Illinois' decision to join a nationwide federal enhanced wireless broadband network is "admirable and ambitious," but some unknowns need to be worked out, a Vermilion County Emergency Management official said during a recent interview.
"At the present time, we couldn't anticipate what the system could or could not do for our agency," Vermilion County Emergency Management Agency Chief Deputy Russell Rudd said during a Chambana Sun email interview. "Many hurdles have yet to be crossed. The system has to be established, tested and evaluated. Then local governments need to evaluate the system based on what they currently are using to see if it is cost-effective or even necessary for their jurisdictions. This will mean close involvement and discussions between not only local government bodies, but emergency management agencies, law enforcement agencies, fire agencies, EMS agencies, etc."
Gov. Bruce Rauner announced last month his decision to accept a First Responder Network Authority and AT&T plan and opt Illinois' public safety community into the nationwide wireless broadband network. FirstNet is a federal initiative to build out the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's nationwide public safety broadband network.
Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner
Rauner’s decision makes Illinois one of dozens of other states already in the first responder network, according to the governor’s announcement.
“Communication is a life or death proposition in emergencies,” Rauner said in his announcement. “Opting in to FirstNet’s dedicated network means first responders - fire, EMS, police - always have an open channel when it comes to doing their lifesaving work.
All of that sounds very good to Rudd.
"We believe FirstNet is an admirable and ambitious plan," he said. "After the problems encountered during 9/11 in New York City and other events where emergency responder communications were marginal at best and (generally) unreliable, the FirstNet concept seems to be a timely idea."
How well that concept will actually pan out will depend on FirstNet's overall quality, reliability and structure, which could make it an invaluable addition to the emergency response community, Rudd said.
"However, those are big Ifs," he said. "Like I said, we will need to see the final product and evaluate its effectiveness, reliability and cost before taking the next step."
Those doubts don't make FirstNet any less "a solid idea based on today's technology" Rudd said.
"But whether that technology can be incorporated into the emergency response community in an effective and reliable manner while still being cost-effective from the viewpoint of local government jurisdictions, remains to be seen."
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