FirstNet, DHS P25 comms efforts move ahead

The public/private effort to establish a dedicated nationwide wireless communications system took a step forward on Dec. 9 when the First Responder Network Authority board of directors approved a request for proposals to create and deploy a nationwide public safety broadband network.

The group said it expects to release the RFP in January, although it did not specify a date.

FirstNet will be a wireless broadband LTE network that operates on 700 MHz spectrum and is dedicated to emergency responders nationwide.

According to a statement released on Dec. 9, the board's approval for the RFP keeps its strategic roadmap on track.

"This is a landmark day for FirstNet and public safety," FirstNet Chairwoman Sue Swenson said in the statement. "By approving the RFP, the board has taken a major step forward to deliver a mission-critical network that first responders deserve."

The same day, the Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Directorate announced the 10 members of the Advisory Panel for the Project 25 Compliance Assessment Program. DHS officials said the members, who were drawn from state and federal agencies, will help establish standards for interoperability among land mobile radio communications products.

The panel will provide the DHS Office for Interoperability and Compatibility with input on portable, handheld, and vehicle-mounted radios and infrastructure equipment from federal, state, local, tribal and territorial perspectives.

Some experts regard radio gear and systems based on P25 standards as interim steps toward the national, interoperable communications network for first responders, which seeks to solve the problem of police, fire and other responders not being able to communicate with one another in an emergency.