Recently, FirstNet attended the Fire Department Instructors Conference (FDIC) in Indianapolis, Indiana. The event was so large it took over most of the downtown area and was housed in both the Indiana Convention Center and the Lucas Oil Stadium. 2017 was the first time FirstNet officially attended, and it was an amazing opportunity to be part of one of the largest firefighter conferences of the year. Conference attendees were from all across the country and represented all levels of the fire community, from new recruits to chiefs.
FirstNet’s Senior Advisor for Fire Services, Mike Worrell, led FirstNet’s team at FDIC. He was able to meet with conference organizers, attend several committee meetings with leaders in the fire community, and learn more about the latest technology and training techniques. As a firefighter with Phoenix Fire Department for more than 29 years, Mike truly understands the critical need for reliable communications and the FirstNet network. His experience and expertise resonated with other attendees, and he was able to give real life examples of how FirstNet will help fire services.
FirstNet also had an exhibit booth in the Lucas Oil Stadium. There, we engaged directly with attendees and updated them on the status of FirstNet. Across the board, they were well informed about FirstNet and the benefits the network will bring. FirstNet received an overwhelmingly positive response from FDIC attendees.
The attendees with whom we spoke at FDIC were interested in learning more about potential use cases for FirstNet now and in the future. Being able to use their current CAD systems through a more secure network with increased bandwidth will be an immediate benefit. Additionally, using the network to monitor fire fighters through wearables and other tools was brought up as a potential future application. Attendees were also especially pleased with our progress and partnership with AT&T. News that we expect to deliver draft state plans in June and begin Band 14 deployment at the end of the year surpassed many of their expectations.
Overall, FDIC was a great event. We were thrilled to be a part of it and hope to be back again with an even larger presence next year.
