FirstNet and NG911_ Pushing in the Same Direction - GovTechWorks

3/30/2016 FirstNet and NG911: Pushing in the Same Direction GovTechWorks
https://www.govtechworks.com/firstnetandnextgeneration911pushinginthesamedirection/#gs.NwZjoa8 1/7
FirstNet and Next Generation 911
Get ready for emergency call services to move into the modern era.
The 븿듕rst-responder community has taken two major steps so far in 2016: First, the
national FirstNet program began soliciting formal proposals in January for a
comprehensive, nationwide broadband network to support the nation’s 븿듕rst
responders. Then in February, three 븿듕rst-responder advocacy groups joined together
and, for the 븿듕rst time, set 2020 as a national deadline for Next Generation 911 (NG9-
1-1) adoption.
The two moves will rede븿듕ne the way police, 븿듕re and emergency medical services
interact with each other and with citizens.
The twin announcements are the culmination of years of eￆᎉort. Timing now is driven
by four factors:
FirstNet and NG911: Pushing in the Same
Direction
by David Silverberg | Mar 22, 2016
U a

Huge advancements in telecommunications technology, especially mobile
The 9/11 Commission (the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon
the United States) mandate to improve 븿듕rst-responder emergency
communications
The desire for better location information for emergency calls to improve
response
A tsunami of multimedia data from mobile phones, surveillance cameras and
other sources
Yet the road ahead is pitted with challenges. Though Congress provided national
support for FirstNet and local governments are clamoring to upgrade their
emergency call systems, some state governments are lagging behind, leaving a
critical gap between these two complementary systems.
Speci븿듕c challenges include:
A legacy of independent 911 systems that were formed as local entities
because of technological limitations at the time they were built
Uneven funding and strategies across the states
Outmoded existing equipment nearing the end of its useful life
Finalizing standards
‘Natural Partnership’
When it comes to emergency communications, NG9-1-1 and FirstNet form “a natural
partnership,” in the words of The National Public Safety Telecommunications
Council. “Both NG9-1-1 and FirstNet share the same goal of improving
communications during emergencies through a nationwide [Internet protocol]-based
architecture.”
NG9-1-1 will provide 븿듕rst responders with location information and multimedia data
from mobile 911 callers. The existing wired system cannot support those features.
Meanwhile, 븿듕rst responders will receive mission-critical voice and data
communications from dispatchers over FirstNet’s high-speed 4G mobile network.
“Right now we are limited in what we can push out to [븿듕rst responders] in the 븿듕eld
because of bandwidth,” says Steve Souder, director of the Fairfax County, Va., 911
program. FirstNet will solve that problem and allow dispatchers to share data
collected using NG9-1-1 with “those who actually respond to the emergency.”
Both are ambitious projects that should substantially improve 븿듕rst-response
performance. Both have enthusiastic support from the 븿듕rst-responder community.

But to date, each has developed on its own separate track.
NG9-1-1 implementation began in earnest in 2000, when cell phone use was rising
and ordinary citizens suddenly found they could transmit more data in more forms
than public safety networks could deliver to 븿듕rst responders. Implementation has
continued in fragmented and uneven form ever since, with some states and
communities pushing ahead and others holding back (see GTW’s Fragmented 911
Networks Put Drag on Next-Generation Upgrades).
FirstNet, by contrast, is federally funded through a $7 billion appropriation, along
with up to $135 million in grants to states, territories and the District of Columbia. It
is centrally managed by an independent government authority called the First
Responder Network Authority with a congressional mandate to help drive the
process forward. Yet it, too, must ultimately be approved by the states.
FirstNet received its initial impetus from the 9/11 Commission, which recommended
in its summary report that “Congress should support pending legislation which
provides for the expedited and increased assignment of radio spectrum for public
safety purposes.” That recommendation was passed into law as part of the 2012
Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act.
“FirstNet and NG9-1-1 are joined at the hip in some ways, but the models for their
creation could not have been more diￆᎉerent,” says Trey Forgety, director of
governmental aￆᎉairs for the National Emergency Number Association (NENA).
“FirstNet had its origins when public safety organizations and agencies went to the
federal government and said: ‘We need this one thing.’”
Responding to a single, very speci븿듕c need already sanctioned by the 9/11
Commission was a relatively easy issue for Congress to address at the Federal level.
By contrast, Forgety points out, “The 911 agencies did their work at the state and
local level and now they’re rolling out networks and systems that need assistance.”
FirstNet’s RFP, NG9-1-1’s Goal
After a year of study and consultation, FirstNet issued its request for proposals (RFP)
on Jan. 13, with the objective of creating a Nationwide Public Safety Broadband
Network. The winning contractor must provide “a comprehensive solution” including
all “personnel, materials, services, facilities, management and other resources
necessary,” and will sign a single, inde븿듕nite-delivery-inde븿듕nite-quantity contract with
븿듕xed-price payments.
Since issuing the RFP, FirstNet has taken questions from interested parties.
The 2020 deadline set for NG9-1-1 implementation does not have that FirstNet’s
contracting muscle or force of law. Rather, it is a goal set by the NG9-1-1 NOW
Coalition, a newly-formed alliance of public safety groups: NENA, the National
Association of State 911 Administrators and the Industry Council for Emergency

Response Technologies, and supported by the NG9-1-1 Institute, among others.
The coalition’s goal: “By the end of the year 2020, all 911 systems and centers in all
56 states and territories will have su䣅橓ciently funded, standards-based, end-to-end,
IP-based 911 capabilities, and will have retired legacy 911 systems, without any
degradation in service to the public.”
“It’s only logical to move NG9-1-1 out as quickly as possible,” says Brian Fontes,
NENA’s chief executive o䣅橓cer, who says that NG911 is on track and that 2020 is a
reachable goal that coincides with FirstNet’s goals. “We need to keep to the mantra
of keeping NG9-1-1 going.”
Forgety agrees, calling the 2020 goal “aggressive but achievable.”
Roger Hixon, NENA’s technical issues director, says the momentum is powerful. “I
don’t see anything that will cause people to pull away from it. The critical mass of
support has been achieved and this is happening right now.”
With 70 to 80 percent of 911 calls coming from cell phones, Fontes says evolution to
the next generation of 911 is a necessity. The public, he says, “cannot be served by
continuing the legacy 911 system.”
The FirstNet program is actually adding momentum to the push for NG9-1-1
adoption, according to Laurie Flaherty, coordinator of the National 911 Program at
the Department of Transportation in Washington, D.C.
“I would say in terms of [NG9-1-1] implementation, if you look at it, it would form a
normal bell curve and we’re past the initial point,” says Flaherty. “There have been a
number of early adopters. We’re going up the bell curve and we’re still on the
upswing. There is certainly some sense of urgency about moving this forward.” With
the advent of FirstNet, “we’re being pushed by both sides: one from the carriers [who
want to upgrade their infrastructure] and now with FirstNet, we’re being pushed
from the other side.”
Fortunately, the pushes are moving in the same direction – improving
communications in nationwide emergency services.
David Silverberg is a veteran government and technology journalist and a consulting
editor with GovTechWorks.

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