Page 13 - FCW, August 2019

CHRIS For example, look at sensor data weather information from the National Weather Service
or seismological data from the U.S. Geological Survey. Consider how critical that data can be in public safety. The Department of Interior has not only important information, but also operations— think Bureau of Land Management, National Parks Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs—that comprise federal, state, local and tribal personnel.
The FirstNet Authority is working with agencies that you would not immediately think of—with functions beyond just a pure fire-police-EMS role. Imagine first responders and supporting organizations at all levels of government being able to arrive on the scene in any geography, communicate using their everyday device and have the same access to critical information.
What are some common misconceptions federal agencies have about FirstNet?
CHRIS I think there’s been the idea of FirstNet
as an “in case of emergency, break glass” type of system as opposed to an everyday-use platform.
I think it was also a bit of a misconception that FirstNet was not built for federal agencies. Going back to its origins, FirstNet involved looking at which groups constitute or support public safety entities, and that included the federal government. FirstNet was built for a specific need, and it was designed for a distinct purpose and an important community. That’s why there are requirements in place to be eligible to use FirstNet.
ROB FirstNet benefits the entire public safety space, but there are different ways one agency might use it versus another.
Initially we looked at this as a tool for use in a crisis—a deployable, resilient network separate from commercial traffic. But this is something
that can be used for daily operations as well. In
a homeland security application, you can rely on LTE to move information like mapping data and photos/video from a drone down into the field for planning purposes or during a critical operation. That’s just one example, but in any scenario, when everyone’s looking at the same operational picture, the mission can be streamlined and operations can be more accurate, effective, and help provide the greatest level of safety for all involved.
How does FirstNet enable agencies across jurisdictions to communicate with each other?
ROB We’re seeing more adoption of FirstNet as the common communications platform for these teams that aren’t necessarily on the same radio system, but they have a mission to carry out together.
Currently a lot of federal task forces, like in the Department of Justice, have state and local components that are working with federal agencies every day. FirstNet currently provides push-to-talk and soon mission-critical push-
ROB PATTERSON
AT&T Public Safety