Which brings me to this article that appeared in The Atlantic, The $47 Billion Network That’s Already Obsolete. I can only imagine the folks in the national FirstNet Office wringing their hands at such poor reporting. One only has to start with the title of the article. If I only had that to base my knowledge on, it says to me that FirstNet is a $47B government boondoggle that is not needed.
As I delved into the article it became clear that the reporter was fixated on radio and voice communications interoperability. FirstNet, in its current version, is not a replacement for land mobile radios. The term "barking up the wrong tree" comes to mind. The reporter saying, "What's wrong with using your iPhone?" Is a focus on the wrong issue. This is not so much about the instrument that you use, but what carries the data from point to point. FirstNet is a wireless carrier solution that gives first responders, and others, priority access to a wireless network, that they don't have now.
As I've written about before, voice will become less critical in the future as we move to a data-rich environment fueled by technological devices that have yet to be implemented in our public safety disciplines. This is about the Internet of Things and other technological devices like body sensors in firefighter's turnout gear monitoring their heart rate and breathing, and transmitting that wirelessly to the command post.
I do have to agree with one comment from the author at the end of the article. There are many things in emergency management and homeland security that Secretary Jeh Johnson is not familiar with.
Tom Plawman shared the link above.
