Page 41 - Federal Computer Week, May/June 2019

In April, the Department of the data was then sent to base person-
Navy became the latest fed- eral entity to opt into FirstNet, the nationwide platform dedicated to public safety communications. Now DON officials — whose purview covers the Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard — are identifying how the network might work for them.
DON’s April 1 announcement followed a February policy direc- tive from CIO Thomas Modly, who wrote, “The unique data manage- ment, data security and device requirements of the Department of Defense are key topics of govern- ment-to-government discussions and present opportunities for the FirstNet network to deliver a robust, wireless broadband capability.”
FirstNet could be used to facili- tate communication between naval bases and surrounding communi- ties, said Mike Leff, vice president for defense at AT&T Public Sector, which is building the network. Spe- cifically, the Defense Support of Civil Authorities process enables the mili- tary to assist with activities normally handled by civilian entities. Typi- cal missions include helping with response to natural or man-made disasters and law enforcement sup- port for specific cases.
DSCA “is where I believe the Navy and local communities will get tre- mendous value of improved coor- dination and communications with first responders using the FirstNet platform,” Leff said. “This is where you really see the requirements for a platform like FirstNet.”
He cited a pilot project AT&T con- ducted at Maxwell Air Force Base that focused on using sensors to enhance physical perimeter security. The sensors captured and sent data via a closed, encrypted LTE network to a control center that was essen- tially an intelligent dashboard. The
nel, also via the encrypted network. With FirstNet, 5G and edge com- puting, however, that process can be amplified and accelerated, Leff said. Plus, that trifecta could speed the development of smart bases along the lines of smart-city efforts. He added that AT&T is working with the Navy to identify smart-base applica- tions but could not provide details
because of security concerns.
“We are beginning to work top- down, bottom-up with the Navy and Marine Corps, looking at base by base to better understand what the needs are,” he said. By understand- ing “the current-state infrastructure in terms of what’s on base — wheth- er it’s macro coverage, small-cell coverage, all the way through fiber in the ground — [we can] begin to put together a better view of the cur- rent state and then the future state and then line that up with the Navy’s
priorities.”
He added that FirstNet can also
offer deployable network assets to DON, including satellite cells on drones and other technologies that support a mobile cell-site capability that can link to FirstNet via satellite.
“It really allows us to spin up net- works on demand where the tradi- tional terrestrial network doesn’t reach today,” he said.
Another benefit is the FirstNet app store, which offers tools dedicat- ed to public safety organizations. For example, Leff said, “I think about augmented reality — to be able to take real-world applications and actually look at other sensory input and visuals that you can overlay to get location information, just to get a better sense of what’s happening at an incident.”
Overall, though, FirstNet’s attrac- tion lies in the high reliability, secu- rity and interoperability of the core
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