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Perspectives from Partners: FirstNet

By Yejin Jang posted Apr 13,2016 09:28 AM

  

The First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) is an independent federal government authority with the mission to deploy the first high-speed, nationwide wireless broadband network for public safety. Once operable, the FirstNet network will enable interoperable communications between jurisdictions and agencies across city, county and state lines around the country. The public-safety grade LTE network will also put next generation technology into the hands of first responders, improving situational awareness, efficiency and effectiveness during emergency response.

In January 2016, FirstNet released is Request for Proposals (RFP) for the deployment of the nationwide public safety broadband network and bids will be due on May 13, 2016.  FirstNet anticipates making the award in November 2016.  Since the release of the RFP, FirstNet has responded to hundreds of questions from vendors and other stakeholders in addition to continuing engagement efforts across the country.

In this issue of Perspectives from Partners, we interviewed FirstNet’s Dave Buchanan, Director of Consultation and Richard Reed, Director of State Plans.

Q: In an Urgent Communications article about FirstNet, it states that governors will be missing a key data point (i.e. the exact dollar amount the state must contribute to the NPSBN).  Can we get your comments on this?  

A: (Rich) What we have messaged over time is that there are tremendous amounts of information that are going to come in from a lot of different sources, and that we have significant timing and “chicken or egg” issues to factor in.  We’re trying to work through those. In terms of the information regarding the state contribution to the overall network – we won’t have that information that we can make the governors completely aware of with any certainty until we understand what the entire nation looks like in terms of buildout strategy.

The impact of the governor taking on the responsibility of deploying their own Radio Access Network – (RAN) (i.e. “opt-out”) will affect the overall economics of the entire network. Until we appreciate where all the states stand, in terms of their decision to let FirstNet build the RAN or whether they’re taking on and owning responsibility for deploying the RAN – until we have certainty on all of that and the states have successfully navigated the opt-out process, which could take years, we won’t have a complete picture of what it will take to fund the nationwide RAN deployment.

There are significant challenges with the economics of this network for a long time if and when states choose the path of opt-out. Because when a state takes on that responsibility, it changes the cost basis for FirstNet, as well as the revenue basis for the entire network, the deployment, and adoption of users for the entire network.  It really confuses the economic picture.

Q: Given that background, how will you deal with that?

A: (Rich) We’ve got some strategies in place, but we do have challenges associated with states from taking on that [RAN] responsibility in terms of the revenue sharing, the economics of an opt-out state, and the ultimate reinvestment into the overall nationwide network. They are very complicated, and so we’re going to have to develop strategies with our partner to accommodate them. We’ve asked partners in the RFP to theorize how they would account for that variance. So it’s part of our acquisition strategy.

Q: Once the award is made and before the final state plan is delivered, in that time period where there is a draft state plan, how do you expect CIOs to engage during that time and how should we prepare to engage with you at that time? For us, that will be the first time we will have “paper” specific to the state to talk about.

A: (Rich): What we’ve said from the beginning is that you shouldn’t be surprised by what we put on the governor’s desk. What we want to do is [to have] the right people in the state have access to the right information so that they can give that affirmative support when the governor asks questions [about FirstNet’s proposed state RAN deployment plan]. In terms of CIOs, we want to make sure CIOs have the right information in terms of deployment strategy, technology, RF planning, and security … so they feel confident that the value proposition that FirstNet is bringing forth is appropriate and demonstrates what the practitioners in the state have said they needed in terms of Band 14 deployment. We want them to agree that this [FirstNet’s] is the best approach for deploying a RAN in the state.

Q: What would you say to those states considering opting-out?

A: (Rich) They need to consider all of the technical, operational, and fiscal risks associated with taking on the responsibility of building a network. This is a very complex and interdependent deployment of a public network.  An opt-out state is effectively a partner to FirstNet. An opt-out state must be functionally, operationally, from a security standpoint and from a technical standpoint, able to connect to our core for deployment of our services. So the opt-out state is really just a RAN provider. They will need to stand in lock step with FirstNet and our partner to ensure that our services are able to be delivered to public safety in their state. So this is a quite an endeavor that an opt-out state would be signing onto. They would be entering into a partnership agreement with FirstNet to act as the RAN partner for FirstNet in that state. It is not an independent role. This is a partnership role. They are not opting out of the network. They are opting into partnering with FirstNet.

Q: What kind of engagement can CIOs expect from here on out?

A: (Dave) FirstNet really values CIOs in the state. We think they are critically important for the success and future of FirstNet. We’ve built out a consultation and outreach program that really takes advantage of CIOs’ role in states and leverages their influence, their experience, and their position in the state -we value that partnership. We’ve been working for a number of years to connect with CIOs and connect CIOs to FirstNet. There are a number of CIOs that are the state single point of contact (SPOC) for FirstNet and we think that’s an important role that they have as well. Looking specifically at 2016, we have three main goals and we think CIOs can help contribute to all three of those.

One is to continue to capture input and needs from states, locals, tribes and other public safety stakeholders about their needs for the network.  We know CIOs have information from their experience that helps us in our planning for the network.

The second goal for consultation nationwide is to prepare governors and governors’ teams for the decision the governor is going to make around the state plan. We know what a critical role CIOs play as advisors to governors, as members of the cabinet and as senior leaders in the state on broadband issues [and] how important their voice will be in the governor’s decision for the state.

The third goal of consultation nationwide is to prepare our future customers for network adoption. We know CIOs will play a role in that, as well as preparing for FirstNet to come and be available for state public safety, for local public safety and for tribal public safety in the state. Again, we know what an important role CIOs will play in the network adoption question at the state level.

We have formal programs that include participation in upcoming state governance body meetings. Many CIOs are already involved in their governance body – in the state governance body that advises the SPOC and governor on issues related to FirstNet. We’ll be coming to see those engagements/meetings this spring to, again, capture needs from the state, bring a dialogue around state planning, and have consultation on issues most important to the state around FirstNet.

We also have planned executive consultation, which would include not only governance body meetings but other key executives, key influencers, and key decision-makers in the state who are going to be extra important to the governor’s decision. We want to have a formal consultation engagement with that group.  We know that governance body meetings and governance bodies aren’t the only people in the state who are important to the decision. But a lot of states where CIOs aren’t included in those governance bodies, this should be another place where we want to capture the dialogue, engagement, and consultation with CIOs through our program.

So these are really the two main places we expect to touch and engage CIOs in 2016 - through governance body [meetings] and then executive consultation. We expect CIOs to participate in one or both of those meetings.

Informally, we also have our outreach program [which] includes doing direct outreach to CIOs. We’ve already begun individual meetings with CIOs and we want to continue that so that outside of the formal process we have a relationship and connection to each of the CIOs in each of the states and territories.

Q: What do you want our CIOs to say to the governor?

A: (Dave): My hope is that we bring CIOs into the discussion this year so that we can understand what the most critical issues are in the state related to their decision around FirstNet. Every state is different. Governors have different expectations, different needs. They are going to be looking for different elements that will help them make the best decision they can about the state plan in their state. My hope and goal is that by weaving CIOs into the consultation process this year – both formally through their engagement in the governance bodies, executive consultation meetings and informally through the individual meetings and engagements - we’ll get a very good understanding of what CIOs needs are and what their impression of the governors expectations are so we can address that, mitigate that, and work with states on those issues before we bring the state plan.

The whole purpose for 2016 consultation is to unveil issues and make connections with the people that will be most important to the governor’s decision and network adoption in the future. We don’t want, on the eve of delivering state plans, to discover a topic that needed to be considered or a person we needed to have a relationship with at the eleventh hour. We want to do that now. We think CIOs will help us with both of these things.

(Rich): We want them [CIOs] to look at the plan and be able to say with confidence that the FirstNet approach, the state plan that we’re providing, the value proposition for the state is the best thing for the state in terms of Band 14 deployment. When the governor says ‘Is this the right approach?,’ we want them to shake their heads and say, ‘Yes, this is the right approach for the state.’ That’s our goal. We want them to tell the governor that this is best for the state and practitioners for the state. And that’s what we want to deliver is the best approach for deploying Band 14 in the state. That’s really our goal and our ask. We want the CIO community to say, ‘yes, governor, this is what’s best for the state.’ That’s the clearest answer I would give in terms of what our goals are.

Q: Any final comments for CIOs?

A: (Dave) We recognize what a critical role CIOs play in the governor’s decision and network adoption in the states. We want to work closely with CIOs through the formal consultation process and through building individual relationships so we can work together to bring the very best FirstNet network to each state and territory.

(Rich) I would challenge the CIOs to engage their SPOCs in each state and to make sure that they fully understand everything that FirstNet is doing within the state and that they understand all of the most up-to-date information. We’re constantly providing additional information at the state level, so hopefully the CIOs engage with their SPOCS and try to stay abreast. What we don’t want to do is have that very short period of time when we’re going to review the plan, have to spend significant portions of it educating the CIOs based on the last 3 years of engagement they missed. We really need an in-tune and educated group of influencers to be able to review that draft state plan when we make it available. That’s the call to action – get engaged, educate yourself, and be ready because we’re going to be under a significant time constraint when it happens.

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