firstnet and ng911_ pushing in the same direction - govtechworks
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3/30/2016 FirstNet and NG911: Pushing in the Same Direction GovTechWorks
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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, thenational FirstNet program began soliciting formal proposals in January for acomprehensive, nationwide broadband network to support the nation’s 븿듕rstresponders. Then in February, three 븿듕rst-responder advocacy groups joined togetherand, 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 servicesinteract with each other and with citizens.
The twin announcements are the culmination of years of eￆᎉort. Timing now is drivenby four factors:
FirstNet and NG911: Pushing in the SameDirectionby David Silverberg | Mar 22, 2016
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3/30/2016 FirstNet and NG911: Pushing in the Same Direction GovTechWorks
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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 nationalsupport for FirstNet and local governments are clamoring to upgrade theiremergency call systems, some state governments are lagging behind, leaving acritical 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 naturalpartnership,” in the words of The National Public Safety TelecommunicationsCouncil. “Both NG9-1-1 and FirstNet share the same goal of improvingcommunications during emergencies through a nationwide [Internet protocol]-basedarchitecture.”
NG9-1-1 will provide 븿듕rst responders with location information and multimedia datafrom mobile 911 callers. The existing wired system cannot support those features.
Meanwhile, 븿듕rst responders will receive mission-critical voice and datacommunications 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 븿듕eldbecause of bandwidth,” says Steve Souder, director of the Fairfax County, Va., 911program. FirstNet will solve that problem and allow dispatchers to share datacollected using NG9-1-1 with “those who actually respond to the emergency.”
Both are ambitious projects that should substantially improve 븿듕rst-responseperformance. Both have enthusiastic support from the 븿듕rst-responder community.
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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 risingand ordinary citizens suddenly found they could transmit more data in more formsthan public safety networks could deliver to 븿듕rst responders. Implementation hascontinued in fragmented and uneven form ever since, with some states andcommunities pushing ahead and others holding back (see GTW’s Fragmented 911Networks Put Drag on Next-Generation Upgrades).
FirstNet, by contrast, is federally funded through a $7 billion appropriation, alongwith up to $135 million in grants to states, territories and the District of Columbia. Itis centrally managed by an independent government authority called the FirstResponder Network Authority with a congressional mandate to help drive theprocess forward. Yet it, too, must ultimately be approved by the states.
FirstNet received its initial impetus from the 9/11 Commission, which recommendedin its summary report that “Congress should support pending legislation whichprovides for the expedited and increased assignment of radio spectrum for publicsafety purposes.” That recommendation was passed into law as part of the 2012Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act.
“FirstNet and NG9-1-1 are joined at the hip in some ways, but the models for theircreation could not have been more diￆᎉerent,” says Trey Forgety, director ofgovernmental aￆᎉairs for the National Emergency Number Association (NENA).“FirstNet had its origins when public safety organizations and agencies went to thefederal government and said: ‘We need this one thing.’”
Responding to a single, very speci븿듕c need already sanctioned by the 9/11Commission 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 andlocal 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 BroadbandNetwork. The winning contractor must provide “a comprehensive solution” includingall “personnel, materials, services, facilities, management and other resourcesnecessary,” and will sign a single, inde븿듕nite-delivery-inde븿듕nite-quantity contract with븿듕xed-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’scontracting muscle or force of law. Rather, it is a goal set by the NG9-1-1 NOWCoalition, a newly-formed alliance of public safety groups: NENA, the NationalAssociation of State 911 Administrators and the Industry Council for Emergency
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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 all56 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 anydegradation 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 areachable goal that coincides with FirstNet’s goals. “We need to keep to the mantraof 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. “Idon’t see anything that will cause people to pull away from it. The critical mass ofsupport has been achieved and this is happening right now.”
With 70 to 80 percent of 911 calls coming from cell phones, Fontes says evolution tothe next generation of 911 is a necessity. The public, he says, “cannot be served bycontinuing the legacy 911 system.”
The FirstNet program is actually adding momentum to the push for NG9-1-1adoption, according to Laurie Flaherty, coordinator of the National 911 Program atthe 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 anormal bell curve and we’re past the initial point,” says Flaherty. “There have been anumber of early adopters. We’re going up the bell curve and we’re still on theupswing. There is certainly some sense of urgency about moving this forward.” Withthe advent of FirstNet, “we’re being pushed by both sides: one from the carriers [whowant to upgrade their infrastructure] and now with FirstNet, we’re being pushedfrom the other side.”
Fortunately, the pushes are moving in the same direction – improvingcommunications in nationwide emergency services.
David Silverberg is a veteran government and technology journalist and a consultingeditor with GovTechWorks.
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