Transcripts For CSPAN The Communicators 20150523

Peter slen and our guest this week on the communicators is tj kennedy, acting executive director of firstnet. Mr. Kennedy, welcome, and what exactly is firstnet . T. J. Kennedy it is the first six the First Responder network authority. It is similar to what people use today with smartphones and having the ability to share voice and data, but doing it in a critical way that will support paramedics every day to do their job. Peter is there an issue with First Responders where they need their own network echo own network . T. J. Kennedy one thing that happens in big emergencies is that networks can often get caught, and those who need it most, Public Safety, dont always have the ability to get a signal when they need it. It has also relied for a long time on Radio Systems, and they serve a great focus great purpose. They are focused on voice technology. As you know, we are leveraging of what led leveraging what broadband can do. If you were able to leverage broadband for Public Safety there were be an advantage. Peter what is the status of firstnet echo is an online and available for First Responders . T. J. Kennedy it was created in 2012, but we have recently moved from standing up an organization to creating the initial concert consultation effort and the requirements for a draft rp. We released one literally in the last few weeks. A request for proposal. And we are in the process of completing our acquisition process at our consultation process. Those two requirements are part of what we have to do to stand up to networks. That is where we are currently. Peter in your view, what is the biggest obstacle that you face . T. J. Kennedy i think the biggest obstacle right now is working through the acquisition and consultation process. They are timely, but you have to work through them, and they feed each other. Consultation feeds into acquisition, and there are a number of rules and regulations that need to be followed that take time. We are doing that as quickly as we can and with the urgency for Public Safety. We are also trying to make sure we have inputs. There are about 60,000 Public Service agencies in america. We are trying to take that input and to produce the best network possible. Another challenge is making sure we have the right people. This is a technical project, so it is very near and dear to the heart of those of us in Public Safety. It is important finding the Key Resources to help us continue to advance this. Peter joining our conversation is a frequent indicators guest howard buster. A lot of the people i talked to are still skeptical about firstnet. You must get that question, what do you say to the skeptics . T. J. Kennedy i think it will get built. One of the things i found in my experience is that if you build systems that work and put them in a hand of police officers, firefighters, and paramedics, they will utilize them. Today, they also utilized Smart Devices and cell phones. I think giving them tools to make their job more effective will be utilized more fully in the future. Howard buskirk is there anything that could keep this from getting completed . T. J. Kennedy i think there will be roadblocks, but we laid out a roadmap that we have been executing against. We released objectives to get feedback from Public Safety as well as from state and local governments as well as vendors and now we released a draft request for proposal. Each of these are key steps to getting through an acquisition process. Those things together are driving towards having a Public Safety network that were really that will really provide the kinds of technology that Public Safety needs. Howard buskirk we suggested that firstnet would cost as much as 37,000 to build 37 million to build. Are those estimates to high . T. J. Kennedy the gao actually talked about 12 million to 47 billion, so there was arranged. I think that is a realistic range. We have to work through that acquisition process. To try to get the best value we can for the network. We also are leveraging sources of funding to fund this network. One of those would be leveraging the excess capacity on the network. Part of that is seeing what kind of competition will drive to get us the best value. Howard buskirk a cost question are there any internal estimates or expectations in terms of how much this is actually going to cost . T. J. Kennedy sure, weve done a lot of modeling and work on our acquisition, and one of the things you do is work on internal estimates that will be judged against some of the businesses and opportunities that come in. Because of where we are in the cycle, we would like to wait until the actual responses come in to be able to share that data , but we have some great feeling for what it will cost. I think that range is an appropriate range. Peter tj kennedy, forgive me if i miss her view, but you talked about three different Funding Sources who are they and how much for each . T. J. Kennedy good question. One Funding Source was initial spectrum sales, and that would generate 7 billion that would go into the construction fund. Those options have occurred those auctions have occurred, and so now that funding has come in, and that is a terrific set of progress for firstnet because we can count on that going forward. The second part was leveraging the capacity of the spectrum to operate in for Public Safety but also to leverage the covered leasing agreement. So that when there is unused capacity, it can be leveraged to bring in funding that will be able to maintain the network. The third piece is user feed. This is a user feedriven the sustainable network. This is the third major elements that will help sustain the network over the long term. Peter so the user fees would come from the 60,000 agencies around the country . T. J. Kennedy correct. Peter what is the role of public providers . T. J. Kennedy there are a number of private providers that could offer on this opportunity, and i believe that carriers are one of them. There are others as well. And we talked about that extra capacity peace, we would be looking for folks that have interest in leveraging excess capacity, but would deploy the network as part of that. This is what our acquisition is being built around. We are looking for good competition, but also leverage to deploy on existing infrastructure where it takes cents. The act nose and talks about getting this out as soon as practical, but when you look at the United States in the territories, there is a lot of geography to cover so the act actually calls out three different ways that we can leverage existing commercial infrastructure, that we could leverage Rural Infrastructure as well as government infrastructure. Howard buskirk you talked about heather will be extra capacity do you have any idea yet how much capacity you are going to be able to make available to carry the spectrum . T. J. Kennedy 20 megahertz is a significant amount of spectrum. The interesting part is that it is not just about building capacity, but during big emergencies, whether it is a train drill meant, a terrorist event, or a natural disaster, Public Safety threats can get large in a short. Of time. So for this network, we are trying to make sure we build for peak capacity, which will create that excess capacity that is there. The only way that works in an model is that you are able to lease off that excess capacity if you are not utilizing it for other decades of the year. That model allows for a significant amount of capacity, but you also have to have it for those big events. In d. C. , we have events that come to the mall regularly. The inauguration is a good example, where you bring a large number of people into the district, and making sure that a large number of polemic Public Safety personnel are there. Howard buskirk but wouldnt the carriers need capacities, for example, to serve huge crowds on the mall . T. J. Kennedy they currently do have some capacity, and they bring in additional capacity during those incidents. We want to make sure that the dedicated spectrum for Public Safety is there, and if those big events happen, that there is enough capacity to search. That is why that capacity is important. Howard buskirk is it clear what size channels you are going to be able to offer . What size capacity are you going to build offer possibly . T. J. Kennedy its not necessarily about slicing up the spectrum, its about building and deploying a network that will have a significant amount of capacity. One of the things to look at is look at one of the things that the carriers do today. Some have 100 million customers that are operating. For Public Safety, we have estimated that there is about 4 million to 13 million of which safety providers across the country. It depends on which explanation you use. The court ems personnel is obviously the big three, but if you look at additional First Responders that are out there that number could grow. But that number is pretty small when you look at the population of the United States. We are able to operate with a lot of customers in a similar spectrum and we are going to have a lot capacity that is on that network. But i think we need to have that capacity that is available for those search needs that happen, even though it wont be every day. Peter just to help us understand how firstnet would operate, lets take the recent Train Derailment in philadelphia. What would be the role of firstnet and a disaster like that . T. J. Kennedy the role would be to two per to provide a data network for Police Responders First Responders. They would have the ability to have video of things from the scene being sent to and coming responders, pictures from the scene, important Situational Awareness data of the scene. Today, not everybody would be able to see where the other ambulances were staged. You would be able to leverage it for triage. Today, there is Technology Like that gets fitbits and wearable technology, what would happen if you could put that on a patient and get final signs . Just think of the innovation that could happen. You would know where all of your patients are and be able to track their vital signs. Even send them to hospital hospitals and track them there. You would be able to adjust to a changing situation and a rapid fashion. You could also have a critical patient on scene and be able to have a two video interface to an emergency room, whereas today that would be difficult. So just on the Emergency Medical Services site alone, there are interesting possibilities. For law enforcement, it could help from the investigation side of the house and get the ability to send back to second and third responders. It would allow commanders to see what is happening on the scene. All of those are just the start of the possibilities, but i think most importantly the situation is having a lot more of that rich data that is coming and photos and data that is being shared in addition to voice communication. Peter so what all the various First Responders log on to a certain spot to get all this . T. J. Kennedy its actually different in that it is much like a cellular system that we have today. We all operate in the cellular community with the ability that you can be in different jurisdictions and still operate on that system. In the area of philadelphia, there are a number of different Radio Systems and jurisdictions that the city of philadelphia has, but if you were to go to communities with First Responder aid, they may not exactly be on the same communication system. What is nice about firstnet is that we will be operating on the same spectrum and internationally standard technology. A cellular standard that will really drive. Lte, or long term evolution, is the faster and more advanced level of cellular communications, and having the ability to send that rich experience that you would get from broad brand that is different from having voice. It is also interruptible, so if someone worth if someone from new jersey were to respond to someone in pennsylvania, the same tools, spectrum, and capabilities would exist across state lines, which today may or may not be the case. Howard buskirk you said there are more than 14,000,001st responders that could use the network, but is there not a problem in terms of how local governments are having budget cuts . How will they be able to afford the new technology and invest in the network . T. J. Kennedy i think it is always an issue to be concerned about. We are certainly looking at offerings that are going to be competitive to commercial offerings, and i think that is an important part of what would be cost savings. We are also looking at additional features, and encryption and security elements and not all departments have access to that. Some Police Departments are quite small. There are a lot in the 25 person range. Said to be able to have a secure network that provides a communication they need to interact with other departments is really a huge benefit. And at a commercial cost. I think that is something that will make it very affordable. A lot certainly have budgets that are tight, but we think we can have an adorable and affordable offering. Howard buskirk so comparable to what i pay now for my monthly plan, that would be the price range echo the price range . T. J. Kennedy that is the ballpark we are looking at. Carriers are all Howard Buskirk carriers are all looking at the spectrum, but can you explain where you are at now in terms of being able to negotiate deals with wireless characters carriers you might want to plug in . T. J. Kennedy we are officially what is in what is known as the acquisition process. We put on a 90 day deadline that will close on july 27, and between now and then, we expect that whether it is a carrier or other providers that are interested in leveraging the value in addition to deploying the network, will respond with ideas or thoughts. We are driving towards a final rp by the end of this calendar year. Peter where does the money go . Right now, where is the bulk of your expenses . T. J. Kennedy it will initially go to capital expenses, so literally, when you are deploying antennas and putting out Cellular Sites a large portion of it will go there. Over time, operating expenses are the largest part, which go to running and maintaining the network, recap recapitalizing it and upgrading it. And also the expenses of backhaul and so forth. Those expenses are large and the operating since. Sense. One of the great things about firstnet is that some of the revenue that comes above our operating costs have to go back into the network. Anything that would go above and beyond what we expect would be put into additional coverage. Howard buskirk have you down have you found support or opposition in congress echo in congress . T. J. Kennedy there has been support in congress for Public Safety and creating a network that is nationwide. And having a network that will serve the modern needs of Public Safety with video, voice, and data, so i think there is support to make this happen, and i think there is support knowing that this is a very large and complex project, it is needed by Public Safety. Peter is there a Government Entity out there today that has a model that you are in you waiting . Emulating . T. J. Kennedy thats a good question. I dont think there is a perfect, analogous system similar to what firstnet is today. This would be the first in the United States. About six countries right now are looking at building similar systems. The United Kingdom is one of them. There are definitely looking to leverage lte as a replacement for their current nationwide system. We have been in communication with them and have learned from the things that they have done over the past few years. There is a number of other countries headed down that path as well. In june, we had a technical we have a Technical Conference that we are holding in san diego with some of our key engineers and we have six other countries coming to that to share our share their experiences. The most likely example is canada they have set aside a similar spectrum so that they can be synergistic with us going forward. Howard buskirk one of the Big Questions a lot of care providers do not reach the smallest parts of the country so how much will it cost to build a network that reaches the absolutely most remote areas of the country . T. J. Kennedy we are meeting our mandate to do world buildout milestones, and those will be each base of our deployment. We have to balance that to be sustainable. So we are going to go as far as we can and work with states through the consultation process to prioritize those rural areas and make it synergistic with the deployment of the network. Some things will become will be more Cost Effective than others, but i think we need to reach rural areas that are underserved. Howard buskirk so there will be places you wont be able to reach, right . T. J. Kennedy there are. One of the things were are doing is getting data from states on where their Emergency Responders are. What we can look at historically is where the emergency calls have been. In my first days, i have responded to kenyans, where there is no Public Safety coverage. At the same point, most of those did not have more than one rescue a year. We would love to have coverage where it can be, but there are some physical limitations. If i go back to my days in utah i went into canyons there were there were they were gorgeous places to go hiking. From a physics perspective, its not an easy place to cover with wireless networks. We have those same laws of physics to deal with which make it hard. Peter if we could go back to your experience as a paramedic firefighter and state trooper in utah, did you run into situations where you could not with other First Responders . T. J. Kennedy absolutely. I worked loosely in the remote areas around utah, and there is a large portion of the cover of the counties i covered that have minimal coverage. We would go up canyons often you could go 10 or 20 miles where you didnt have coverage. Sometimes you couldnt talk to anybody and had to handle it yourself. Its interesting, when i worked in salt lake city, we often flew to and landed in remote areas where communications by terrestrial networks was very difficult, and the Radio Networks didnt get out. So there was definitely a need in western parts of the United States that are very rural to have additional coverage, and look at innovative ways to solve that problem as we go forward. We are seeing in the marketplace that there are other ways of covering the remote parts of the world, and there is Great Innovation happening. Peter does wifi have a role . T. J. Kennedy it doesnt a lot of ways. There are Police Departments that have dash cam videos. Whenever a Police Car Goes to a fuel pump, they actually have wifi setup to download a lot of that video. That is a very costeffective way to take a large amount of video and move it to more permanent storage. I see those things continuing to happen in the future, and i think they are great things for wifi. Peter is firstnet and independent Government Agency echo t. J. Kennedy yes officially we are an independent authority that is inside of the department of commerce. And it is inside of an tia. Ntia, but we are an independent authority. Howard buskirk because of the fact that you are a Government Agency, it will be difficult for you to negotiate contracts with the wireless industry. How impediment are the federal rules that you have to operate under . T. J. Kennedy the rules are difficult because a lot of federal procurements are buying a lot of different pieces of hardware, software, and services, but this is very unique in that we are also looking for revenue to cover leasing agreements in addition to buying equipment and services. I think this creates a new business case. It will be a great study and private partnerships of how to make this work. I think we can set a good example for finding ways that are costeffective and leverage existing infrastructure, and really leverage ways that support Public Safety. Howard buskirk are you going to be able to sit down with verizon , at t, or tmobile, and cut deals . Because that is a lot of what happens. Isnt that hard for a Government Agency to do . T. J. Kennedy it is hard. We hold a large amount of competition that will comment on our requests for proposal. There are many entrances to that market place you might want to respond to that. Currently, there are a lot of rules for leveraging your contract officer. Peter you have done pilot projects and one of them was in los angeles, and there seems to be an issue with it. In fact, they have dropped out of the project, according to reports. Is that accurate, and why . T. J. Kennedy it is not accurate. It did run into some issues. It is back up in progress and is continuing to proceed. All of the five early builder products, which were let before firstnet was created, they will certainly benefit us with lessons learned, and those five projects were all very different. When we look at the state of new mexico or new jersey with a deployable project, or if we look at Harris County texas and Los Angeles County in california , each of them are looking at different urban needs. In new mexico, we are learning from being near the border. So all of those are providing different lessons to us. In los angeles, we received a number of lessons from that project. One of the biggest lessons was deploying Public Safety infrastructure and looking how to leverage that versus commercial or other infrastructure. We learned that a lot of those things take time. They are very timeconsuming. There is still a lot of permitting and local Community Issues that rise with that, so i think it has reinforced the acquisition approach we have which is leveraging all different types of infrastructure and not just one particular type. These lessons are very valuable, because we will be deploying across all 50 states as well as the territories and districts. All five of them all five sites are scheduled to be done by september, so i think it is going to be great to see the operational uses. I am really looking forward to seeing the reallife uses of these networks. Because the innovation will start to happen when they have broadband in their everyday role, and i think it will be tremendous. To be able to show that two other First Responders and give examples would be a great opportunity for Public Safety to see what the art of the possible is. Peter why are you acting executive director . T. J. Kennedy thats a good question. It takes some time to work through the process of vetting and interviewing to get an appropriate fit for the position. We are far from that, and we will see what happens in the air future. Peter tj kennedy is the acting executive director of firstnet, and Howard Buskirk. T. J. Kennedy thank you