By Amanda Hilliard, FirstNet Director of Outreach

Consultation and state planning were the key topics of discussion at our in-person meeting with the states and territories this past week in Westminster, CO.  The two-day session, which was our second this year, was attended by 130 state, local, and tribal representatives from 51 states and territories, including dozens of state single points of contact (SPOC).  We were also pleased to be joined by members of the Public Safety Advisory Committee Executive Committee, the Tribal Working Group, two Federal Agency points of contact (POCs), and a representative from Canada.

FirstNet Chief Executive Officer Mike Poth set the tone for a productive meeting by stressing the need for an open and honest dialogue at the outset and by emphasizing the important role the SPOCs play in addressing the unique needs of their public safety communities.  FirstNet President TJ Kennedy followed with a recap of last week’s FirstNet Board meeting, including recent developments with the Request for Proposals (RFP) process.  Several FirstNet Board members also participated in the meeting and discussed key elements of the nationwide public safety broadband network (NPSBN) with attendees, including Vice Chair Jeff Johnson, Governor Jim Douglas, Sheriff Richard Stanek, Kevin McGinnis, and Neil Cox. 

I found the breakout sessions to be the most effective ways to hear from the states on their successes, challenges, and concerns with planning and deploying the NPSBN in their states.  The FirstNet team engaged in a number of productive discussions with the states about the data collection process; FirstNet’s consultation plans for 2016; and the state planning process.  Participants also discussed the State and Local Implementation Grant Program (SLIGP) with representatives from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA).  The following provides a more detailed recap of many of the panels and breakout sessions:

• “The Year Ahead – FirstNet 2016 Nationwide Engagement” – Dave Buchanan, Director of Consultation, Ed Parkinson, Director of Government Affairs, Rich Reed, Director of State Plans, and I discussed FirstNet’s approach for working with states in 2016 through consultation, outreach, and state plans.

• “2016 Consultation Overview” – Dave Buchanan and Jeremy Zollo, Deputy Director of Consultation, reviewed the initial consultation process and provided an overview of the consultation topics in 2016, the desired outcomes, and our planning approach to consultation.

• “State Plan Process for 2016 – What to Expect” – Rich Reed, Doug Harder, FirstNet State Plans Technical Liaison, and Brian Hobson, FirstNet State Plans Technical Lead, reviewed the data collection and analysis process, the timeline for draft plan development, and the incorporation of non‐acquisition elements and proposal‐specific information into a draft state plan.

• “State Plan / Data Collection Breakout Session” – This session aimed to familiarize the SPOCs with the draft state plan template and state plan elements and provide opportunities for feedback.  The states also shared successes and lessons learned with their data collection submissions and discussed next steps with Brian Hobson and Rich Reed.

• “Technical Updates” – This panel featured a number of technology and research updates from members of the Office of the Chief Technology Officer (CTO), including their work on RAN planning, network operations, applications, devices, and standards and security for the network.

• “Regional Discussion Groups” – Provided further details on the 2016 consultation process and gathered feedback from the SPOCs on the initial consultation phase, as well as their expectations for consultation moving forward.

• “Early Builders Update” – Representatives from the Early Builders Working Group (EBWG) discussed recent developments and next steps about all five of the public safety projects.

• “Federal Engagement” – Chris Algiere, who is FirstNet’s lead for Federal outreach and consultation, discussed FirstNet’s approach to working with federal agencies through consultation and how federal data will help inform state plans.

• “Governor and Elected Officials Engagement” – Provided a forum for Board member and former Governor James Douglas, the FirstNet Government Affairs team, and state representatives to discuss the importance of engaging with the Governor’s office and other influential stakeholders and effective methods to do so.

• “Operational Architecture Overview and Feedback” – Zachary Smith, FirstNet Emergency Management Specialist, provided an overview of the Operational Architecture (OA) released by FirstNet as part of the Draft RFP documents, while attendees had an opportunity to provide feedback and review the OA functions.

• “Tribal Engagement” – Members of the PSAC Tribal Working Group and state representatives discussed ways for the states to successfully build and strengthen ties with the tribal community to plan and prepare for the NPSBN.

This is just a sample of the topics and issues discussed this week.  On behalf of the FirstNet team, I would like to thank everyone who participated in the meeting.  I was glad to see the engagement with state and territory representatives involved in FirstNet planning.  We are already looking forward to organizing future engagement opportunities like this with the states and territories, in addition to our regular teleconferences, webinars, and consultation meetings.

Thanks,

-Amanda