FirstNet CEO: ‘$7 billion Doesn’t Go as far as It Used To’

Lawmakers are concerned that federal plans for nationwide public safety broadband won’t progress on schedule. Weeks after FirstNet collected proposals from the businesses hoping to provide the network's backbone, lawmakers probed officials on its deployment.

During a Senate Commerce Committee hearing, Sen Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) asked experts whether state representatives were involved in the planning process. While FirstNet has “stepped up” efforts to collaborate with states on deployment, "at the end of the day, states don’t necessarily feel they are viewed as full partners,” said Jeffrey McLeod, director of the Homeland Security and Public Safety Division at the National Governors Association. States will see draft plans for the adoption of the broadband network, intended to guarantee public safety officers wireless connectivity, but they will not have much time to suggest revisions, he said. FirstNet plans to begin deploying the network in the fall of 2017.