff.
In a session focused on network deployables, Randy Kerr, First Responder Network Authority Senior Product Advisor, and Steve Divine, AT&T, highlighted deployable use and discussed best practices for requesting and operating network assets. The event also featured a deployable demonstration, and public safety vehicles on display with equipment and devices connected to FirstNet.
To round out the event, First Responder Network Authority Board Vice Chair and Southern Platte Fire Protection District Chief Rich Carrizzo provided an update on the FirstNet network, emphasizing the value of capturing the operational needs of all first responders to shape the network’s future. Rich recalled the difference a FirstNet SatColt deployable made to local firefighters when coverage and capacity was boosted along the Garmin marathon racecourse in Olathe, Kansas, and when area first responders experienced the network’s prioritized and preemptive capabilities.
Overall, the forum was a huge success in engaging users around the Roadmap. The First Responder Network Authority thanks Region VII and looks forward to future collaboration and engagements to promote innovation in public safety communications technology.
Select Upcoming Public Safety Advocacy Engagements
FirstNet in Action
New FirstNet Cell Site Announced in Preston County, WV
Preston County’s first responders will soon be getting a major boost in their access to broadband communications with the addition of a new, purpose-built cell site. The site – located in Fellowsville – is part of the FirstNet network expansion taking place in West Virginia, which is bringing increased coverage, capacity, and capability to first responders across the state.
Read how the First Responder Network Authority worked hand-in-hand with West Virginia’s public safety community to understand and address their communications needs
New FirstNet Cell Site to Support Public Safety on Red Cliff Reservation and Surrounding Community
First responders serving the Red Cliff Reservation will soon be getting a major boost in their access to broadband communications with the addition of a new, purpose-built cell site. The site – located on tribal land north of the Legendary Waters Casino & Resort – is part of the FirstNet network expansion taking place in Wisconsin, which is bringing increased coverage, capacity, and capability to first responders across the state.
Read how the new FirstNet site will give Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa’s (Red Cliff) first responders access to increased network capabilities.
Annual Report Details FirstNet Progress on Public Safety’s Network
In our latest Annual Report to Congress, the First Responder Network Authority outlines the significant progress made in fiscal year (FY) 2018 to deliver on Congress’s vision of creating a truly nationwide, interoperable broadband public safety network. It was a landmark year for public safety, as the FirstNet network deployment began ahead of schedule following the decisions of all U.S. states and territories and the District of Columbia to participate in the deployment of the nationwide public safety broadband network.
Read the 2018 annual report
FirstNet in the news
Regional Coverage
New cell tower to be constructed in Red Cliff (Ashland Daily Press, May 22)
A tribe’s 15-year effort to get a cell tower installed on reservation lands will come to fruition this summer through a partnership with a nationwide wireless broadband initiative designed to increase public safety.
Pennington County Sheriff's Office joins FirstNet after using the network in Serenity Dennard searches (KOTA TV Territory ABC, SD, May 16)
After using the FirstNet communication broadband network while searching missing 9-year-old Serenity Dennard, Pennington County is officially signed up.
National Coverage
With a black SIM, first responders' calls go ahead of yours (CNET, May 23)
One of the key takeaways from the 9/11 Report was that emergency communications were a mess. You would think that was addressed long ago, but only now is a new mobile network called FirstNet arriving, along with a move toward using cellular networks as mission-critical infrastructure.
Coding challenge to strengthen emergency response (GCN, May 20)
Civic coders are invited to participate in the Tech to Protect Challenge, a national open innovation contest designed to help emergency responders protect communities nationwide.
ATT and the City of San Jose Team Up to Improve Quality of Life (IoT Evolution, May 20)
ATT and the City of San José reportedly are extending their ongoing relationship with a grant of more than a million dollars to help close the digital divide and leverage smart cities solutions to help address some of the critical issues facing the community.
AT&T sees stronger broadband, mobile revenues, with video losses slowing from 2020(Telecompaper, May 15)
The company said it also expects its FirstNet build and network quality to attract and retain customers. The company again noted that FirstNet deployment is ahead of schedule with more than 600,000 connections across more than 7,250 public safety agencies.
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