Nextgov, May 10, 2016 -- Plans for a broadband network exclusively for first responders are progressing, but not fast enough, some say. FirstNet, the public-private partnership running the effort, is collecting proposals now and could take years to stand up the network.

“There are real needs out there today,” Jay English, a director at APCO International, a nonprofit dedicated to public safety communications, said during a panel in Washington on Tuesday. “Officers are responding -- firefighters, medics responding -- without information.”

There currently isn’t an app that seamlessly transmits information from 911 centers to police, fire departments or emergency medical services, English said. And first responders can’t wait for FirstNet or Next Generation 911, an IP-based emergency reporting system, added English, who spoke at the AFCEA Bethesda's Law Enforcement IT Day. 

But most apps require Internet connections as well as police, fire department and EMS resources, including a specific person to oversee the app, he said.

Read the rest of the story here: http://www.nextgov.com/emerging-tech/2016/05/first-responders-we-cant-wait-firstnet/128184/