FirstNet Fiscal Year 2016 Marked Significant Achievements in Making Network a Reality for Public Safety
The accomplishments were built on the work with stakeholders in the states, public safety community and industry.
Edward Parkinson, FirstNet Director of Government Affairs writes that over the last fiscal year, FirstNet accomplished many major milestones, with the most significant being the gains made in the acquisition process for the deployment of the nationwide public safety broadband network.
In January 2016, FirstNet released the FirstNet Request for Proposal (RFP) and accepted proposals through May 31, 2016. To date, FirstNet remains in an active procurement and evaluation process, and we expect to award the contract in 2017.
These accomplishments were built on the work with stakeholders in the states, public safety community and industry. The data, input and feedback that FirstNet has received from stakeholders helped to shape an innovative, objectives-based RFP.
Fiscal Year 2016 also saw FirstNet progress as an organization as it moved from a planning phase toward an operational, customer service-oriented entity. This included an expanded consultation and outreach program. The FirstNet leadership and staff participated in more than 130 association events with the 43-member PSAC, more than 140 consultation events with the SPOCs, and more than 83 tribal meetings.
FirstNet also was pleased to open their Innovation and Test Lab at our technical headquarters in Boulder, Colorado. FirstNet’s state-of-the-art lab will be a “plug and play” environment in which FirstNet and its future private industry partner will test public safety features, devices, and apps before they are deployed on the FirstNet Network.