FirstNet faces monumental challenge as state consultations get set to begin

However, a growing number of public-safety officials seem to be embracing the notion that there are times when utilities should be considered a priority user on the network, such as when a downed power line is preventing public-safety personnel from accessing an emergency scene. And emergency response is much easier to execute when commercial power is available, so data traffic that lets a utility know whether its system is working properly certainly could be considered mission-critical communications.

In other words, determining exactly which utility communications should be prioritized—and when, because circumstances can change, depending on the incident—is going to require some level of negotiation with utilities. But just determining who should represent the utilities in such talks promises to be a challenge; the obligations and needs of rural cooperatives, municipally owned utilities and private utilities that answer to shareholders can vary widely, as can the potential infrastructure (fiber backhaul, hardened sites, etc) that each can bring to the table. Also, large utilities that provide service in multiple states likely will want an arrangement that lets them have a similar deal throughout its territory, not one that requires it to operate differently in each state.

Maybe people who are more familiar with the space have a more straightforward solution to this, but it all appears very complicated to me. And, of course, there are many other potential partners beyond utilities, and each one presents its own set of negotiating challenges and complications.

Meanwhile, FirstNet officials all acknowledge that excess capacity on the system needs to be monetized, but no decision has been made in terms of how this should be done. The dynamic-spectrum-arbitrage model from Rivada Network sounds promising, but skeptics note that it is unproven. More traditional models exist, but they are not designed to maximize revenues and—more important—do not provide public-safety with the instantaneous preemptive access to the network during a time of emergency.

Of course, the amount of revenue that can be generated by monetizing excess capacity on the FirstNet system will have an impact on subscription fees and what other partnerships can be forged and the terms of those deals.

And all of this will have a significant impact on the number of sites that will be needed nationwide. For instance, a Rivada-based model that relies on a lot of excess capacity to be commercially viable presumably will need a lot more sites than a public-safety-only network, particularly in top urban markets.