FirstNet Expects Teams of Companies To Pursue FirstNet Contract, Board Member Says

FirstNet expects to issue a single contract that could include a team of participants as a result of its recently released request for proposals, board member Kevin McGinnis told the National Public Safety Telecommunications Council Thursday. FirstNet released the RFP last week (see 1601130046). Proposals are due April 29 and McGinnis said FirstNet will likely make an award in Q4.

FirstNet committed to releasing the RFP by the end of last year or early 2016, “and I’m glad that we were able to meet that commitment,” McGinnis said. “We are really, amazingly, now an award and a construction cycle away from having a nationwide network,” he said. “We will continue to consult with public safety as we go through the process of building the network.”

FirstNet staff are scheduling “kickoff” meetings with the single points of contact in each state to discuss plans for the year ahead, McGinnis said. “We intend to do a number of consultations with the states and a number of engagements in 2016.” The information FirstNet gathers will be used to inform the “state plans” for FirstNet, he said.

The FCC will propose rules for states to opt out of the network later this year, said Public Safety Bureau Deputy Chief David Furth. The agency is also working on the rules on the relocation of narrow-band incumbents from Band 14, being used to build the network (see 1601200066), Furth said.

A further notice on the 4.9 GHz band, allocated to public safety for broadband, is a “high priority” at the FCC and the agency will release a Further NPRM shortly, Furth said. The agency had hoped to release the notice before the end of last year, he said. In June 2012, the agency approved revised rules designed to boost utilization of the band (see 1206140066).

The FCC is working with NTIA staff on sharing of interoperability channels between federal and nonfederal public safety agencies, Furth said. Staffers from both agencies started work in 2014 and reached a “staff agreement,” he said. NTIA has approved changes in its federal user's manual to allow federal agencies to use FCC interoperability channels with approval from a public safety licensee, he said. “It eliminates what we perceive to be an unnecessary coordination requirement as long as there is coordination with the licensee and approval from the licensee.”

Both agencies also agreed to procedures that will allow statewide interoperability coordinators to oversee nonfederal use of federal channels without additional red tape, Furth said. NTIA is working on model language for a memorandum of understanding, which will be followed by a bureau public notice, he said. “Again, we don’t see the need for any rule changes on the FCC side.”

The bureau is also working on a guidance document for public safety licensees along the Canadian border on implementation of a 2014 agreement with Canada on cross-border roaming, Furth said. The document addresses how public safety officials from both countries can use mobile devices to communicate with their home agency when they cross the border. “It’s going to be a much simpler process than we’ve had in the past,” he said.