By FirstNet CEO Mike Poth

The deadline for submitting proposals for the deployment of the Nationwide Public Safety Broadband Network (NPSBN) closed earlier today.  With that phase of the procurement now complete, we are moving into the remaining phases of the evaluation process and are well on our way to achieving our goal with the Request for Proposals (RFP): to establish a unique public-private partnership to deploy the best possible network for our shareholders – public safety.

A tremendous amount of work has gone into this effort involving both the public and private sectors, dating back to even before the release of the Special Notice and Draft RFP documents in April 2015.  At the heart of this process was a listening tour that focused on the future users of the FirstNet network:  the law enforcement officers, fire fighters, and paramedics who make our communities safe and secure.   In 2015 – a key period in our efforts – FirstNet connected with tens of thousands of public safety and private companies as we worked to gather information for the RFP, incorporate stakeholder feedback, and answer their questions.  

I’d like to highlight the public safety community for their partnership and honest feedback throughout the process.  They brought their “A” game at each step – particularly with the state consultation meetings and data collection effort – and this in turn enabled us to act as true stewards for public safety in designing an RFP to deploy their network.

I would also like to recognize the private sector for their constructive feedback on how to innovatively meet public safety’s needs through a public-private partnership with unique concepts and strategies for this acquisition.  They studied our RFP documents, provided us with key questions, participated in our Industry Days, and shared their expertise on key aspects of the network, such as security. 

All of these stakeholder groups should be commended for making public safety a top priority by providing input and feedback to the RFP.

At the same time, both the FirstNet Board and organization deserve a great deal of credit for creating opportunities for stakeholders to participate in the acquisition and responding to them at every step of the way.  We answered more than 650 questions on the draft RFP documents via the Special Notice and then, less than a year later, addressed another 400 plus questions on the RFP issued in January of this year, with the team often working late into the night and on weekends.  We also launched 13 Requests for Information (RFI) and three Public Notices to solicit feedback on a number of fundamental issues for the procurement, including the objectives and acquisition strategies.

Throughout this process, FirstNet was bolstered by the support of the Board, whose members are driven to provide the best network at the best value for public safety.  FirstNet Board Chairman Sue Swenson led this charge, helping to set and accomplish goals and benchmarks toward deployment of the network.

We are now continuing the evaluation phases of the procurement, which is outlined in Section M of the RFP. This will lead us to a contract award as soon as November of this year.

FirstNet decided to follow Federal procurement regulations for this RFP.  We did so because it sets an established, proven process for the conduct of complex procurements like this one. It also ensures that the proposal and evaluation process is fair and competitive, and provides a level playing field for all potential offerors.  The rules restrict our ability to publicly discuss source selection information during the evaluation phase.  This applies to topics such as the number of proposals and who submitted them, among other things.  Although we are an open, stakeholder driven organization, this is the only way to ensure the integrity of the procurement process.

As I have said on many occasions, the RFP does not define us.  While it is a major accomplishment, we will continue to engage with public safety to ensure there is a clear path forward for network deployment once we make an award.  Our top priorities over the next several months include continued outreach with public safety; preparing for the delivery of State Plans; assisting public safety incumbents through our spectrum relocation grant program; further developing network policies; and positioning our organization for the network partnership. 

Collectively, our efforts on those fronts will help pave the way for our partner to be successful on day one of the partnership and prepare public safety for key decisions that are coming down the pike in their states and territories.

Our pace has been and will continue to be swift.  Our timeline reflects the needs of public safety – they have long been demanding a public safety broadband network and it is overdue.  FirstNet’s mission is to provide public safety the best possible network at the best value as soon as possible.  Through the procurement, we will establish a sustainable business model that will not only achieve this goal, but will ensure the longevity and innovation of public safety’s network for years to come.

Thank you to the public safety community, local, tribal, state and territory leaders, industry, the FirstNet Board and FirstNet staff for getting us to this point.

-Mike