In the FirstNet Authority’s ongoing effort to keep you informed regarding standards development activities impacting public safety, and following our recent update on the March Plenary meetings in Chennai, India, this blog discusses the latest developments from the 3GPP Plenary meetings held in La Jolla, CA, from June 11-15, 2018. The June quarterly meetings addressed standards in several areas relevant to the Nationwide Public Safety Broadband Network (NPSBN) in three separate plenary group meetings.

In May 2018, over 100,000 tourists and sailing enthusiasts descended on Newport, Rhode Island to witness one of the world’s toughest sailings competitions. FirstNet outfitted first responders with FirstNet devices, which enabled fire, police, emergency management and EMS to stay connected and coordinated.

Emergency managers are at the center of community preparedness and response should an emergency or disaster strike. As hurricane season is upon us, it is a reminder of the important work of our nation’s emergency managers who put service to their communities first in times of need.

At our recent FirstNet Board Meeting in Little Rock, we heard from two Arkansas agencies that have adopted FirstNet. Metropolitan Emergency Medical Services (MEMS) serves more than half a million residents in and around Little Rock. MEMS Executive Director John Swanson says having another layer of redundancy and additional capabilities drove the agency’s decision to subscribe to FirstNet.

When the town of Brookfield, Connecticut was hit hard by a tremendous storm with wind speeds over 100 miles per hour, most of the area’s communications infrastructure was damaged and overloaded. For Brookfield Assistant Fire Chief Andrew Ellis the lack of communications threatened his ability to coordinate multiple agencies on scene providing mutual aid. Thanks to a quick response, Brookfield first responders were outfitted with 30 FirstNet-ready devices connected to a FirstNet SatCOLT (satellite cell on light truck).