Roadmap

The Makah Tribe has called the Pacific Northwest home for thousands of years. With over 1,100 square miles of land and sea to patrol and the looming threat of tsunamis, reliable communications are crucial for the tribe’s first responders. Like many tribes across Indian Country, the Makah Tribe is looking to FirstNet to help solve their communication challenges.

The FirstNet Authority is joining the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s Public Safety Communications Research Division (PSCR) virtually at PSCR 2020: The Digital Experience. Live and on-demand sessions will discuss standards work, innovation in public safety technology, and the FirstNet Authority Roadmap.

Edward Parkinson was appointed Chief Executive Officer of the FirstNet Authority on March 12, 2020. One hundred days into the job, he reflects back on the creation of the FirstNet Authority and how far the organization has come, including recent investments that will prepare the network for the future.

This is the sixth entry in a blog series that will explore the six FirstNet Authority Roadmap domains. You can also learn about the Core, Coverage and Capacity, Situational Awareness, Voice Communications and Secure Information Exchange domains by downloading the full Roadmap at firstnet.gov/Roadmap.

The FirstNet Authority developed the Roadmap to guide FirstNet’s growth over the next five years with input from public safety, industry, government, and our network contractor, AT&T. The FirstNet Authority included the Secure Information Exchange domain as one of six technology domains in the FirstNet Authority Roadmap to further shape and improve the FirstNet user experience and promote the safe exchange of critical and sensitive information over FirstNet.

Voice communications are the fundamental form of public safety communications. At the heart of the FirstNet effort is the need for a reliable communications platform that will provide voice, data, and video services for public safety’s lifesaving mission. With the launch of FirstNet, countless first responders gained access to the most advanced broadband emergency communications solution available today, and the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet Authority) strives to learn from public safety where the network needs to go next.

Situational awareness for first responders can come from cameras, sensors, wearables, or countless other pieces of technology. In this blog, FirstNet Authority Senior Public Safety Products Advisor Randy Kerr and FirstNet Authority Senior Director of Product Technology and Architecture Carlos L’Abbate discuss public safety’s situational awareness needs and how the FirstNet Authority is ensuring those needs are met.

While the FirstNet Core already separates public safety traffic from commercial traffic, the inclusion of coverage and capacity as a Roadmap domain will help to ensure FirstNet network presence within any given geography, with sufficient capacity for public safety to perform its duties whether they are serving communities that are urban, rural, or something in between.

Every year, the FirstNet Authority provides a report to Congress, outlining the activities, operations, financial condition, and accomplishments from the previous fiscal year. Tom Shull, FirstNet Authority Director of Government Affairs, provides an overview of the FirstNet Authority’s Annual Report to Congress for Fiscal Year 2019.

The FirstNet Core serves as the brain and the nervous system of a network, enabling critical network functions like priority, preemption, and future mission critical services. In this blog, FirstNet Authority core experts discuss how the FirstNet Core was originally designed to meet public safety’s needs and how it will continue to evolve through the FirstNet Authority Roadmap priorities and initiatives.

To celebrate the second anniversary of the FirstNet Core, Carlos L’Abbate, FirstNet Authority Senior Director of Product Technology and Architecture, and Chuck Shaughnessy, FirstNet Authority Senior Advisor join host Dave Buchanan, FirstNet Authority Director of Public Safety Advocacy, to discuss how the Core was built for public safety and how it will continue to evolve to meet the needs of first responders.

At the March 2020 FirstNet Authority Board and Committee Meeting, updates were made to the Public Safety Advisory Committee’s (PSAC) charter to improve the PSAC’s operations in order to best support the FirstNet network and the first responder community.

When disaster strikes or large crowds gather, public safety officials need a broadband network they can rely on to remain connected. FirstNet’s fleet of deployables is an important resource for emergency managers for planned and unplanned events to ensure that connection is available. First Responder Network Authority Senior Public Safety Advisor Timothy Pierce describes the deployables that are available to FirstNet subscribers and how those resources can make a difference for first responders.

The FirstNet Authority Public Safety Advisory Committee (PSAC) held its bi-annual meeting in Austin, TX, where more than 20 PSAC members gathered to discuss 2019 activities and accomplishments and 2020 goals and initiatives. Kenzie Capece, FirstNet Authority Senior Public Safety Advisor, recaps the conversation on the FirstNet Authority Roadmap and special presentations from FirstNet, Built with AT&T, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

As technology rapidly evolves, more and more tools are becoming available to first responders. Over the past year, the FirstNet Authority has supported several innovation contests that encourage entrepreneurs, researchers, and public safety professionals to develop solutions to assist emergency responders. Brian Hobson, Director of the FirstNet Authority Enterprise Strategy Division, breaks down some of these contests and how the FirstNet Authority is helping drive innovation forward.

The FirstNet Authority attended the 2019 International Association of Emergency Managers 67th Annual Conference, meeting with emergency managers from across the nation and gathering their feedback on their critical communications needs.

At its year-end meeting, the FirstNet Authority Board highlighted major areas of progress for FirstNet and outlined its priorities to ensure the continued evolution of the network and organization. This year saw continued momentum for FirstNet with expanded network deployment and growth in new public safety subscribers. Today, there are more than one million connections being used by more than 10,000 public safety agencies on FirstNet.

Indiana’s Integrated Public Safety Commission worked to integrate the state’s land mobile radio system with FirstNet to enhance coverage, achieve significant cost savings, and expand capabilities for the state's first responders.

FirstNet Authority Senior Public Safety Advisor Lori Stone sits down with the Commonwealth of Virginia’s Statewide Interoperability Coordinator Tom Crabbs to discuss FirstNet, how first responders are exploring and adapting cutting-edge technologies, and how the FirstNet Authority is helping public safety agencies nationwide advance operations.   

Every summer, tens of thousands of boating enthusiasts descend on Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri for one of the most popular powerboat racing events in the nation. For the 2019 Lake Race, local public safety agencies relied on FirstNet to support their communication and data needs.