For Arvada’s , the world of information technology and telecommunications comes easily. After a 23-year career in the industry, he understands more than most why itap so crucial to have reliable broadband.
For many, when the internet goes down for a stint, itap a minor inconvenience. But Arvada Councilmember At-Large, and Mayor Pro Tem Fifer wants to stress how critical the internet has become and what it can mean for Arvada’s future, especially in terms of public safety. And he finally has a place to do just that as a recent appointee to an advisory committee for the Federal Communications Commission.
After Fifer argued on behalf of more reliable broadband at a conference in Pittsburgh, a member of the FCC approached him with an application — and it was then that Fifer realized he could make a difference.
“What drove me to apply was my elevated concern with broadband availability — that was my primary concern,” Fifer said. “And my secondary concern was the implementation of First Net.”
, is an independent government organization established in 2012 aimed at creating clearer communication channels among emergency responders and improving response times through a high-speed, wireless broadband network dedicated to public safety. First Net allows emergency responders from patrol cars to dispatch centers smoother, quicker and more reliable means of communication.“I want to make sure I give first responders all the tools that they can use to do their jobs effectively and to be able to execute what is expected of our public safety,” Fifer said. “In the past it was a requirement that your home phone line always worked, even if the electricity went out, so that you could have access to 911.”
However, unlike landlines and cable, there is no service level agreement for broadband — nobody is held responsible when the internet goes down, Fifer said.
He hopes that by being on the FCC advisory committee he can pull Arvada toward the First Net platform and, in turn, help demonstrate the necessity of internet consistency. First Net could allow 911 dispatchers to receive text messages and locate callers through the GPS signal of their phone.
“One of the big limitations that we have right now is that calls are not routed to the dispatch center based on the caller’s location, but based on the cell tower that they hit,” said Vicki Pickett, communications center manager at the .
An emergency caller located in Wheat Ridge might ping an Arvada cell tower and Arvada dispatchers will have to send the call to Wheat Ridge because itap their jurisdiction, Pickett said.
“Consequently you have somebody who has an emergency, calls 911, gets routed to our center and we may have to transfer him to a different center. It causes delays and lower quality service.”
Fifer wants to have all of the city’s first responders on board with First Net, not just firefighters and police officers.
“When we have a flood, our first responders are our utility department,” he said. “When we have a blizzard our street department is now the first responder.”
One-third of the police departmentap patrol cars now have touch screens installed in the front seat. Fifer hopes in the next couple of years all city vehicles will have this feature.
“From our perspective at 911, we are really hoping that this will push us forward. We’ve been hampered by old technology for a really long time,” Pickett said.
For now, Fifer’s main goal is helping the community understand why his new appointment is so exciting. From home automation to schoolwork, and alarm systems to telemedicine, we use the internet every day, he said.
“I think a lot of people understand that itap important because we’re used to having it, but they don’t understand what it entails technically,” said , who is not only an attorney specializing in telecom issues, but also a former Arvada mayor and an elected official on the same advisory committee as Fifer.
“Back in the 90s there weren’t a lot of elected officials who would have put telecommunications in their top five list of most important issues,” Fellman said. “There were only a few of us around the country who were really focused on that. But itap been really fascinating for me to see over the years how this issue has grown from being a geeky, techie issue that only a few elected officials, like me, were interested in, to the point where if you asked a mayor or city council member now from anywhere in the country if broadband for their community is one of their top issues, almost all of them will say yes.”
The is made up of local and state officials from across the country including senators, mayors, city council members and native American tribal representatives. Fifer holds one of four seats dedicated to municipal officials, and Fellman holds the one seat dedicated to a local government attorney.
“This puts the city of Arvada on the map of cities that are engaged, thoughtful and are advocates not just within our city, but for cities like ours on local control matters at a federal level,” Fifer said.
Fellman agreed. “A lot of times people in Washington D.C., making these policies don’t understand what really happens on the ground in local government,” he said.
The committee takes new applications every two years after which the chairman of the FCC either reappoints current members or brings on new ones. This term’s committee, now featuring Fifer, will hold its first meeting in March.