Did you blink during the last few weeks? If so, here are some things you may have missed

A lot is happening in the critical-communications arena right now, whether the topic is next-generation 911, cybersecurity or FirstNet, and it may be difficult for people in these industries to monitor everything—and that’s a shame, because some of these items are related, so the decisions can impact each other.

With this in mind, here’s a summary of some notable recent news items and an attempt to “connect the dots” between some of them:

Next-generation 911—The FCC’s Task Force on Optimal Public-Safety Answering Point (PSAP) Architecture (TFOPA) resource working group released its report on 911 funding, which reiterated that many current 911 funding models do not work as needed to maintain existing 911 operation, much less pay for the migration to next-generation 911. Everyone on the task force agrees that a broadband fee to pay for 911 makes sense, but there was considerable disagreement on the method—should the fee be based on the number of connections or the bandwidth provided?

Exactly what role the federal government should play in 911 funding will continue to be a topic of debate. History has shown that leaving 911 funding entirely at the state and local levels results in uneven technological capabilities throughout the country—some PSAPs are on the cusps of next-gen 911, while others struggle to provide basic 911.

Meanwhile, stories emerging from this TFOPA working group that state “raids” of 911 are more common than previously believed and often done using sophisticated financial techniques that escape the FCC’s notice has to be a concern for FirstNet, which could face a similar challenge with opt-out states and territories in the future.

Cybersecurity—It will be interesting to see another TFOPA working group’s report on cybersecurity when it is released later this year, because it could have significant funding and operational implications. In addition, it will be interesting to see whether FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler’s proposal to have the federal government fund security operation centers to provide cybersecurity support to PSAPs on a regional basis gains any traction. Do the feds want to do this, and would Congress really pay for it, as Wheeler envisions? Would local PSAPs accept the arrangement?

This 911 cybersecurity discussion is particularly timely, because FirstNet just released its cybersecurity public notice last Monday. In trying to meet a self-imposed goal to release it final request for proposal (RFP) by the end of the year, FirstNet has provided commenters 16 days to respond to the cybersecurity public notice (the original deadline was this Friday, or 11 days).

Given the fact that no one in the world seems to be able to secure data or networks—both corporations and governments have been victims of high-profile data breaches in recent years—and the fact that any solution will need to be integrated with existing security practices and networks operated by state and local jurisdictions, asking for responses on such a complex topic in just 16 days seems rather aggressive. Hopefully, those with the best solutions already had their filings ready; in some entities, just getting legal approvals on such filings could eat up much of the response window.

But the bigger issue is whether FirstNet can secure its network and whether it can do so in a way that integrates smoothly with 911 technology, because the two systems will be transmitting information to each other on a regular basis. If it can, FirstNet has a chance to make its vision a reality. If it cannot, FirstNet will not succeed.

This interdependency leads to new questions. If FirstNet and 911 need to be able to transmit information across both systems seamlessly and both systems need the latest cybersecurity tools, should they have separate cybersecurity structures, or would it be better and more efficient to have one structure oversee all public-safety cybersecurity?

Is that too much power in one place? Is it politically and logistically feasible, especially with FirstNet and next-gen 911 facing uncertain deployment timetables? I certainly don’t have the answer, but smarter people than me—and there are plenty of them—should be considering these questions.