States across the nation are making preparations ahead of the development of a new Nationwide Public Safety Broadband Network.
The First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) in the coming months will select a private vendor to develop and deploy a national network dedicated to first responders that uses the most advanced wireless technology available.
Law enforcement, firefighters and paramedics will have access to a reliable connection to instantly transmit data during emergencies. FirstNet also is paving the way on a number of other public safety-focused technologies.
Brian Shepherd, broadband program manager in the Colorado governor’s Office of Information Technology, was recently interviewed by Homeland Preparedness News. He addressed how the state is preparing for the new network and how technology is evolving for first responders.
Q: Can you tell us about FirstNet Colorado?
A: FirstNet Colorado is the team tasked with coordinating activities between Colorado’s first responder community and FirstNet. All states must have a Single Point of Contact (SPOC) that acts as the official liaison. Colorado has designated the Governor’s Office of Information Technology (OIT) as the state’s interface and the FirstNet Colorado team operates within OIT. Our primary objective is to ensure all state and local first responders are well informed and actively engaged in the process.
Q: Colorado has sought an alternative radio access network plan as it also has supported the deployment of FirstNet. What is the state’s strategy behind this and at this early stage can you say whether Colorado is likely to participate in the FirstNet program or opt-out in favor of developing its own alternative system?
A: We don’t look as this as an either/or. The federal statute created the two-path approach. A state may accept FirstNet’s proposed implementation or it may choose to implement its own state specific implementation; ‘opt-out’ as it’s called. It is our belief that this decision will shape public safety communications for a generation so we feel compelled to provide the most comprehensive analysis possible to ensure that an informed decision is made. Our efforts to date have been focused on developing what an alternative plan looks like from a variety of perspectives so we can intelligently compare the two options and recommend what is best for Colorado’s first responders. I think it’s important to separate FirstNet the entity from the National Public Safety Broadband Network (NPSBN). Even if a state opts-out it is still part of the network. At this point we have no idea what the FirstNet state plan will look like so we can’t speculate on what our decision will be. Based on recent communications from FirstNet we expect the state plans to be delivered some time in the second half of 2017.
Q: What technology currently is being used by Colorado first responders and what are the limitations?
A: As a local-control state a majority of public safety services occur at the local level so it’s difficult to speak to the over 1,000 individual agencies usage of technology. We do know that one of the biggest trends is integrating multiple elements of a jurisdiction’s services (transportation, public safety, public works, information technology) into a unified system; the idea of ‘Critical Communications’. I think this could have the biggest impact to public safety as ‘Smart Technologies’ and IoT become more utilized. For example, at the state level, the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) and Colorado State Patrol (CSP) are using real-time data sharing to help coordinate responses during blizzards and create a more comprehensive response.
Q: Could you describe how the communications industry is evolving for first responders?
The technological impacts for public safety have been building for over a decade. The large-scale use of mobile data that began in the mid-2000’s has really driven a shift in the paradigm for first responders communications. For decades, first responders were limited to basic voice communications. Mobile data and cellular communications have expanded the possibilities and increased the information flow within the public safety system. While it took some time to materialize, I believe the communications industry is doing a great job at innovating and helping the public safety sector navigate this transition. With new devices, applications and abilities being developed every day it is creating a rare opportunity to shape how the future will look.
Q: What does the next generation of communications tools look like (5G, Internet of Things, wearable technology, drones)? How will FirstNet leverage some of these emerging technology solutions to improve public safety?
A: These elements are the keys to a significant positive impact. Most people don’t understand how complex and interdependent the public safety system is and these technologies will allow jurisdictions to not only respond better, but understand when an event is likely to occur and mitigate the impact of incidents. The key is that these technologies must be leveraged and implemented at the local and state level in order to fully realize their potential.