Public safety and first responders will have the chance to offer input into how a new public safety broadband network could be implemented through a series of public meetings held in the Lake of the Ozarks area over the next year.
The Missouri Department of Public Safety (DPS) recently received a federal grant, State and Local Implementation Grant Program (SLIGP) through the Office of Homeland Security, to explore and implement a dedicated public safety broadband network used by public safety and first responders, and update its statewide communications interoperability plan.
According to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) website, the grant is for $2,477,551, with non-federal matching at $619,388. The total project is estimated at $3,096,939.
As part of the grant, DPS has partnered with the Missouri Association of Councils of Government (MACOG) and its subsequent 19 entities, including Lake of the Ozarks Council of Local Governments (LOCLG) to hold a series of public meetings to garner input from the public safety community and local jurisdictions.
In the LOCLG four-county region, which includes Camden, Miller, Morgan and Laclede counties, the first public meeting is at 2 p.m. Wednesday, May 14 at the Camden County Courthouse in Camdenton. According to LOCLG Executive Director Linda Connor, the remaining meetings are Aug. 27, Nov. 12, Feb. 25, 2015 and May 20, 2015, all at the Camden County Courthouse.
"We were required to provide a meeting place that offered 1 Gbps of Internet access to accommodate the meeting requirements provided by DPS, and the Camden County Courthouse was the only location that we could get the required Internet access," she said.
LOCLG will work with prospective stakeholders to publicize the meeting dates, times and locations within its four-county region. However, the DPS will facilitate the meetings, provide information about public safety broadband, and collect information about how a network could best serve first responders in protecting citizens.
The proposed broadband service DPS will discuss is the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet), an independent authority within the NTIA and created as part of the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012.
According to a FirstNet literature distributed by DPS Missouri Interoperability Center Director Bryan Courtney, The FirstNet network will be a single, nationwide long-term evolution (LTE) network that makes it easier for public safety users to communicate during emergencies and on the job every day. For example, the interoperable communications network can be used to dispatch an extrication team, a medical helicopter, police and EMS personnel from different jurisdictions all at the same time. According to the FirstNet literature, first responder personnel using the FirstNet network will be able to share images, applications and access to databases to have a common operational picture as incidents unfold.
In addition, FirstNet's goal is to provide public safety-grade reliability and extensive coverage so public safety users can utilize the network on site and in certain geographic areas. In addition, local officials and incident commanders will have local control over the network, so they can assign users, talk to groups, and determine who can access applications, FirstNet literature said. Unlike current commercial wireless networks, a dedicated broadband network would allow for priority access among public safety users, as stated in a LOCLG news release about the meeting.
Initially, FirstNet will send data, video, images and text, however, eventually the network will also carry location information and support streaming video, as well as offer voice over LTE.
At the first public meeting, DPS will provide information about the proposed safety broadband network, elicit feedback from the attendees about their requirements for a network, discuss how a dedicated public safety broadband network could best work for them; and talk about who would use the network.
Connor said the information gathered from these meetings will help Missouri create a specific proposal for consideration to the federal agency.
For more information about the nationwide public safety broadband network, visit www.firstnet.gov. For special accommodations to the meeting, call the LOCLG office at 573-346-5692.