Over the past two weeks, NASCIO has been providing some background on its federal advocacy priorities for the year. I’ve covered the state-federal relationship on cybersecurity, the potential power of modernizing federal regulations that impact state IT, and intergovernmental collaboration to expand broadband services.
Last but certainly not least, it’s important to touch on building a nationwide public safety broadband network with the FirstNet Authority. Created by legislation in early 2012, FirstNet was tasked by Congress “to build, operate and maintain the first high-speed, nationwide wireless broadband network dedicated to public safety.” NASCIO has three main objectives when it comes to the planning and construction of the nationwide public safety network:
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First and foremost, a communications network that meets the needs of first responders—both day-to day and in emergencies—that is financially sustainable over the long-term;
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that states must have significant flexibility to collaborate with FirstNet on the network make-up beyond deciding whether to opt-out of the network; and,
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ensuring that the network is built in a manner that does not unfairly burden state and local taxpayers.
FirstNet seems to share these goals. The trials and difficulties will be in hammering out the realistic and workable path to meet them. At a time when state governments are strained more than ever with the increasing costs of mandatory spending, several states are wary of FirstNet creating additional long-term costs to already strained state budgets. The way the law is written, if a state opts-in to the network and provides no collaboration they would be in a much less risky fiscal position than if they opt-out—but a lack of trust on all levels still exists, and will need to be bridged. Much of this comes down to the increasing contention in the intergovernmental relationship—something I’m not going to solve in this column. That said, FirstNet can overcome much of it through continued meetings and building trust and collaboration among stakeholders.
FirstNet has matured significantly over the past year, and has hired a skilled leadership team and senior staff to undertake the hard work that is ahead. They are passionate about the mission and want to succeed, and recognize they need the backing of state and local authorities and first responders to do so. Therefore, FirstNet staff is engaged in frank discussions with states about their first responders’ requirements and needs from a nationwide interoperable network.
These conversations will be key to determining what FirstNet looks like in each state. We know the cost to first responders will need to be competitive with the private sector. Key issues will be how robust will the network be, and will there be "hidden costs" for the states? There is the possibility of incorporating state and local assets into the network—what will that mean for cost (or cost recovery) for those entities? We all know that the needs of California and Texas will be different from Mississippi, Delaware, or North Dakota; each state faces different public safety risks, must protect very different populations spread over different geography.
Suffice it to say, there is likely a different answer for each state, territory, and the District of Columbia. NASCIO wants to ensure the flexibility exists for states to determine how to best deploy the network for each state, so long as they maintain core requirements for interoperability. NASCIO is focused on ensuring it can support the mutual efforts of the states and FirstNet to answer these questions in a collaborative fashion. You can see our latest efforts in our response to FirstNet’s October Request for Information and our comments on the Authority’s interpretation of their statutory authority.
This is a massive national infrastructure project that is beyond the scope of any laid forth in decades. State CIOs playing an active role will be crucial to its success due to the knowledge base they provide, as well as their responsibility for statewide communications infrastructure, information systems, and technology policy.
It will require coordination across all levels of government, and force government agencies (and private sector partners, information systems, and data) to work together in ways they never have before. FirstNet could mean for public safety community what the iPhone meant for the private citizen—a way to organize information, coordinate seamlessly, and create a world of information at one’s fingertips when you need it most. Until there are more details, and more specific plans for build-out, the questions and debates over key issues such as who pays for what will remain unanswered. That said, FirstNet will only be sustainable if it can balance the needs of first responders, taxpayers, and the private sector partners that will ultimately need to play a role in the construction and maintenance. NASCIO hopes to help facilitate and advance the conversation through data, best practices, and any assistance that our association can to help make this important project a reality.
The President speaks later today from Silicon Valley on the cybersecurity threat. Next week I’ll recap federal actions on cybersecurity and talk about some of NASCIO’s efforts in this area.