Greene County and City of Jefferson officials attended an informational meeting by the Iowa Statewide Interoperable Communications System Board (ISICSB).

Shawn Wagner is with ISICSB and FirstNet Communications, which is about making broadband communications accessible to public safety officials in the County.  FirstNet is an independent communications carrier that was created by the federal government in 2012.  Wagner says they cater to public safety first with communications, but can also give services to transportation, public health and utilities as well as leasing services to other communication carriers.

Their equipment is a black box that attaches to existing cell towers and it is designed strictly for public safety use and operates independently from the general public’s cell carriers.

Wagner says county and city entities are not required to use FirstNet, but it will help public safety’s communication coverage area and eliminate any areas that don’t have coverage.

“It’s critical that have everyone participate and be a part of how this (FirstNet) gets built out in the state of Iowa.  And know that their decisions as people here as local experts (in Greene County) is critical for our success.”

Greene County Sheriff Steve Haupert says he’s encouraged about the possibility to improve communications, specifically for law enforcement.

“Sounds very interesting and we’re all a little more excited about nationwide and statewide communications compatibility.  It’s basically an officer safety issue.  So it’s just another tool that we’ll have to work with.”

FirstNet is currently in its second phase of its four phase process.  The next step after all 99 counties have had informational meetings, will be to decide on what local entities will serve on both regional and county committees, which will begin next month.  FirstNet could be operational within the next couple of years.