FirstNet’s bidding deadline has passed—what we know now

For states and territories, governors and gubernatorial candidates running for office in November need to be briefed thoroughly about FirstNet and the “opt-out” alternative, because they may have to make the monumental choice in about 14 months.

Handling this issue properly should result in the state’s public-safety agencies having the choice to subscribe to a reliable broadband network at relatively low cost to the taxpayers, whether the radio access network (RAN) is built by FirstNet or by the state under an “opt-out” scenario. In contrast, a poor handling of this decision could result in deployment delays in the state and its taxpayers being saddled with massive long-term financial obligations.

For local governments and public-safety agencies, the next several months are an opportunity to educate personnel and elected officials, so they can provide input to state officials about the opt-out decision and what kind of coverage agencies need in various locations. It also is a time to monitor closely the final deployment plan—whether it is from FirstNet or the state—so the timing of subscription decisions can be estimated and preparations can be made to adjust budgets appropriately.

It’s also an ideal time for agencies to brainstorm in many areas, including how a dedicated public-safety broadband network should be used and how it could impact first-responder operations.

Of course, such preparatory efforts are limited by the fact that many details remain unknown. FirstNet developed an RFP that identified 16 core public-safety objectives and asked offeror teams to submit proposals that meet the objectives. This flexibility likely maximized the number of bids received and innovative approaches submitted, but it also means that potential users of the FirstNet system still do not know how the objectives will be met.

For example, the methods that offeror teams use to meet the reliability and cybersecurity objectives could be very different.

Offeror teams also could have varied business models, resulting in different price points for public-safety users, not to mention different definitions about who qualifies as a “public-safety entity” that is eligible for prioritized access and most-favored-customer pricing. Because such items are not prescribed in the RFP, we will all have to wait until the selected contractor reveals the details of its proposal after signing a contract with FirstNet.

If FirstNet is able to meet its stated timeline, November promises to be very interesting.