FCC will release its review guidelines for FirstNet opt-out states by Q2 2017, official tells Congress

FirstNet’s RFP calls for the contract to be awarded by Nov. 1, although FirstNet officials have noted that date could change based on the number of viable proposals that need to be evaluated. Six months after the award—on May 1, 2017, if the award is made on Nov. 1—the contractor must deliver the deployment plan to each of the 56 states and territories, according to the RFP.

At that point, the governor for each state and territory will have 90 days to decide whether the accept the FirstNet plan or pursue the opt-out alternative, which calls for the state/territory to deploy the RAN within its borders while maintaining interoperability with the rest of the nationwide broadband system. If the opt-out route is chosen, then the state/territory has 180 days to complete its own RFP.

With a selected contractor, the opt-out state must have its plan reviewed by the FCC, in accordance with the guidelines that would be established during the rulemaking outlined by Furth. If approved by the FCC, the opt-out state’s plan then must be approved by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), which has not yet established a timetable for releasing its review procedures.

After completing the FCC and NTIA reviews, an opt-out state would still need to sign a spectrum-lease agreement with FirstNet to use the 20 MHz of 700 MHz broadband spectrum needed to operate the RAN.

Under the law, there are no timetables mandated for the completion of the reviews or the spectrum-lease agreement.

In response to a question from Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas) about when the proposed public-safety broadband network would be in operation, FirstNet President TJ Kennedy noted that deployments can begin during the latter part of 2017 in some states that accept the state plan from FirstNet’s contractor. However, construction of the network cannot begin in states that pursue the opt-out alternative until the procedures associated with the opt-out process are completed, Kennedy said.