FirstNet’s partnerships with the private sector and how...

FirstNet’s partnerships with the private sector and how it plans to develop the network in each state may hold “particular interest” for members of Congress, said a Congressional Research Service report released Wednesday (http://bit.ly/1ajGyEM). Those details may be an “early indicator of the viability of FirstNet in meeting the goals required by” the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012, which created the interoperable public-safety network, it said. By CRS telecom policy specialist Linda Moore, the report laid out the broad goals of the network, different deadlines and the technical and funding challenges it will have to meet. “In addition to monitoring progress in building the new broadband network for public safety, Congress may want to consider reviewing the role of commercial networks in emergency response and recovery,” it said. “Once commercial communications lines are compromised because of infrastructure failures, interdependent public safety networks are threatened and the ability to communicate vital information to the public is diminished.” NTIA has asserted powers as a supervising government agency, and FirstNet has been required to follow federal procurement rules in a way inconsistent with the intent of Congress, “and might be described as setting a course for FirstNet to become ‘another Amtrak,'” said CRS.