How Far $7 Billion Will Go to Pay for FirstNet Still Being Debated
Tom Power, deputy federal chief technology officer, said Thursday the success of FirstNet isn’t guaranteed, but he’s confident the public safety network will be a success. Power warned that the $7 billion set aside for FirstNet by Congress out of auction proceeds will likely be the only money to come directly from the federal government. The adequacy of the $7 billion was raised repeatedly throughout a forum sponsored by wireless infrastructure association PCIA, the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials and the Maryland/D.C. Wireless Association.
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"We are at the very beginning stages,” Power said of FirstNet. “I'm confident that we're going to raise the money and that it will be sufficient, yet it’s the first of its kind. There are lots of challenges out there. Nothing is guaranteed, but I think with the help of all the stakeholders … I'm very confident."
Companies make business decisions based on a risk assessment, Power said. “The tolerance for risk in the government is basically zero,” he said. The FirstNet board has to work through all the federal procurement and other rules, he said. “It is tough, but, you know, we've got to get it right,” he said. He noted that Congress approved only $7 billion to pay for the costs of launching a network. “That’s it,” he said. “That’s all there is. It’s very much a capital investment,” Power said: “We certainly cannot expect, and should not expect, additional funding from Congress.”
Power said public safety has a strong voice network, but “what we need is to go to the next step, and that is an interoperable network supporting data and all the different apps and services that can be supported on that data network.” Power said he doesn’t know what apps are the ones most needed by public safety. “It’s up to the local folks to decide what they want,” he said.
FirstNet Board member Tim Bryan said the board has made a lot of progress since it got under way. “We have a pretty good idea of the things we need to do,” he said. Bryan said the board has selected a general manager, but the candidate is still receiving the needed security clearance. “It’s not that we don’t have somebody selected, we're just going through the process,” he said. “I'm really, really happy that we're going to be naming a general manager within the next couple of days."
Bryan acknowledged there are many questions about funding. “Is $7 billion enough?” he asked. “It certainly can be if we're able to arrange the right kind of partnerships. The goal has to be not just to build the network. … We've got to focus on sustainability and we've got to focus on the ultimate cost to the public safety user.” The $7 billion should be enough “if we can strike the right deals and that’s the job of the board, is to get out there and make that happen,” Bryan said.
FirstNet has leverage, Bryan said. “The fundamental negotiation that will take place with a wide variety of operating partners is ‘Hey, we could sure use some infrastructure, towers and backhaul, and when we deploy 20 MHz of 700 MHz spectrum on it, using LTE, we're going to end up with a lot of capacity,” he said.
The $7 billion “is not enough to build out a full nationwide network and that’s why there needs to be these close partnerships,” said Steve Sharkey, director-engineering at T-Mobile. “Then you look at what the ongoing costs are and technology upgrades. The carriers, all the carriers, spend billions of dollars not only building out additional infrastructure but also updating technology” on “almost an annual cycle.”
Morgan O'Brien, chairman of Cyren Call and the founder of Nextel, said while “$7 billion is wonderful, it’s nowhere near enough.”
"It’s $7 billion we never had before,” said Ray Lehr, interoperability director for the state of Maryland. “Coming from a state that struggles every year with a budget, that’s a big number for us.”