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The Law Enforcement Take: Winter 2019
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 The Law Enforcement Take from Harry Markley
Law enforcement’s real-life experiences with FirstNet
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I am looking forward to the year ahead. We start 2020 with over one million FirstNet connections and 75% of the network buildout complete. The First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet Authority) is planning to invest in the network in areas you told us were important and is engaging with public safety to learn more about your experiences and operational needs.
Roadmap and investments for FirstNet
Last year, we published the FirstNet Authority Roadmap, our guide to the future of FirstNet. The Roadmap focused on six technology domains:
- FirstNet core: The essential intelligence for the functioning of the network
- Coverage and capacity: FirstNet’s presence within a given geography
- Situational awareness: Real-time access, collection, and synthesis of data from multiple sources to give actionable insights to public safety
- Voice communications: The ability to verbally communicate across agencies, jurisdictions, and platforms
- Secure information exchange: Accessing, exchanging, and managing data securely and conveniently
- User experience: FirstNet network capabilities, features, devices, and applications tailored to the needs of public safety
These six domains help prioritize the FirstNet Authority’s programs, resources, investments, and partnership activities. For example, our Board approved a FY 2020 budget with $145 million for network investments and announced two areas of investment that align with our Roadmap domains:
- Expansion of the FirstNet fleet of deployables to enhance coverage and capacity during emergencies and events
- Initial generational upgrades to the FirstNet core to enable 5G network capabilities
FirstNet, smartphones, and patrol officers
Expanding and enhancing FirstNet has promising implications for law enforcement. I recently talked with Sergeant Frailan Young, Jr. of the Mesa Police Department. His agency is using FirstNet to streamline their daily activities and basic patrol duties. Using an app connected to their record management system, officers scan drivers’ licenses and registrations, collect photos, and dictate reports—all on their phones. The agency also developed an app to upload photos to their digital management system while in the field, no longer requiring officers to return to the station to attach photos to their reports.
“The phones that we have now, they’re always live, they’re always connected to our servers, categories are always correct, and always updated to the most current version, and it … minimizes the possibility for them to miscategorize those files,” said Sargent Young.
Use of smartphones by patrol officers is a popular topic. When I attended the annual International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) conference, people packed the room to hear from six police departments sharing their real life examples of using mobile devices with FirstNet. We hear you—you want more information on how patrol officers are using mobile devices in the field. Stay tuned for similar panels at upcoming conferences.
Hands-on experience
For more real-life experiences using FirstNet, the FirstNet Authority’s is debuting our experience program in 2020. The experience program offers hands-on learning opportunities to public safety. You’ve heard us talk about FirstNet’s quality of service, priority, and preemption. Now test them out yourself. The experience program plans to bring educational and testing opportunities to you in the field and at our state-of-the-art Innovation and Test Lab and future Experience Center in Boulder, CO.
Your experience
What are you interested in learning about FirstNet? I’d love to hear from you. Email me or find me at one of these events:
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 Hitting one million FirstNet connections for more than 10,000 public safety agencies was a major milestone for FirstNet in 2019. Stay tuned for the exciting progress planned for 2020!
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 With over 75% of the network built, FirstNet coverage and capacity continues to expand with new cell sites in Yamhill, OR, and Clinton, PA.
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 FirstNet gives public safety its own fast lane during network congestion at events like the NFL’s Super Bowl, college football’s Iron Bowl, and the Pro Football Hall of Fame events.
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 More than a broadband network, FirstNet is driving a new marketplace for public safety technology—with over 100 FirstNet Ready™ devices and 100 apps created for first responders.
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Tech, Innovations, and Hot Topics in Law Enforcement
Read what we’ve been hearing from public safety in the field about trends and drivers for law enforcement and emergency communications.*
The next generation of cellular technology, 5G, will help first responders get information they need to respond to emergencies even faster. The generational upgrade will lead to more intelligent traffic applications for smart cities and a wider range of Internet of Things sensors and devices. Mission critical standards for 5G are still being developed, but specific public safety features like proximity services, multicast broadcast services, enhanced location services and satellite access in 5G will be included in the standards. How will these 5G capabilities and increased speeds impact public safety operations? Texas A&M University (TAMU) is expanding its research focus into public safety’s use of 5G technology at its future Innovation Proving Ground (IPG) test facility.
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Historic Annapolis, Maryland, hosts nearly two million tourists annually, and public safety officials are responsible for protecting these visitors and local residents throughout the town and in the surrounding Chesapeake Bay. City leadership recognizes the necessity of reliable communications for these first responders and is rolling out FirstNet city-wide.
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Harry Markley is a Senior Public Safety Advisor and the First Responder Network Authority Law Enforcement Subject Matter Expert. Learn more about Harry or email him with your questions. |
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Top photo: Officer Richard Truitt of the Annapolis Police Department told the FirstNet Authority, "It is paramount that at any time we receive priority network connectivity."
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*FirstNet Authority may provide hyperlinks for third-party, non-governmental websites in order to offer additional context and added value for our users. FirstNet Authority does not endorse any product or service and is not responsible, nor can it guarantee the validity or timeliness of the content on hyperlinks outside of the federal government. In addition,users may wish to review privacy notices on non-government sites since their information collection practices may differ from ours.
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