By TJ Kennedy, FirstNet Acting General Manager

Last month while in Dallas for the LTE North America Conference, I had the opportunity to take advantage of one of the most rewarding parts of my job as Acting General Manager of the First Responder Network Authority – meeting with local public safety personnel.

Following my keynote presentation, I was able to visit with Dallas Fire-Rescue Chief Louie Bright, who leads a 2,000-person staff that serves one of most populous metropolitan areas in the country. Chief Bright, a career firefighter, has seen his share of incidents over the years and understands the need for enhanced first responder communication capabilities.

Chief Bright and I had an excellent discussion about how a nationwide public safety broadband network stands to improve communications and information sharing during fire rescue operations. We talked about how streaming video could enhance situational awareness for firefighters, which in turn should put them in a safer position to manage fire responses and ultimately save more lives and property.

I also had the opportunity to meet with Parkland Hospital Chief Trauma Surgeon and Dallas Police Department SWAT team member Alex Eastman, who presented at the 2014 Metro Cities Police Chiefs Conference last month on public health considerations for law enforcement. Alex talked with me about potential benefits of the network and current communications and information sharing challenges that he has seen in the medical and law enforcement environments.

The meetings capped off a productive trip to Dallas, and I look forward to future opportunities to visit with additional public safety stakeholders from the Lone Star State and other states and territories. In fact, almost every day someone on the FirstNet team is participating in a dialogue with state and local public safety officials. Last week, for example, members of our consultation team met with public safety officials in California, North Carolina, Iowa, and South Carolina, in addition to Texas.

I also welcome and encourage public safety professionals to visit FirstNet headquarters when they are in the Washington, DC-metropolitan area. Just recently we enjoyed a visit by Hawaii Statewide Interoperability Coordinator Victoria Garcia and Delores Cook from the Hawaii Civil Defense Agency. If you are interested, please contact our main office at 703-648-4146 or info@firstnet.gov.

Thanks,
TJ