What did this summer’s Democratic National Convention and Republican National Convention have in common? Both were held in cities on Lake Michigan, 90 miles from each other, five weeks apart. Both conventions required 18 months of planning by federal, local, and state public safety officials. And both were supported by the FirstNet Authority’s pre-planning efforts.

Party conventions are major national events, yet the same pre-planning framework applies to local events like festivals or races. The scale is different, but the information and the process are the same.

Similar preparedness efforts

The Republican National Convention was held in Milwaukee on July 15-18, and the Democratic National Convention was held in Chicago on August 19-22.

Preparedness efforts were similar across both events with major contributions from federal, state, and local public safety agencies.

The FirstNet Authority helped assess FirstNet coverage in areas where public safety would operate during the conventions. Our team met with local public safety agencies to review existing coverage and coordinated with AT&T on additional coverage solutions.

For these types of major events in urban areas, the existing FirstNet network infrastructure is evaluated and upgraded throughout the city to accommodate the influx of public safety users. Backup coverage solutions are also put in place, including multiple FirstNet deployables in key locations.

DNC in Chicago

“The FirstNet Authority provided excellent support to the City of Chicago's public safety teams during the preparation for the Democratic National Convention, ensuring reliable and secure communication for our responders,” said Dennis Baliga, Chicago’s Deputy Director for Public Safety IT Infrastructure. “Their collaboration and advanced network capabilities enhanced our ability to coordinate across multiple agencies and respond swiftly to any incidents.”

In Chicago, the FirstNet Authority and AT&T teams worked with officials to locate deployables near areas where public safety would be working. Locations included the multiagency coordination center, the emergency operation center, command posts, the event venue, and surrounding areas.

FirstNet Authority and AT&T staff members were on site to assist with any issues that arose. When a single circuit hardline connection overloaded at a hotel hosting a law enforcement command post, the standby FirstNet deployable was activated until a second hardline connection could be established.

“Thanks to FirstNet and their extensive planning and support prior to the event, we were able to maintain seamless communication, which was critical to ensuring the safety and security of both attendees and the community," said Baliga.

RNC in Milwaukee

Milwaukee was prepared to staff the Republican National Convention with mutual aid from surrounding districts. Some of the mutual aid agencies included Indiana State Police, the Green Bay Police Department from Wisconsin, and Michigan State Police — all of which are FirstNet users.

“FirstNet allowed for interoperable communications among all the public safety agencies providing mutual aid to the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. This allowed us to successfully coordinate multi-jurisdictional response during a high-profile, high-attendance event,” said Chief Aaron Lipski of the Milwaukee Fire Department.

Indiana State Police had FirstNet SIM cards in their land mobile radios. This eliminated the need to distribute supplemental radios from Milwaukee agencies. Using FirstNet, Indiana troopers in the field could use their own radios to communicate, and supervisors could track their location in real-time.

“In the months leading up to the convention, the FirstNet Authority was helpful in evaluating our coverage in the locations where we’d be operating and providing solutions to boost coverage or provide backup,” said Chief Lipski. “Their insights on leveraging public safety broadband were valuable, especially given their experiences as former first responders.”

Every community has its own national convention

The Democratic and Republican National Conventions are high-profile national events that only happen once every four years. They can triple the size of the host cities and require all available public safety resources.

Every community has its own version of a national convention. A festival, concert, or sporting event can have the same effect — tripling a town’s population and requiring an all-hands response from local agencies.

The FirstNet Authority’s Network Experience Engagement Program is designed to meet the needs of public safety, whether planning for a major party convention, a pumpkin festival, or the homecoming parade. The program is staffed by current and former public safety officials who help you get the most out of FirstNet.

How to plan the best communications for your event

Our team works with your agency to determine three pillars of information that are relevant to most events:

• Locations where public safety will be operating. Our team helps identify indoor and outdoor locations like emergency operation centers and event venues, in addition to places crowds could gather unexpectedly. They then help plan for coverage and capacity in those locations.
• Capabilities needed during operations. Our team uncovers details of how public safety broadband will be used — from basics like talk, text, and data to more advanced options like video streaming and location tracking.
• Technologies that facilitate these capabilities. Options range from radios and smartphones to computer-aided dispatch, laptops, drones, street cameras, and more.

With this information, the team helps develop the best communication plan for your event, oftentimes liaising with the right people at AT&T, our network partner, to expedite solutions.