NPSTC Congratulates Tom Sorley on New Role as FirstNet PSAC Chair.  After a thorough search, FirstNet Board Chair, Sue Swenson, and Board Vice Chair, Jeff Johnson, announced Tom Sorley Sorley has been selected to serve as the new Chair of the Public Safety Advisory Committee (PSAC).  Mr. Sorley replaces the first PSAC Chair, Chief Harlin McEwen.  "As FirstNet's partnership with AT&T begins to take shape, we remain committed to creating a network for public safety by public safety," states the FirstNet announcement.  "We are confident that with Tom as its Chair, the PSAC will help FirstNet uphold its pledge to our nation's public safety personnel and the communities they serve."

Mr. Sorley has served as a PSAC Vice Chair for 4 years and is the PSAC representative from the U.S. Conference of Mayors.  As the current Deputy Chief Information Officer (CIO) – Public Safety for the City of Houston Information Technology Services (HITS), he is responsible for direct oversight of radio communications and IT services for the Houston Emergency Center, the city's combined dispatch and emergency operations center.  Mr. Sorley has more than 30 years of public safety experience, which also includes work as the Public Safety Communications Division Manager for Orange County, Florida.

Mr. Sorley served as the Technology and Broadband Committee Chair for 10 years and has been involved in NPSTC from its early days, initiating the study and creation of Working Groups on a number of important issues, including the Internet of Things, Unmanned Aircraft Systems and Robotics, Broadband Emerging Technologies, and LMR Interoperability and Integration.  Due to his increased responsibilities with the PSAC, he announced he would step down as Chair of the NPSTC Committee.  In his letter to the Governing Board, he said, "We have accomplished much, and I am constantly humbled by the expertise and volunteerism of the vast number of public safety, academic, and industry professionals we have the opportunity to work with at NPSTC."

Welcome to NPSTC's New Chair of the Technology and Broadband Committee, Kim Coleman Madsen.  Kim Coleman Madsen, who also serves as the Chair of NPSTC's Broadband Coleman Madsen Emerging Technologies Working Group, is the Broadband Implementation Manager at the Colorado Governor's Office of Information Technology (OIT).  She and the FirstNet Colorado team are responsible for coordinating efforts across Colorado to plan for and implement the Nationwide Public Safety Broadband Network (NPSBN) and work with FirstNet to ensure the technology meets the needs of Colorado's first responders.  She has more than 22 years experience in public safety communications.  She began her career in 1995 as a dispatcher for the Vail Police Department, eventually working as a Communications Training Officer.

In 2008, Ms. Coleman Madsen moved to OIT as the Public Safety Communications Network (PSCN) Policy and Project Manager, guiding programmatic and project efforts related to system build-out, funding and sustainability, and grant programs for the statewide public safety communications networks.  She also provided oversight to the Statewide Interoperability Coordinator (SWIC) role within Colorado.  Read her biography here.

NPSTC Filed Comments with the FCC on the Airborne Use of 700 MHz Public Safety Narrowband Channels by the United States and Canada.  The Commission previously designated eight channels in the 700 MHz narrowband public safety spectrum for communications between low-altitude aircraft and ground stations in the U.S.  However, FCC Logo operation in the border area with Canada has been approved only on a case-by-case basis, pending a border area agreement on such airborne use.  The FCC released a Public Notice on March 15, seeking input by May 1 to help guide U.S./Canada negotiations on the issue.  In its comments, NPSTC proposes an option that maximizes the opportunity for airborne use in both the U.S. and Canada, minimizes the impact on existing U.S. public safety operations, and enables interoperability for joint U.S./Canada public safety operations when needed.  To minimize any impact to U.S. public safety operations, NPSTC recommended that Canada operate day-to-day air ground operations on channels within a sliver of the 700 MHz band at 775-776/805-806 MHz already available for public safety use in Canada, but not in the U.S.  The NPSTC recommendation also has the potential to benefit public safety entities in Canada that have identified a need for day-to-day air-ground operations at higher altitudes and greater power levels than allowed in the U.S. Interoperability provisions targeted for joint U.S./Canada public safety operations on one or more of the U.S. designated air-ground channels, however, would be restricted to the U.S. power and altitude parameters under the NPSTC recommendation.

Meeting Minutes from NPSTC's In Person Meeting at IWCE on March 31 Now Online.  The minutes include comprehensive updates from the Committees and Working Groups and reports from the federal partners.  Presentation slides are also available on the Meetings page.

Please Join NPSTC on This Week's Committee and Working Group Conference Calls.  NPSTC is holding the following meetings this week, which are open to anyone who is interested in public safety communications.  The full schedule is available on the NPSTC Public Safety Calendar, including conference lines and access codes.

Wednesday, May 10
12:00 – 1:00 pm EDT, UAS and Robotics Working Group

Thursday, May 11
3:00 – 4:00 pm EDT, Radio Interoperability Best Practices Working Group

Friday, May 12
1:00 – 2:00 pm EDT, Spectrum Management Committee

        

 

American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials | American Radio Relay League | Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies | Association of Public Safety Communications Officials | Forestry Conservation Communications Association | International Association of Chiefs of Police | International Associate of Emergency Managers | International Association of Fire Chiefs | International Municipal Signal Association | National Association of State Chief Information Officers | National Association of State Emergency Medical Services Officials | National Association of State Foresters | National Association of State Technology Directors | National Council of Statewide Interoperability Coordinators | National Sheriffs' Association | National Emergency Number Association

 

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