The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials will facilitate a two-hour informational webinar on August 27 to educate state department of transportation specialists about the First Responder Network Authority or FirstNet – a system created by the Middle-Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act to improve communication system interoperability between public-safety groups across different jurisdictions.

To register for that webinar, click here.

Public-safety organizations – especially first responders such as law-enforcement officers, firefighters, emergency medical services personnel, and transportation system managers/operators – rely on communication systems when conducting daily operations, overseeing planned events, and responding to emergencies.

Yet system interoperability remains an issue, which FirstNet aims to help solve. Three years ago, FirstNet entered into a public-private partnership with AT&T as part of a $6.5 billion contract to deploy, operate, and maintain that interoperable public-safety communication network. A Public Safety Advisory Committee or PSAC made up of 40 organizations – including AASHTO – is also helping FirstNet develop that system as well as educate potential users regarding its benefits.

To that end, the National Operations Center of Excellence – a partnership between AASHTO, the Institute for Transportation Engineers, and ITS America, with support from the Federal Highway Administration – will be hosting the FirstNet two-hour informational webinar on August 27, facilitated by the Working Group on Communications Technology within AASHTO’s Committee on Transportation System Operations.