Firstnet Finds a Fireball

Sue Swenson

On June 3^rd, Sue Swenson assumed the role of Chair of the FirstNet Board of Directors.  She spoke to a group of about 500 people from public safety agencies, industry and the federal government at a conference near Boulder, Colorado, sponsored by Public Safety Communications Research (PSCR), an agency of the federal government’s Department of Commerce.  Her prepared remarks are here.

In Sue Swenson, FirstNet has found a fireball of a leader.

Her remarks are refreshing.   She admitted past Firstnet mistakes which have set back the effort.   She’s willing to admit her own, past, misgivings.  But she convincingly conveyed why she accepted the Chair’s role:  this work is something which will make a difference in the lives of every American.   And that same motivation drives the rest of us.

Sue has a sense of urgency, but not emergency.   I hate it when a tech employee comes to me and says “we have an emergency”.  As a former cop my response is always “oh yeah, whose life is in danger?”   Swenson feels the same way – unless someone has died, problems can be fixed.   She’s obviously a “can do” leader.

Sue is draconian on customer service.  When FirstNet makes a commitment they must keep that commitment.   If you can’t do it, don’t make the commitment.  “Don’t do that with me [drop commitments], or you will suffer.”

Sue’s remarks indicate a new era of transparency and openness is starting at FirstNet.  Here are some of the other indicators:

• The FirstNet Board meeting yesterday was conducted in a room open to the public at a hotel.   No more full Board meetings behind closed doors, with only a handful of people in the room, televised with grainy video and hit-and-miss audio.   This is the way city councils and state legislatures and other public bodies meet – it is great to see the Board meeting that same standard.
• FirstNet staff, to a person, are open and engaging – in person, on the phone, via email.  They ask questions, they ask for opinions, they answer questions honestly, understanding they only have a few of the answers.  Most of FirstNet’s future is unknown – it is yet to be written.  They, like Sue, are committed.
• FirstNet has promised a public comment and input process on major parts of its work, like a comprehensive network request for proposals (RFP) for equipment and services.
• The FirstNet website, while still rudimentary, contains hints of the new transparency.  Features such as a blog give timely news.  For example, FirstNet now has about 90 employees and contractors and we’re seeing announcements of some of those hires on the blog and website.  In fact, FirstNet says they will accept guest blog posts from outside – and I’ll be taking them up on that offer!
• FirstNet encourages potential vendors to engage and meet with staff.   This is extraordinarily important as it keeps industry engaged, keeps FirstNet informed as the technology changes, and gives even small vendors – like local independent telephone companies and tech startups – a chance to be heard.  I’ve heard that, in the past, FirstNet staff listened politely to presentations but were forbidden to ask questions or engage.  So this is a welcome change.
• FirstNet is highlighting best practices from states – work like a great poster developed by Oregon or a sharepoint site developed by Maryland.   This indicates a true intention to collaborate and work with states.

All is not sweetness and light, of course.   It is still frustrating to hear a lot of talk about the “program roadmap” but yet only have a two-page executive summary which describes it.   T. J. Kennedy, at the Board meeting, described some of the milestones – financial, personnel – which his team has met.   But most of the roadmap is a really a fog to those of us on the outside.

There is also the issue of sustainability. Swenson indicated “the strategy for FirstNet must be a sustainable plan, and that includes recapitalization of the network”.   This issue – a business plan to finance the construction and operation of the network – is of enormous interest to elected officials such as fire district commissioners and state legislators.   But no viable public business plan exists.  How will a nationwide network with only a few million users be able to stay current in technology and coverage and user demands as LTE wireless technology rapidly develops?  We hope and trust a business plan is under development.   Many of us in states could help with this if we see draft versions and perhaps run it through the proposed public comment process

Telecommunicators – Almost Invisible Responders

I admire retiring chair Sam Ginn, and thank him for taking on the responsibility – something he didn’t have to do – to launch this whole enterprise and get the FirstNet ball rolling and keep it rolling up some pretty steep hills.   And I especially thank him for a phone call he made in mid-2012 to recruit Sue Swenson to the Board.

I look forward to the Swenson Era at FirstNet.   As she eloquently stated:  “[In the past] We didn’t make it clear whose network it is – it is public safety’s network and we have the privilege of working on it.”

I feel the same way – this network is owned by cops and firefighters and electrical lineworkers and building inspectors and EMT’s and telecommunicators who answer 911 calls every day.   Like Sue, I’m just privileged to work on it.

Mr. FirstNet Comes to (the other) Washington

Ed Parkinson comes to the other Washington

Ed Parkinson, Director of Government Affairs for the First Responder Network Authority, visited Washington State (“the other Washington”) and Oregon this week.  Mr. Parkinson met with senior officials here in Washington, including the State CIO, Michael Cockrill, and the Director of Emergency Management.   He met with Oregon State officials and also gave a talk at the joint meeting of the independent telecommunications companies of Oregon and Washington.   His appearance here in the Pacific Northwest gives me some additional hope for this noble effort called FirstNet.

The First Responder Network Authority was created by Congress in February, 2012.  It was authorized to use $7 billion in funds obtained from the auction of spectrum to wireless telecommunications companies.   FirstNet’s mission is to design and build a nationwide public safety wireless broadband network.   Congress broadly defined “public safety” as not just First Responders like cops and firefighters, but also transportation, utilities, public works and anyone who has a role in responding and fixing the incidents that occur every day, as well as responding to major disasters like hurricanes and earthquakes.

I am known as a skeptic of FirstNet’s progress, which I’ve blogged about in the past (Is FirstNet Stalled?).

But I’m also definitely heartened by recent developments in FirstNet’s efforts.

My current weather forecast for FirstNet is “fair and warmer”.   Ed’s visit, plus a couple of other recent events contribute to that forecast.   There are, however, a few storm clouds still on the horizon.

FirstNet

Here are some factors contributing to my sunnier forecast for FirstNet:

• “We’re going to work with states to design this network.”   FirstNet doesn’t just have a 12 step plan – it has a forty-five (45) step plan to design a network for each state.   The plan includes a number of specific actions and meetings where local and state public safety officials will be engaged to specify the areas the network must cover, who will be authorized to use it, and how much it will cost.
• FirstNet Folks are everywhere, underground and in the air.   FirstNet acting general manager T. J. Kennedy, Ed Parkinson and other senior staff spend a lot of time speaking at conferences, talking to folks on the sidelines, answering questions, calling folks on the phone and responding to email.    The procurement staff seem to be open to meeting with almost anyone who may have a service usable to FirstNet (if you can find their contact information).   This represents a refreshing level of engagement.
• State Consultation is on the Fast Track.   FirstNet promised to publish a set of criteria on how they will work with states to design the network in each state by April 30^th.  And they met the deadline!   David Buchanan is driving this process forward despite being short-staffed.  FirstNet is actively working with state points of contact (like me) to set up meetings and come meet with local fire and police chiefs, mayors, sheriffs, county commissioners and others.   The fact that Ed Parkinson visits with governors and states like Oregon and Washington is a positive sign.
• A draft RFP by the end of 2014.    FirstNet officials have promised a comprehensive request for proposals (RFP) for equipment and services.  They’ve also promised to publish a draft of that RFP for review/comment by states, local jurisdictions and the vendor community.   This is an excellent approach, as it should produce a good set of contracts which FirstNet can tap to build the network.
• Public comment and review.   FirstNet promises to ask its stakeholders – police and fire departments, transportation departments, electric and water utilities, commercial companies supplying products and others – to review some of its plans and ideas.   These “public comments” build on a series of requests for information (RFIs) which FirstNet issued last year.   This public comment process has worked well for other agencies such as the FCC and should help to generate good ideas for FirstNet.   But as of this moment, such a process is still just a promise.

Storm Clouds with a bit of Light

Here are some of the storm clouds or difficult waters which FirstNet still needs to navigate:

• “I’m from the Federal Government, and I’m here to help.”   Congress said FirstNet is an “independent authority” within the National Telecommunications and Information Administration.   Yeah.  Right.   FirstNet is part of the Federal government.   When a citizen calls 911, the FBI doesn’t show up.   The local fire or police department shows up.  Usually within 4 to 10 minutes.   And those local responders depend on local radio networks and local 911 centers for dispatch and communications.   Anyone who has waited in a line at the social security office (“your current wait time is one hour, 54 minutes”) or a veteran’s hospital (“your current wait time is 2 years, 54 days”) knows what a federal bureaucracy can be like.  FirstNet has acknowledged it is subject to the onerous Federal Acquisition Regulation for buying stuff and the ponderous Federal personnel process for hiring staff.  FirstNet needs to show it is nimble and able to meet the needs of the cop on the beat or the electric company lineworker on a pole inches away from a 25 kilowatt power line.
• How much will it cost me?   Will it be sustainable?   Will there be enough money to build and operate it?   These are all questions which those of us who are state points of contact (SPOCs) get every day.   And, hopefully, they will be answered as design moves forward.
• Staffing.   FirstNet is charged with creating technical designs and business plans for each one of 56 states and territories.   Due to the onerous Federal personnel process (see above), most FirstNet staff have been hired as transfers from other federal agencies – that’s much easier to do than to hire people with experience on the street but outside the Federal personnel system.  Finding highly skilled technical staff has been even more of a problem and charged with controversy.   But gee, here we are, two+ years after FirstNet was created, and the agency is really not staffed to do its work, with only about 50 Federal employees and maybe 20 contractors.   Of course the real numbers are murky because of …
• Transparency (or lack thereof).    President Obama promised an open, transparent, government on his first day in office, January 20, 2009.   But Federal agencies have been as secretive as ever in withholding real information from citizens, as shown in a recent PBS documentary.   I’ve urged FirstNet to trumpet every small success, to acknowledge failures, to talk publicly about every person they hire, full-timer or contractor, to be open about their roadmap and finances.  I know FirstNet staff struggle within the straightjacket of Department of Commerce policies on this.  And I’m heartened by their embracing regular webinars with stakeholders, Twitter (at least five FirstNet folks tweet) and blogging to improve transparency.  But, gee, where is the list of FirstNet staff and contact information on their website?    I couldn’t even find the name of the procurement officer much less a current organizational chart on the website.  In terms of transparency, there is a ways to go …
• Board meetings.  FirstNet Board meetings are … well … ballet.  They seem to be well-orchestrated public theater.   The members are in a closed room in an disclosed location with video cameras for the rest of us to observe.   When the meeting is over they escape out the back door to avoid reporters and those interested in engaging them.  This is totally opposite of the way county commissions, city councils and state legislatures work, where officials are very approachable before and after meetings.    I will immediately say individual board members such as Sue Swenson and Jeff Johnson, and senior FirstNet staff from T.J. Kennedy on up to the lowest-paid secretary are, individually, approachable and responsive to email and phone calls.  But FirstNet Board meetings need to be coached on transparency and openness by any School Board meeting in any School District in the nation.
• Advisory Committees.   FirstNet has one advisory committee, the Public Safety Advisory Committee (PSAC) with 45 members.   The meetings of the PSAC are closed.  Although, again, the chair of the PSAC, Harlin McEwen, is very open and engaging with stakeholders.     I personally think FirstNet could use an advisory committee of state elected officials (Governors, Attorneys General, Mayors) and perhaps an advisory committee of industry and commercial enterprises in addition to the PSAC.   And PSAC meetings, just like FirstNet Board meetings or your local City Council meetings, need to be open for attendance by anyone.

I find that everyone I encounter at FirstNet, from Mr. Sam Ginn and Acting General Manager T. J. Kennedy on up to the  administrative assistants, to be committed to the job.

Building FirstNet: the Nationwide Public Safety Wireless Network

Commitment was clear at NASA in the 1960s, where even the janitors knew what they were doing: “I’m helping to put a man on the moon.”

FirstNet staff know they are going to keep 330 million people safe and improve our national and local quality of life:  “I’m building the very first nationwide public safety wireless network.”

I see that commitment in Ed Parkinson.   I see that in David Buchanan.   I see that in T. J. Kennedy.   I see it in members of the FirstNet Board.  I see that in those of us laboring to engage responders in Oregon and Washington and Florida and Maryland.

The next FirstNet Board meeting is on June 3, 2014 in Colorado.

Will we see that commitment there as well?

I think and I trust that I will.

But we’ll see …

(This version is slightly edited and updated from the original.)

– FirstNet: Lessons from the School of Hard Knocks

Friday, June 29th was the second and final day of the National Governors’ Association sponsored meeting of chief information officers (CIOs), statewide interoperability coordinators (SWICs) and other government officials from 49 states and territories. We’re discussing the States’ role in building the new Nationwide Public Safety wireless Broadband Network (NPSBN). The First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet), an independent agency inside the federal government, will be responsible for the planning, procurement and spending up to $7 billion to create the network. But FirstNet won’t be constituted until August, 2012.  (Note:  I blogged about the first day of this event in FirstNet: Cats and Dogs Living Together).

Friday we heard from Stacey Black of AT&T, Don Brittingham of Verizon and Rishi Bashkar of Motorola. Each of those companies have practical, on-the-ground, experience building these 4th generation, long-term-evolution (LTE) networks. And their advice: basically LTE is a “horse of a different color” from our traditional public safety voice land-mobile-radio (LMR) networks.

Here are some specifics they talked about based upon their experience:

• The timing is urgent. AT&T, Verizon and Motorola all agreed that the core of FirstNet could be up and running in 12 months. But, because of Federal procurement laws, the requirement to allow States to review the plans, time to issue RFPs and a whole variety of other factors, it may be 5 to 7 years before the network carries traffic. In their words “that is a bad plan: – that timeframe is just too long to meet the need, which is urgent today…(Read the rest of this blog post on my Digital Communities Blog here.)