Lisa Leahy is the Maine single point of contact (SPOC) for FirstNet. She brings several years of experience working on the NTIA State Broadband Initiative (SBI) grant program and working directly for Maine’s Chief Information Officer as a project manager, eGov services specialist, and manager of policy and legislative affairs and principal consultant. Lisa talks about her approach to conducting statewide outreach and education regarding FirstNet in the state of Maine.

Tell us about your background – both private and public sector experiences and how they are helping you with planning for the nationwide public safety broadband network in Maine?

I am the Associate Executive Director of the ConnectME Authority, a unit of Maine state government responsible for expanding broadband access and adoption. Our statutory obligations (below) and the work we have done since 2007 fit perfectly with the goals of FirstNet:

• Maximize federal grant resources and private investment opportunities to support the deployment of broadband infrastructure;
• Prioritize the use of state broadband resources to assist private infrastructure deployment;
• Increase the number of subscribers to broadband services in the State of Maine;
• Monitor wireless coverage in areas where the authority determines the quality of coverage is inadequate;
• Identify opportunities for coordination among providers, consumers and state and local governmental entities, including coordination with the statewide emergency radio network; and
• Create and facilitate public awareness and education programs to encourage the use of broadband service.

For the last five years I have been a project lead on the NTIA SBI grant program, managing four projects encompassing broadband mapping, planning, technical assistance and capacity building.

What communications challenges does public safety in Maine currently face? Cross-border?

Maine is the most rural state in the nation.

• 97% of land mass rural (nearly 90% forested); 2.8% urban
• 61% of population living in rural areas

International & maritime borders (jurisdictional boundaries)

• 611 miles of international boundary with Canada (bilingual); 25 land border crossings
• 3,500 miles of coastline; 3,166 coastal islands

Vulnerable populations

• Elderly; oldest state in the nation (median age)
• Low income; highest poverty rate in New England

Critical Infrastructure

• Roads (20,000 mi; 6 interstates), rail (1,000 mi), rivers (32,000 mi)
• Ports of entry (18); Cargo ports (5)
• Bangor International Airport – diverted international flights
• Park lands (1 national: 35,000 acres; 34 state: 542k acres)
• Backcountry: Interconnected Trail System (ITS) snowmobile/All Terrain Vehicle (ATV) (14,00 mi); Appalachian Trail hiking (281 mi)

Geographic/weather related hazards

• Flooding (seasonal rainfall, snowmelt)
• Fires (forest & urban); ice storms (1998)
• Hurricanes (4 out of the nation’s 25 deadliest)

Tourism & special events

• 34 million visitors annually – cruise ships; tourist destinations
• Lobster Festival, Common Ground Fair, American Folk Festival

Do you see the need for advanced capabilities for public safety?

As with many rural states, Maine has a desire for advanced capabilities. Mountainous terrain, forested landscape and large areas of remote locations beg for increased first responder communication assets. Areas of our state can take hours to reach and access. Maine has a large population of visitors who seek to travel to those locations to enjoy our scenic offerings and “off the grid” lifestyle.

What are some of the technological, strategic, tactical, and cultural changes in mission-critical communications that are currently, and will continue to be, faced by public safety?

The largest challenge faced by public safety in regard to changes in communications is being able to stay current when working in a budget-constrained environment, and the impact that has on the acquisition of new technology. This challenge is exacerbated by implementing education/adoption efforts, while keeping interoperability between multiple platforms on pace.

What kind of strides have you seen towards interoperability and where are there still challenges?

A unified statewide Land Mobile Radio network for law enforcement, public safety, and public service agencies (Public Safety LMR) was recently launched in Maine. Maine plans to engage the Maine Interoperable Communications Committee (MICC), comprised of public safety stakeholders from state, county, local, tribal and healthcare entities that provided oversight of the Public Safety LMR. Maine hopes to continue to build broadband interoperability across our already substantial investments in Land Mobile Radio and E911 infrastructure.

Conducting outreach across a state or territory is a key focus for planning for the FirstNet network now. What are some of the most important lessons learned and best practices in your state?

In our past outreach efforts, we have found that a New England focus is very successful. Geographically, we can drive a few hours or less to meet with each other. We share similar terrain and have formed close relationships with our counterparts over the years. When an emergency incident hits a state in New England, it often hits many at once, so leveraging those relationships when planning is quite advantageous.

What kind of tools are you using for outreach?

We recently launched the FirstNetME website to include relevant state and FirstNet collateral, team news, project milestones, and a comprehensive events and outreach calendar. Maine is developing a full complement of branding and marketing materials including our logo, outreach/contact cards, website banner, and meeting handouts. Maine has a social media presence on Facebook, LinkedIn and an aggressive outreach schedule attending first responder meetings all around our state and New England.

How do you see public safety using mobile applications in a FirstNet environment?

I see dedicated access to a shared public safety network that allows first responders to share digital content including video, messages, maps and documents, and electronic patient data in real-time.

For more, visit Maine’s website: FirstNetME.gov