Individuals wanting to be considered as a member of the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) board of directors that will oversee the establishment and maintenance of a nationwide 700 MHz broadband network for public safety should submit their intention by May 25.

FirstNet will be part of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), which recently published the notice soliciting those interested. FirstNet was created in February as part of a law that reallocated the 700 MHz D Block spectrum to public safety and calls for $7 billion to be spent on the public-safety network, which also will leverage 10 MHz of public-safety broadband spectrum currently licensed to the Public Safety Spectrum Trust (PSST).

NTIA asking for interested people to express their intent makes sense, PSST Chairman Harlin McEwen said.

“I’m pleased that the NTIA chose to announce a process for people to submit their information if they’re interested in being considered,” McEwen said. “I think that’s a good thing.”

Members of the 15-member FirstNet board will be appointed as federal government employees and cannot be a registered lobbyist, work for a foreign government or violate federal conflict-of-interest regulations. Three members of the FirstNet board will be the attorney general, the secretary of homeland security and the director of the office of management and budget. The other 12 members must have public-safety, technical, network or financial expertise.

Under the law, the FirstNet board must be in place by Aug. 22. A copy of the notice is available here.

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