FirstNet board members Dowd, Johnson share visions for broadband system

Dowd, who noted that “no options are off the table” in terms of FirstNet’s procurement model, expressed confidence that vendors will not be caught off guard by the unveiling of organizational plans.

“I don’t think this is going to come up and bite you all of a sudden,” he said. “Our goal is to get detail out as soon as we reasonably can.

“But, in order to keep a level playing field and not to frustrate people, we don’t want to start coming out with stuff that we determine later on—based on our business planning—suddenly becomes not realistic. We want to be careful about that. It is ongoing, and it is going to be comprehensive.”

Johnson said it is important for FirstNet to converse with vendors before seeking requests for proposals (RFPs), because FirstNet officials will not be allowed to speak freely with vendors after the bidding process starts.

“Once we get into the RFP process, that will become a quiet time for us, and we’ll quit talking about it,” he said. “So, we have a window—from today until whatever the beginning of that process is—where we can engage the vending community … more openly than when we start a certain process.”