Missing FirstNet question may shed light on organization’s early hiring practices

FirstNet recently released two key documents: (1) a comprehensive RFI that is designed to be a precursor to its procurement process, and (2) a public notice of preliminary legal interpretations of some key gray areas included in the 2012 law that established FirstNet.

In my initial review, both documents generally seem to be thorough and ask the right questions for their particular purposes. We’ll go into more detail about these items—particularly the significant definitions of what is a “public-safety entity” and what is “rural” in the context of FirstNet—in future columns, but the focus of today’s column is a legal question that is not asked by FirsNet: What does it mean for FirstNet to be an “independent authority” within the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA)?

It is not a new question. In fact, the ink may not have been dry on the law creating FirstNet before legal experts in the public-safety industry began asking me the question during IWCE 2012. No one really seemed to have an answer at that time, but most were so excited about public safety having the needed 700 MHz spectrum and a $7 billion funding commitment that the matter was largely overlooked.

But the “independent authority” question seems much more relevant in light of last week’s story written by Greg Gordon of McClatchyDC that outlines the early contracting practices of FirstNet, which included paying contractors/consultants with close ties to then-Chairman Sam Ginn and board member Craig Farrill, who led FirstNet’s technical efforts until full-time staff members were hired to fill the role.

On the surface, the idea of a government-funded entity like FirstNet would hire contractors/consultants with close ties to board members without a formal bidding process may seem preposterous. After all, no other government agency would be allowed to do that.

This is true, but what should be remembered is that the notion of what FirstNet’s “independent authority” status really meant had not been established at this time.

In fact, proponents cited this part of the law and expressed the expectation that FirstNet would have the flexibility to operate like a business—under the NTIA umbrella—so it could build this much-anticipated nationwide broadband network for public safety as quickly and efficiently as possible. At the same time, critics cited Amtrak and the U.S. Postal Service as hybrid government/private entities and questioned whether FirstNet should follow a similar path.

Ginn revealed some of the initial marching orders delivered to the FirstNet board, but exactly how FirstNet should operate—as a business, as a government entity or something in between—was not included in those statements.