Hearing of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee - Opening Statement of Sen. Wicker, Hearing on FirstNet Oversight: An Update on the Status of the Public Safety Broadband Network

Hearing

"I am glad to convene today's hearing with my good friend and colleague Ranking Member Schatz. We would like to focus on the progress FirstNet has made and the challenges that lie ahead in deploying a nationwide public safety network.

"The First Responder Network Authority -- also known as FirstNet -- was established under the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012. It is intended to address communication failures that slowed recovery efforts during major national emergencies, including the 9/11 attacks and Hurricane Katrina.

"In Mississippi, we saw firsthand the consequences of communication network breakdown. FEMA, Red Cross, and others were hindered from providing the emergency recovery services needed during and after Katrina.

"Tasked with building and operating the Nationwide Public Safety Broadband Network, the 2012 Act allocated $7 billion from spectrum auction proceeds to launch FirstNet. The AWS-3 spectrum auction, which concluded in January 2015, raised the $7 billion needed to begin the planning and development stage.

"Although FirstNet has made commendable progress in the past year, questions linger about the future viability of the network. I appreciate FirstNet's commitment to providing our rural communities with the same services as larger, urban cities, but rural and remote coverage remains a major concern of mine.

"The cost of coverage and maintenance of the network in these hard-to-reach areas needs to be addressed on the front end of deployment. An accurate inventory of towers and equipment is critical to ensuring that infrastructure is capable of withstanding 200 mph winds during storms similar to Katrina.

"Each region of the country faces a unique set of challenges, and addressing these challenges is critical to fulfilling Congress's goal in creating FirstNet. We should ensure that FirstNet's plan for deployment includes the all the technical requirements that may be necessary.

"However, we recognize that nationwide deployment will not occur overnight. Over the next several months, FirstNet will be reviewing bids to award a contract for all aspects of deployment. As this process moves forward, I urge FirstNet and all stakeholders to look carefully at the long-term viability of the network.

"With a limited user base, FirstNet must have the sophistication to determine who has not only the technical capacity, but also the ability to monetize the network in order to keep it running in the future. The costs placed on public safety entities to use the network are also a major concern with regard to long-term sustainability.

"Last year's oversight hearing examined the progress that had been made and FirstNet's plan for outreach to stakeholders in each state and territory. Today, I look forward to hearing about FirstNet's accomplishments in the past year, what benchmarks have been met, and what work still needs to be done.

"I would like to welcome all of our witnesses and thank them for testifying this morning. Our panel today includes a number of stakeholders overseeing the deployment process who can help shed light on the challenges ahead.

"I look forward to the testimony from our distinguished panel. I will now turn it over to my colleague, Mr. Schatz."

Source