Kansas
First responders in Kansas are benefiting from FirstNet’s expanding coverage, boosted capacity, and new capabilities. FirstNet’s Band 14 infrastructure is bringing public safety agencies nationwide access to the network’s unique features and functions.
Kansas’ first responders got a major boost in their wireless communications with the addition of new, purpose-built FirstNet cell sites and other network enhancements.
After the tragedies of September 11, 2001 highlighted fundamental issues within the nation’s first responder communications systems, the 9/11 Commission recommended creating a single, nationwide broadband network for public safety. The FirstNet Authority was created through the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act to carry out that recommendation. Today, the FirstNet Authority is working to keep public safety connected during every emergency.
The Saint Louis region is home to 88 municipalities across 523 square miles. For public safety officials in this area of Missouri, interoperability is key. To meet this need, the Clayton Fire Department is using FirstNet to connect to other first responders, access data on the scene of incidents, and enhance situational awareness and patient care.
The FirstNet Authority developed the Roadmap to guide FirstNet’s growth over the next five years with input from public safety, industry, government, and our network contractor, AT&T. The FirstNet Authority included the Secure Information Exchange domain as one of six technology domains in the FirstNet Authority Roadmap to further shape and improve the FirstNet user experience and promote the safe exchange of critical and sensitive information over FirstNet.
The FirstNet Authority’s Public Safety Advocacy team works hand-in-hand with public safety to make sure their needs are represented in the FirstNet network buildout and evolution. In the North region, six public safety advisors cover 16 states and bring a wealth of public safety expertise to their roles as advocates.
Situated in the heart of Tornado Alley, Kansas is prone to severe weather, including thunderstorms that produce an average of 50 tornadoes every year, as well as hail, flooding, and straight-line w
As EMS providers expand their use of technology, FirstNet gives them a wireless broadband platform to connect in the field. FirstNet Authority Senior EMS Advisor Brent Williams highlights three EMS agencies using FirstNet to communicate in rural areas, send vital patient information to hospitals, and access the resources to enhance patient care.
Located in rural Kansas, the Junction City Fire Department’s EMS division is using FirstNet to address communication challenges when transporting patients long distances, coordinating regional recovery efforts after tornados, and deploying to national disaster sites.
The FirstNet Authority joined the Iowa Statewide Interoperable Communications System Board for a Region VII User Forum in Altoona, Iowa. Public safety agencies from the region gathered to learn more about the latest FirstNet developments and key initiatives underway across Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, and Missouri.
Emergency communications were not a concern at the 2019 Garmin Marathon in Kansas, thanks to advance planning by the Olathe Fire Department. A FirstNet deployable was on site to bolster communications and provide first responders with capabilities like priority and preemption.
