By Dave Buchanan, Director of State Consultation

FirstNet’s Initial Consultation Meeting in New York was an opportunity for FirstNet to hear from dozens of state and local public safety personnel about key issues related to the build-out of the nationwide public safety broadband network (NPSBN) in their communities. With dense urban areas in the east and south, to suburbs moving west, to rural conditions in central and upstate, the State of New York represents a full range of coverage needs and conditions. All of these are key considerations as we move toward developing a plan for deploying the network in the State.

Bob Barbato, who serves as New York’s single point of contact (SPOC) and the statewide interoperability coordinator (SWIC), kicked off the consultation meeting and was joined by Kevin Wisely, Deputy Commissioner of the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services. Throughout the day, we received detailed presentations from jurisdictions all over the Empire State, including Erie, Warren, and Niagara Counties, the New York State Police, and the city of Corning and the City of New York.

We spent time discussing state data collection of users and mobile data usage. Representatives of the State reported having collected data from more than 70 percent of counties and have plans to reach the rest of the state.

The New York meeting featured a number of briefings about the importance of having access to voice, video, and data services during emergencies and incidents from a variety of jurisdictions. This included a presentation by New York City personnel on a gas explosion and building collapse that took place in March of this year. A key takeaway from that presentation was how interoperable communications and data sharing can benefit first responders in the early moments of an incident.

Col. Andy Jacob from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Forest Rangers presented on a series of devastating ice storms that gripped the northeast in the late 1990’s. It was particularly interesting to hear from Col. Jacob about the State’s inter-jurisdictional response efforts and the importance of communications and coordination among police, fire and EMS with other agencies involved in response efforts, such as the departments of transportation, forestry, and utilities.

I would like to thank Bob and his team for organizing the meeting and providing FirstNet with additional information on what New York considers its top priorities as we move to implement the NPSBN. Our efforts in state consultation are an iterative process; not just a one-time meeting. We are committed to keeping the dialogue open, and we look forward to future discussions with the New York public safety community about the NPSBN.

Thanks,
-Dave