Guest Blog Post by Edward Parkinson, FirstNet Director of Government Affairs
Today, I was honored to provide the keynote address at the Minnesota Public Safety Interoperable Communications Conference. This was the fifth year of the conference, which is sponsored by the Minnesota Department of Public Safety's Emergency Communication Networks (ECN). Attendance was excellent - the conference brings together a broad base of public safety and emergency management personnel from across the state.
The work that the ECN and its partners are doing in the communities here is critical for developing a shared understanding of the key interoperability challenges and opportunities facing Minnesota public safety agencies. The conference is also very helpful for building the partnerships and planning processes that are needed for preparing for the next generation of communications technology - including the deployment of a nationwide public safety broadband network.
In fact, it was great to hear a lot of the same themes that mirror FirstNet's philosophy about planning for the network: success will require that we work together in effective, strong, and sustainable partnerships. Planning and partnering will be especially critical for Minnesota, which has a number of coverage factors to consider given the state's geography is a mix of rural, urban, and wilderness terrain. Minnesota also shares a border with Canada, which is another important consideration for emergency communications planning purposes.
As I emphasized during my keynote presentation, FirstNet recognizes that we cannot make this network work without the support and participation of the public-safety community. That is why we have pursued a nationwide outreach campaign and will continue to work closely with all 56 states and territories to help them plan for the network. To that end, my presentation was an opportunity to explain how the initial consultation process that we will begin later this summer in Minnesota ties into planning for the network.
I appreciated the feedback I received on the presentation - the conference served as a great learning experience. In addition to talking with members of the public safety community, I also had the opportunity to speak at a panel discussion that covered a variety of interesting topics related to FirstNet.
I would like to thank the organizers for inviting FirstNet to present at the conference. We look forward to continuing to work with the state to deliver a network that will enhance how the public safety community responds to disasters and operates on a daily basis in Minnesota.
- Ed
