By Dave Buchanan, FirstNet Director of State Consultation

FirstNet conducted its sixth initial consultation meeting last week, this time with the State of Utah. More than 30 State and local stakeholders gathered in Salt Lake City on November 6th to discuss their unique communications needs in planning for the public safety broadband network in the state.

Steve Proctor, who is Utah’s single point of contact (SPOC) for FirstNet, set the tone early for a good dialogue by encouraging participants to ask questions throughout the consultation meeting. He said it was an opportunity for the state’s public safety community to better understand FirstNet and the process for planning for the network. FirstNet Board member and Salt Lake City Police Chief Chris Burbank underscored that message and encouraged stakeholders to remain involved in the process.

Throughout the day, the FirstNet team fielded a number of questions related to network implementation and potential public safety users of the network. This included several questions about key terms addressed in the recent public notice, such as the definition of a public safety entity. We talked in detail with participants about potential users of the network, including non-traditional public safety entities. FirstNet representatives also explained how the comments received in response to the public notice would help FirstNet answer these and other key questions.

Utah stressed the importance of coverage for public safety in the state. During the state update portion of the meeting, participants described a number of instances where first responders were unable to communicate with one another, making responses to wind storms and highway accidents, among other events, even more challenging. Utah officials also stressed the importance of prioritization on the network as a critical element for public safety.

I’d like to thank Steve Proctor for hosting FirstNet and facilitating a productive initial consultation meeting with Utah. It was great to have so many state and local representatives in attendance, as well as past APCO president, Gigi Smith, and the Director of Utah’s Bureau of Emergency Medical Services and Preparedness, Paul Patrick, who is a member of the Public Safety Advisory Committee.

We look forward to continue working with Utah on the key issues identified during their initial consultation meeting, such as potential users and coverage, and sharing updates on FirstNet’s operations and approach to deploying the network.

Thanks
-Dave