AT&T Alaska has all lights flashing with Governor Bill Walker’s Wednesday announcement that he signed a letter of intent to allow the First Responder Network Authority – or FirstNet – to proceed with development of a Nationwide Public Safety Broadband Network in Alaska.
AT&T Alaska will work in partnership with the federal government, at no cost to the State of Alaska, to bring a secure wireless broadband to the public safety community that will give fire, police, and EMS priority network access during a crisis.
Although it is expected to take years to design and build out the system, beneficiaries like John Rockwell, who coordinates the State’s 911 management, believes that plan components will offer instant rewards.
State of Alaska 911 Coordinator John Rockwell: “I’m pretty jazzed about the fact that we finally get a dedicated public safety network….that we get the app stores, all that kind of stuff.”
More than the promise and prayer of a network that may be years off, and require an upgrade to the radio system that the City Council will have to figure out how to pay for, Seward Fire Chief Eddie Athey is excited about being able to download – at minimal to no cost – practical software apps that his department could never afford.
Seward Fire Chief Eddie Athey: “It’s very cool. There is a lot of potential to make what we do more effective. We will be able to do pre-plans of buildings and have them in a mobile data terminal, or perhaps even on our phone, where you could pull up …Your fire department connections located here. Your hydrants are here. Here’s the needed fire flow for that particular structure. Here is where your target hazards are at that facility. Here is where the key box is so you can access the keys to get throughout the facility. All that stuff, they are working all the bugs out of it, and eventually it will be the standard instead of the exception.”
According to Rockwell, hundreds of apps will be available to all Alaskan first responders regardless if they are in an area that has broadband or not.
Story as aired on KSRM News:
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