FirstNet shares more details about state-plan process during the next year

Rich Reed, FirstNet’s director of state plans, noted that FirstNet hopes to share draft state plans with state officials as quickly as possible after the contractor award is finalized. However, some of the more sensitive aspects of draft and final state plans—for instance, the locations of all LTE base stations—may be shared only on a very limited basis, he said.

“One of the challenges is the idea that information is going to have to be controlled, in my estimation,” Reed said during an IWCE session. “There are going to be elements of the plan that it seems reasonable that we’re going to want to control who has access to those plans.

“We don’t want to create a scenario where we’re providing information that creates vulnerability in the network for an attacker [to exploit]. There are going to be elements of the plan that are potentially proprietary, based on our partnership. There may be things that they don’t want to share broadly. We are going to engage with the states throughout the FY 2016 process to start identifying key folks within the state that we may want to limit access to certain portions of the plan, if it becomes necessary.”

Indeed, the latest amendments to FirstNet RFP—Amendment 9, available here—also includes some changes that acknowledge the sensitivity of site data. Bidders will be granted more latitude in supplying site data during the RFP process, although the government reserves the right to request detailed site data in specific situations.

Reed said he could not be specific about what information about the proposed network within the state plan that FirstNet would share with stakeholders outside of the selected group until a contractor is selected. But he did acknowledge that FirstNet “will be able to provide the value proposition that FirstNet’s bringing to the table” during its discussion with states.

Reed also offered a personal opinion.

“I’ll tell you what I think,” he said. “We need to be able to articulate not only where our coverage is and where we plan to go over time. I think it’s critical that we share that information.”

Some state officials expressed concern whether FirstNet has the resources necessary to distribute all state plans at once and address all potential issues and questions simultaneously. Kennedy said he believes FirstNet is prepared to meet the challenge.

“It’s hard, but we absolutely are planning to do that,” Kennedy said.