https://urgentcomm.com/wp-content/themes/ucm_child/assets/images/logo/footer-new-logo.png
  • Home
  • News
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Multimedia
    • Video
    • Podcasts
    • Galleries
    • IWCE’s Video Showcase
    • IWCE 2022 Winter Showcase
    • IWCE 2023 Pre-event Guide
  • Commentary
    • Back
    • Commentary
    • Urgent Matters
    • View From The Top
    • All Things IWCE
    • Legal Matters
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Resources
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • Reprints & Reuse
  • IWCE
    • Back
    • IWCE
    • Conference
    • Special Events
    • Exhibitor Listings
    • Premier Partners
    • Floor Plan
    • Exhibiting Information
    • Register for IWCE
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Terms of Service
    • Privacy Statement
    • Cookie Policy
  • Related Sites
    • Back
    • American City & County
    • IWCE
    • Light Reading
    • IOT World Today
    • Mission Critical Technologies
    • TU-Auto
  • In the field
    • Back
    • In the field
    • Broadband Push-to-X
    • Internet of Things
    • Project 25
    • Public-Safety Broadband/FirstNet
    • Virtual/Augmented Reality
    • Land Mobile Radio
    • Long Term Evolution (LTE)
    • Applications
    • Drones/Robots
    • IoT/Smart X
    • Software
    • Subscriber Devices
    • Video
  • Call Center/Command
    • Back
    • Call Center/Command
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • NG911
    • Alerting Systems
    • Analytics
    • Dispatch/Call-taking
    • Incident Command/Situational Awareness
    • Tracking, Monitoring & Control
  • Network Tech
    • Back
    • Network Tech
    • Interoperability
    • LMR 100
    • LMR 200
    • Backhaul
    • Deployables
    • Power
    • Tower & Site
    • Wireless Networks
    • Coverage/Interference
    • Security
    • System Design
    • System Installation
    • System Operation
    • Test & Measurement
  • Operations
    • Back
    • Operations
    • Critical Infrastructure
    • Enterprise
    • Federal Government/Military
    • Public Safety
    • State & Local Government
    • Training
  • Regulations
    • Back
    • Regulations
    • Narrowbanding
    • T-Band
    • Rebanding
    • TV White Spaces
    • None
    • Funding
    • Policy
    • Regional Coordination
    • Standards
  • Organizations
    • Back
    • Organizations
    • AASHTO
    • APCO
    • DHS
    • DMR Association
    • ETA
    • EWA
    • FCC
    • IWCE
    • NASEMSO
    • NATE
    • NXDN Forum
    • NENA
    • NIST/PSCR
    • NPSTC
    • NTIA/FirstNet
    • P25 TIG
    • TETRA + CCA
    • UTC
Urgent Communications
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Home
  • News
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Video
    • Podcasts
    • Omdia Crit Comms Circle Podcast
    • Galleries
    • IWCE’s Video Showcase
    • IWCE 2023 Pre-event Guide
    • IWCE 2022 Winter Showcase
  • Commentary
    • Back
    • All Things IWCE
    • Urgent Matters
    • View From The Top
    • Legal Matters
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • Reprints & Reuse
    • UC eZines
    • Sponsored content
  • IWCE
    • Back
    • Conference
    • Why Attend
    • Exhibitor Listing
    • Floor Plan
    • Exhibiting Information
    • Join the Event Mailing List
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Cookie Policy
    • Terms of Service
    • Privacy Statement
  • Related Sites
    • Back
    • American City & County
    • IWCE
    • Light Reading
    • IOT World Today
    • TU-Auto
  • newsletter
  • In the field
    • Back
    • Internet of Things
    • Broadband Push-to-X
    • Project 25
    • Public-Safety Broadband/FirstNet
    • Virtual/Augmented Reality
    • Land Mobile Radio
    • Long Term Evolution (LTE)
    • Applications
    • Drones/Robots
    • IoT/Smart X
    • Software
    • Subscriber Devices
    • Video
  • Call Center/Command
    • Back
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • NG911
    • Alerting Systems
    • Analytics
    • Dispatch/Call-taking
    • Incident Command/Situational Awareness
    • Tracking, Monitoring & Control
  • Network Tech
    • Back
    • Cybersecurity
    • Interoperability
    • LMR 100
    • LMR 200
    • Backhaul
    • Deployables
    • Power
    • Tower & Site
    • Wireless Networks
    • Coverage/Interference
    • Security
    • System Design
    • System Installation
    • System Operation
    • Test & Measurement
  • Operations
    • Back
    • Critical Infrastructure
    • Enterprise
    • Federal Government/Military
    • Public Safety
    • State & Local Government
    • Training
  • Regulations
    • Back
    • Narrowbanding
    • T-Band
    • Rebanding
    • TV White Spaces
    • None
    • Funding
    • Policy
    • Regional Coordination
    • Standards
  • Organizations
    • Back
    • AASHTO
    • APCO
    • DHS
    • DMR Association
    • ETA
    • EWA
    • FCC
    • IWCE
    • NASEMSO
    • NATE
    • NXDN Forum
    • NENA
    • NIST/PSCR
    • NPSTC
    • NTIA/FirstNet
    • P25 TIG
    • TETRA + CCA
    • UTC
acc.com

NTIA/FirstNet


News

FirstNet chairman outlines efforts to Congress

FirstNet chairman outlines efforts to Congress

FirstNet may need help from Congress to change government rules associated with procurement and partnership deals to make the much-anticipated nationwide broadband network for first responders a reality as quickly as possible, FirstNet Chairman Sam Ginn told a House subcommittee.
  • Written by
  • 19th March 2013

FirstNet may need help from Congress to change government rules associated with procurement and partnership deals to make the much-anticipated nationwide broadband network for first responders a reality as quickly as possible, FirstNet Chairman Sam Ginn told a House subcommittee last week.

During a hearing before the communications and technology subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce committee, Ginn said he understands and appreciates the need for government to be transparent in its activity. However, certain rules and regulations associated with government entities are especially onerous and could slow the deployment of the network being built by FirstNet, which is expected to include public-private partnerships.

“I am told by government attorneys that, if you want to negotiate a contract, you have to assume [it will take] 18 months,” Ginn said. “In the commercial world, that’s way beyond what it would take.

In trying to negotiate deals with multiple potential partners, government regulations can hamper the natural back-and-forth exchange of offers that is a natural part of commercial negotiations, Ginn said.

“It’s going to add months — and perhaps years — to the deployment of the network,” he said. “It drastically reduces our flexibility.”

Partnership deals will play an important role in the buildout of the FirstNet system, Ginn said. No partnership deals have been executed, but one area where partnering is being considered is to help ensure that rural areas are covered, whether the partnership is with a rural terrestrial carrier or a satellite provider.

“Where it makes sense, we will [partner with rural telecom providers],” Ginn said. “We view it as a really good option, if we can do that.”

However, Ginn twice said during the hearing that FirstNet would provide services only to first responders. Rep. Lee Terry (R-Neb.) asked particularly pointed questions about network access.

“There’s going to be no other users accessing these transmission wires?” Terry said. “There’s not going to be other state activities or university activities or medical hospital-to-medical hospital [communications on the network] — this is all going to be just traffic from public safety?”

Ginn replied, “That is my understanding of the legislation, although hospitals may be included — I’m not sure.”

RELATED: FirstNet roundtable reveals many details

In response to questions from Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas) about states’ ability to maintain and own LTE assets that ultimately are integrated into the FirstNet system, Ginn said he is open to a number of potential arrangements.

“Who builds the network and operates the network is open and negotiable,” Ginn said.

Furthermore, the issue of whether a state chooses the opt-out option — a hot topic in the public-safety industry — included in current law is not a major concern, Ginn said.

“I think the issue of opt-out and opt-in is not so important,” Ginn said. “What’s important is getting a national architecture in place, so that you have interoperability, cybersecurity and network standards. Who builds it and who owns it is less important to me, so long as we have those principles in place.”

Ginn said FirstNet has not finalized its network design work or a rate structure, but he did share his vision of a first-responder communications device that would be used on the network.

“It’s going to be multichannel. It’s going to have special features built into it,” Ginn said. “It will be positioned to serve police, fire and emergency-medical [personnel]. And, when you order in volumes, you can drive down the cost.”

RELATED: FirstNet board members talk service price, timelines

To make this vision a reality, FirstNet has been trying to participate in the activities of key commercial standards bodies to ensure that the needs of its future first-responder customers are met, Ginn said.

“If you don’t embed public-safety needs into the standards, the standards get published and manufacturers don’t deliver the kind of capabilities that public safety needs.”

Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden (R-Ore.) and several other subcommittee members expressed concern that the FirstNet board does not have an active state representative as a member — an issue that also was raised recently by the National Governors Association.

In addition, while all subcommittee members expressed support for the FirstNet initiative, some questioned whether all of the lofty goals for first responders can be met in a manner that will be affordable to taxpayers.

“I’m, quite frankly, skeptical,” Barton said. “If you do everything you say you’re going to do, this is going to be a phenomenal network, and I hope it is going to be successful.”

Terry echoed this sentiment.

“This seems to be such a monumental task — a huge beast — that I’m wondering what its ultimate costs and bureaucracy will end up being,” Terry said.

Tags: Legislation Public Safety Cybersecurity Funding Long Term Evolution (LTE) News NTIA/FirstNet Policy Public Safety News

Most Recent


  • Verizon
    Verizon, Axon demonstrate benefits of 5G network slicing to support public-safety video
    Verizon and Axon Enterprises this week announced a successful demonstration of 5G network slicing that allowed its network to sustain connectivity performance levels for mission-critical video through Axon Fleet 3 and Axon Respond services. Network slicing is one of the most-anticipated features of the 5G standard for the critical-communications industry, because it allows a network […]
  • Cyberattack closes emergency rooms in three states
    Ardent Health says it was the target of a cyberattack over Thanksgiving, in an incident that shut down the hospital operator’s emergency rooms in three states. The hospital operator, which oversees 30 hospitals in the U.S., said the attack was detected on the morning of Nov. 23 and was identified as a ransomware attack impacting […]
  • General Electric, DARPA hack claims raise national-security concerns
    General Electric and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) have reportedly been breached, according to claims on the Dark Web that the organizations’ highly sensitive stolen data is up for sale. A screen capture from the Dark Web ad shows a threat actor named IntelBroker selling access credentials, DARPA-related military information, SQL files, and more. GE confirmed to […]
  • More 2G and 3G shutdowns loom in the U.S.
    UScellular and Cellcom recently set dates to shutter their aging wireless networks. The smaller network operators are following in the footsteps of their bigger, nationwide rivals, which are making similar moves. On its website, UScellular said it would shutter its 3G CDMA network on January 14, 2024. “Major wireless carriers have already shut down their […]

Leave a comment Cancel reply

To leave a comment login with your Urgent Comms account:

Log in with your Urgent Comms account

Or alternatively provide your name, email address below:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Content

  • Photo of Sam Ginn
  • Photo of Sam Ginn
  • Photo of Sam Ginn
  • Photo of Sam Ginn

Commentary


Land mobile radio (LMR) systems are just as vulnerable to cyberattacks as any other networks used in the public-safety sector. Here’s what to do about it.

  • 1
7th November 2023

September 3GPP Plenary meetings feature Release 18 progress, Release 19 beginnings

13th October 2023

Better technology can help solve the public-safety staffing crisis

26th June 2023
view all

Events


UC Ezines


IWCE 2019 Wrap Up

13th May 2019
view all

Twitter


Newsletter

Sign up for UrgentComm’s newsletters to receive regular news and information updates about Communications and Technology.

Expert Commentary

Learn from experts about the latest technology in automation, machine-learning, big data and cybersecurity.

Business Media

Find the latest videos and media from the market leaders.

Media Kit and Advertising

Want to reach our digital and print audiences? Learn more here.

DISCOVER MORE FROM INFORMA TECH

  • American City & County
  • IWCE
  • Light Reading
  • IOT World Today
  • Mission Critical Technologies
  • TU-Auto

WORKING WITH US

  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Events
  • Careers

FOLLOW Urgent Comms ON SOCIAL

  • Privacy
  • CCPA: “Do Not Sell My Data”
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms
Copyright © 2023 Informa PLC. Informa PLC is registered in England and Wales with company number 8860726 whose registered and Head office is 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.