The Senate VETERANS AFFAIRS & EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS Committee, the Senate COMMUNICATIONS & TECHNOLOGY Committee, and the House VETERANS AFFAIRS & EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS Committee will hold a joint public hearing on Thursday, October 19, to consider issues regarding the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet), according to Senator Randy Vulakovich, Chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs & Emergency Preparedness committee.
The hearing is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. in Hearing Room 1 in the North Office Building of the State Capitol Complex. The hearing will be streamed live at: https://www.pasenategop.com/.
FirstNet is an independent authority established by Congress to deliver a nationwide broadband network dedicated to public safety.
“It is up to each state’s governor to make a decision on whether to opt into the FirstNet system,” said Senator Vulakovich. “FirstNet network service is available to public safety agencies in a state that opts into the system. The committees will also consider various other issues during the hearing, such as the responsibility and associated costs for the ongoing deployment, operation, maintenance of public safety radio systems.”
Scheduled testifiers include Major Diane Stackhouse of the Pennsylvania State Police; Jeffrey Boyle, Deputy Director for 9-1-1 with the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency; John MacMillan, Deputy Secretary for Information Technology with the Office of Administration; as well as representatives from: FirstNet, AT&T, Rivada, Conxx, Nokia and Verizon.
Information about FirstNet in PA is available at https://firstnet.gov/.
Contact: Nate Silcox (717) 787-6538 nsilcox@pasen.gov