Highlights from the first 5x5: The Public Safety Innovation Summit

We’d like to thank everyone who came to 5x5: The Public Safety Innovation Summit hosted by NIST PSCR and the First Responder Network Authority! The enthusiasm and commitment to enhancing first responder communications was inspiring.

Here are a few San Diego highlights:

DAY ONE

5x5 kicked off with a warm welcome from Dereck Orr, Division Chief of PSCR. He discussed the unique partnership between PSCR and the FirstNet Authority, saying, “One of the things I’m most proud of is that PSCR and the FirstNet Authority are not siloed at all. Our visions are to make one another successful.” Jeff Bratcher, Chief Technology Officer for the FirstNet Authority, joined Orr on stage to report on recent progress and future plans. The morning session also included keynotes from FirstNet Authority Executive Director/CEO Joe Wassel and Chief Dan Munsey from the San Bernardino County Fire Protection District.

Wassel reflected on his first 100 days and discussed what's next for the FirstNet Authority. He emphasized collaboration with public safety and underscored the importance of reliable communications. “The ‘connected responder’ means responders being connected to drones, drones being connected to helicopters, and helicopters connected to boats; information and data following all the way around,” he said. “A lot goes into those two simple words, but the bottom line is the network should just work.”

Chief Munsey drew a parallel between the present state of public safety and the early days of the fire service in 1903. He discussed technologies that need to be tackled next—from z-axis to artificial intelligence—and the challenges that lie ahead. Munsey reflected, “Firefighters can’t sit back and wait for technology to come to them. It doesn’t work like that. We need to work toward being integrated into smart cities.”

After programmatic updates from NIST PSCR and the FirstNet Authority, participants joined 16 sessions across seven tracks to hear about the latest public safety innovations. Attendees also experienced technology demonstrations showcasing the latest advancements in mission critical services, location services, situational awareness, public safety operations, user interface/user experience, and more. We saw Mission Critical Voice Quality of Experience tools in action and witnessed the power of LMR and LTE integration via a Radio over Internet Protocol solution. The FirstNet Authority brought a Compact Rapid Deployable 1,000 miles from Boulder, Colorado, and AT&T brought a FirstNet Command Vehicle so everyone could see these deployables in action.

DAY TWO

On day two, Undersheriff Sylvia Moir with the Marin County Sheriff’s Office inspired the audience and discussed the importance of keeping humanity in policing. She acknowledged that public safety is in a different place than when she started her career, stressing the need to blend lessons learned from the past with innovation to ensure reliable communication during unthinkable incidents.

The FirstNet Authority presented two awards to outstanding leaders for their contributions to public safety. Teri Takai received the prestigious Chief Harlin R. McEwen Public Safety Broadband Communications Award for her significant contributions to the advancement of broadband communications for public safety. “It is truly an honor to receive this award,” said Takai. “Every day first responders run toward danger. Their life-saving mission is admirable, and reliable communications should be one of the basic foundations that assists them with their mission.”

Additionally, the first Patriot Award was presented to Chief Peter Burke, Jr. of the Hyannis Fire Department in Massachusetts for pioneering use of public safety broadband and FirstNet. Chief Burke remarked, “Communications are foundational to our jobs as first responders, and FirstNet is a gamechanger.”

During “Collaboration Among Nations,” 5x5 brought together five international panelists to share perspectives on the advancement of broadband operations, challenges, and next steps in their respective countries. France is planning to roll out a replacement of the public safety narrowband network beginning next year, and Sweden is hoping to contract with an operator this year to build out a core network.

Panelists included:

• Claire Raynal, Deputy CTO in charge of RAN Access of the Réseau Radio du Futur (RRF) Program (France)
• Tero Pesonen, Chairman of the TCCA Critical Communications Broadband Group (Finland)
• Sara Ollson, Technical and Deputy Project Manager for the Next Generation Communications System at the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (Sweden)
• Antti Kaupinen, Chief Technology Officer and Chief Security Officer at Erillisverkot, Finnish government-owned ICT company (Finland)
• Jeff Bratcher, Chief Network and Technology Officer at the First Responder Network Authority (United States)

Next, attendees chose from topics such as developing next-generation training for public safety using virtual and augmented reality and testing updates on Mission Critical Services, including push-to-talk, video, and data. A “speed networking” round allowed attendees to make new connections within the public safety innovation community.

To conclude the day, grant award recipients and industry leaders showcased new technologies, allowing attendees to experience firsthand what the future of public safety technology looks like. Attendees explored augmented reality for drone operations, extended reality technology, secure information exchange, network services, and coverage. They also tried on headsets for a virtual reality hazmat demo and observed the seamless interworking of LMR with mission critical devices.

DAY THREE

The final day of 5x5 focused on roadmapping activities. Attendees contributed to the future work of PSCR and the FirstNet Authority by identifying focus areas for technological advancements.

Participants chose from 12 parallel deep-dive discussions facilitated by subject matter experts, identifying innovative solutions to address operational gaps in emergency response scenarios.

To close the summit, a two-hour scenario-based tabletop exercise allowed participants to envision future communication technology capabilities required for different phases of an emergency response.

Thank you for a wonderful 5x5 Summit. We look forward to seeing you again at next year’s event—and hope you’ll invite a friend to join!

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