FirstNet begins webinar series with state points of contact

Meanwhile, many states and territories are taking steps to prepare for FirstNet meetings by establishing governance structures and distribution channels for outreach efforts, Kennedy said.

“I think everybody’s gearing up, which is great,” he said. “I think all states are in a slightly different place, as far as how many meetings they’re having. They’re definitely having meetings. I know some have been in-person [meetings]. I believe some have been teleconferences, and they’re using their e-mail, telephone and face-to-face capabilities to reach out to agencies and let them know what’s happening and what’s coming in the future.”

Establishing a good rapport with officials representing the states and territories is critical to the success of FirstNet, FirstNet officials have said. In fact, while many industry observers expected FirstNet to develop a nationwide blueprint for its network design and business model that states could choose to adopt, FirstNet General Manager Bill D’Agostino has said that the current strategy is to develop a different plan with each state and territory, as long as each plan enables interoperability with users from other jurisdictions.

“One thing I want to get across is that our view is that each one of these plans has to be a unique and jointly developed plan for each state,” D’Agostino said during an interview with IWCE’s Urgent Communications at the LTE North America conference in November. “That’s the key to the success, in our opinion, of adoption—the ability for the governors and the agencies in the states to say, ‘My team has worked with FirstNet, we have built this plan together, and we believe in it.’

“Otherwise, I can say, ‘Hi, we’re from the federal government. We have a great plan—use it.’ And they’re going to toss me out. I want to build it from the bottom up, and I want to have it really jointly developed and cost it out. Then, I think we’ll have a high degree of success.”