Partnerships are much more than contracts—an important distinction for FirstNet

Further, every potential partner I talk with is simply not interested in a partnership with the federal government on what is perceived as a federal-government project. There are a number of reasons for this, a few of them are:

1)      Red tape, red tape, and more red tape.

2)      The amount of time and effort and the reams of documents needed.

3)      Congress giveth and Congress can taketh away. If you count the $7 billion startup fund for FirstNet and 20 MHz of prime 700-MHz spectrum put back on the auction block, this spectrum and funding could become a $20 Billion pay down to the national debt, not the $3 Billion we were battling with Congress for over the value of the D Block—a huge difference.

4)      The federal government’s terrible track record of building out networks. The Integrated Wireless Network (IWN) initiative for an interoperable trunked radio system for federal agencies that was abandoned is a perfect example of a federal fiasco.

Public safety did not sign up for a network built by the federal government for use by state and local public-safety agencies. Instead, we spent years convincing Congress to allocate the D Block and partially fund construction of a nationwide public-safety network we believed would be under the control and direction of an independent entity with the authority vested in it to make decisions and move forward rapidly. What we got was an organization that only outwardly looks independent. In practice, it is governed by some within the federal government who have decided, for whatever reason, that they know best about what needs to be done and by whom.

If FirstNet is to be successful, partnerships are vital. FirstNet must have the ability to seek out and discuss potential partnership agreements, without having to resort to RFI/RFP rigid rules and regulations that hamper all those who work in the federal environment.

The board members of FirstNet are professionals; many of them have been responsible for managing billion-dollar projects and have completed their tasks within deadlines and usually under budget. These professionals need to be empowered to work with a dedicated FirstNet staff to seek out and finalize partnerships that will ensure FirstNet’s success. If not, Congress is liable to turn its attention to the lack of progress and the amount of money sitting on the table.

Andrew M. Seybold is CEO and principal analyst of Andrew Seybold, Inc., in Santa Barbara, Calif., and is a member of the editorial advisory council for IWCE's Urgent Communications. He can be contacted at[email protected].