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Priority Makes the Difference – FirstNet in Action

FirstNet’s advanced speeds enable the Richmond (Va.) Police Department to receive and monitor live camera and weather feeds, pull up suspect information quickly, and tie computer-aided dispatch interfaces to 911 call centers.
February 6, 2019
By Tracey Murdock, FirstNet Senior Public Safety Advisor

This article previously appeared in the Nov. 2018 issue of the IAEM Bulletin, the official newsletter of the International Association of Emergency Managers, www.iaem.com.

Imagine a mountain town of 7,000 residents welcoming 500,000 guests. That is the scenario that Sturgis, South Dakota, faces every summer in August. For 78 years, this Black Hills community has hosted the country’s largest motorcycle rally, and every year is a little different. In 2018, FirstNet debuted in the Black Hills of northwest South Dakota, and public safety experienced the difference of communicating over the FirstNet network.

FirstNet Earns its Wings at the Terre Haute Airshow

Spectators watch as jets fly by during the annual airshow in Terre Haute, Indiana. In 2018, first responders bolstered their communications by deploying FirstNet during the event.
January 31, 2019
By: John Hunt (Senior Public Safety Advisor) and Kyle Richardson (Senior Public Safety Advisor), First Responder Network Authority

Every summer, thousands of people travel to western Indiana for the Terre Haute airshow—a two-day event that features the Navy’s famous Blue Angels and other aircraft. While pilots spend months preparing to perform daring tricks in the air, public safety and state and local officials spend months preparing for the event on the ground. With several local, state, and federal first responders supporting the event, organizers for the 2018 event were looking for ways to enhance public safety communications.

Devastation from California’s Camp Fire is Solemn Reminder of Public Safety’s Sacrifice

Acting CEO Edward Parkinson joined a Western Fire Chiefs Association site visit to Paradise, Cali., a community devastated by the November 2018 Camp Fire, to learn about the response and recovery efforts of local first responders.
January 30, 2019
By Edward Parkinson, Acting CEO, First Responder Network Authority

Last week, I joined the Western Fire Chiefs Association and public safety officials for a site visit to the burn area of the Camp Fire in northern California. This trip was an opportunity for the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet Authority) to learn about the public safety response to the fires that devastated Paradise, California—a town of 27,000 residents in the foothills East of Chico—directly from those fire chiefs and other first responders who were on the ground during the wildfire.

Mission-Critical Features Move Forward During Latest Standards Meetings

The FirstNet Authority participated in the December 2018 quarterly Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) meetings in Sorrento, Italy, which addressed standards in several areas relevant to mission-critical broadband in three separate plenary group meetings.
January 29, 2019
By Dean Prochaska

This blog is a repost from MissionCritical Communications Viewpoint, originally published on January 4, 2019

The December 2018 quarterly Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) meetings in Sorrento, Italy, addressed standards in several areas relevant to mission-critical broadband in three separate plenary group meetings.

A New Era of Situational Awareness

FirstNet's always-on connection is helping to feed mobile command centers with real-time data from digital technology like connected drones, digital mapping applications, or images taken by smartphones and sent by field personnel.
January 24, 2019
By Charles Murph, First Responder Network Authority Senior Public Safety Advisor

With FirstNet available throughout the United States, emergency managers have greater access to real-time information than ever before. Charles Murph says that now is the time to think about how to manage the ever-larger volumes of data that will ensue.

This blog is a repost from the December 2018 edition of Crisis Response Journal (Volume 14, Issue 1).

FirstNet pushes through the crowd at Las Vegas’ Life is Beautiful Music and Art Festival

During the 2018 Life is Beautiful Music and Art Festival, the City of Las Vegas Fire and Rescue used FirstNet to enhance its emergency communications, gaining access to an application for push-to-talk capabilities and multidiscipline talk groups to support interoperability between the agency and other area first responders.
January 23, 2019
By Mike Worrell, FirstNet Senior Fire Service Advisor

When the Life is Beautiful Music and Art Festival debuted in 2013, the home grown music festival catered mostly to residents in local and surrounding areas. Since that inaugural event six years ago, the three-day festival in September 2018 attracted 180,000 visitors from all 50 states and 24 countries...

Data sharing, cost savings incentivize Local EMS to adopt FirstNet

FirstNet Authority Senior EMS Advisor speaks with Dr. Paul Zeeb, Medical Director for the Metropolitan Emergency Communications Consortium in Central Ohio, and Plain Township (OH) Assistant Fire Chief Jack Rupp about the benefits of FirstNet for EMS.
January 16, 2019
By Brent Williams, Senior EMS Advisor, First Responder Network Authority

FirstNet is making its mark across the country and as I meet with emergency medical services professionals, I’m pleased to hear their feedback on the initial benefits of having their own dedicated network. With more than 5,250 public safety agencies currently subscribed...

FirstNet at CES 2019: Spotlight on Technology for Building Community Resiliency

FirstNet CES 2019: Las Vegas, NV l January 8-12. Visit us at Booth #1201 Westgate in the CES Smart Cities – Resiliency Exhibit Hall.
January 4, 2019

First responders know all too well that emergencies and natural disasters can strike at any time. In 2018, communities across the nation were hit particularly hard – from Hurricanes Florence and Michael on the East Coast, to massive and destructive wildfires on the West Coast.

Remembering Ed Reynolds, a FirstNet Pioneer

Ed Reynolds served on the FirstNet Board from its inception in 2012 until 2018. He was inducted into the Wireless Hall of Fame in 2018.
January 4, 2019
By Edward Parkinson, Acting CEO


The First Responder Network Authority team is deeply saddened to hear of the passing of former Board member Ed Reynolds on New Year’s Day.  Ed was inducted into the Wireless Hall of Fame just a few months ago after an accomplished career in wireless technology spanning several decades.

FirstNet Authority’s Technology and Innovation Team Gains First-Hand Experience with Local Boulder, CO Fire Department

Firefighters brought an attack engine to the FirstNet Lab to give staff an opportunity to get hands-on with fire gear, equipment, and tools.
December 17, 2018
By Barry Leitch, Senior Device Engineer and Gigy Mammarappallil, Device Team Lead

Boulder Mountain Fire Protection District (BMFPD) is a volunteer fire department that serves an area in the mountainous Front Range area just west of Boulder, Colorado.  Recently, a team of four BMFPD firefighters brought an attack engine to the FirstNet Authority offices in Boulder. 

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