Guest Blog Post by David Buchanan, FirstNet Director of State Consultation
Tomorrow is one of the biggest sporting events of the year: the Kentucky Derby – also known as the “Run for the Roses.” What does this have to do with FirstNet and a nationwide public safety broadband network? For starters, planning for and deploying the network is going to require FirstNet to harness the horsepower from all 56 states and territories; we cannot run this race on our own.
Since delivering the Initial Consultation Package (ICP) to the states and territories on Wednesday, the FirstNet consultation team has reached out to all of the Single Points of Contact (SPOCs) to confirm receipt and answer any questions about the next steps. On behalf of everyone here at FirstNet, I would like to thank the SPOCs for their continued support and feedback.
The ICP is an important early step of the collaborative process to design and develop state plans for building the nationwide public safety broadband network. It was developed in coordination with the states and territories over several months. We received valuable input including the key areas to focus on during formal consultations. For example, we heard from many states on the need to highlight coverage areas of the network, as well as the identification of potential users. As such, these are key items in the ICP that will be addressed during consultations.
The readiness checklist in the ICP establishes a framework for how our meetings and planning sessions will evolve in the coming months. Since each state has unique needs, the checklist will help both FirstNet and the states organize and prioritize our engagements so we are addressing the most critical needs. Our goal is to schedule initial consultation meetings between July and November of this year.
The consultation and outreach teams are enthusiastic and well equipped to begin these open and collaborative discussions. As our Deputy General Manager TJ Kennedy has said, the ICP allows FirstNet and the states to “hit the ground running” when we begin the consultation process this summer.
-Dave
