Today, FirstNet’s Public Safety Advisory Committee (PSAC) held its second webinar of the year for the full membership. PSAC Chair Tom Sorley and the Executive Committee led the PSAC through updates on its three working groups, and current outreach and tasking efforts. FirstNet Board Chair Sue Swenson, Vice Chair Jeff Johnson, and President TJ Kennedy updated the PSAC on recent organizational successes and developments.  On the heels of completing updates to the State Plan Portal, FirstNet Chief Customer Officer Rich Reed discussed State Plans and the governor’s decision timeline and process. 

PSAC Tribal Working Group Chair Brian Howard recapped the group’s July in-person meeting in Flagstaff, Arizona, and meetings with the Navajo Nation and Tribal Interior Budget Council. Federal Working Group Chair Kraig Moise outlined the planning of an upcoming focus group meeting in El Paso, Texas, including discussion of federal public safety needs on the U.S/Mexico border. Early Builders Working Group Chair Todd Early updated the PSAC on the collection of key learning conditions by each project, and spoke about the Hurricane Harvey response and recovery efforts underway by the Harris County, Texas project.  

With the assistance of task team chair Captain Chris Lombard, Tom Sorley informed the PSAC of two briefings held with AT&T’s technical teams on past task team work on User Profiles and Public Safety Grade. The briefings included a review of the findings of each task team and discussion around items previously placed on hold for further consideration. PSAC members and leadership expressed their appreciation to AT&T for active participation and engagement with the PSAC on potential solutions to those outstanding items.  

Thank you to the PSAC members for robust attendance and participation. FirstNet sends well wishes to PSAC members still deployed and impacted by Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria, and our gratitude for their service. We look forward to seeing everybody this December in Atlanta, Georgia for our next in-person meeting!