We will be able to communicate better

This week I want to provide an update on a project with great importance - Nebraska’s Public Safety Communications System. Many people have been involved in this effort and we are now moving into the final stages of development.

Nebraska has been recognized for our efforts in emergency preparedness. We are planning to take a major step forward this year as we prepare to launch a statewide communications system. Providing a way for first responders and other emergency personnel to talk to one another is an essential element for ensuring a coordinated emergency response.

In a state with vast open spaces and communities ranging from a few dozen residents to more than 400,000 people, our biggest challenge in planning this project was to develop a plan of covering our rural, urban and suburban areas in a manageable and affordable way.

The cost of building a brand new radio communications system for all agencies involved in public safety would have been astronomical. Rather than start from scratch, our plan started by upgrading the communications systems used by local and county officials. After adding new capacity to these individual networks, emergency management leaders focused on connecting these municipal and county systems into a small number of regional communications networks.

We are getting ready to take the last step, which is to connect the seven regional networks to the communications backbone being developed through a partnership between the state and the Nebraska Public Power District. This will create a true statewide network for interoperable communications for state agencies, law enforcement and other first responders in Nebraska.

Once connected, the seven regional networks and the network supporting state agencies and NPPD will complete the Nebraska public safety communications system. It will allow for emergency communication at all levels of state and local government. Nebraska’s emergency communications system will also extend to portions of Wyoming and South Dakota. In some instances, it will allow federal agencies with offices in the state to communicate directly with Nebraska’s first responders.

While other states have abandoned plans for similar communications systems due to the costs of building such a network from the ground up, Nebraska has been successful because we committed a substantial portion of federal homeland security funding to the project. Our progress is also a reflection of the strong partnerships we have developed in order to communicate and share resources.

While federal homeland security funds were also used for other emergency equipment and planning and training activities, the largest share of Nebraska’s federal homeland security grant money was used for building sustainable regional emergency communications networks. We have also committed state general funds to upgrade the network that will connect state agencies and serve as a backbone for the statewide communications network.

The federal homeland security grant program was made available following 9/11. It has been essential to this effort. Interoperable communication was identified early as our top priority in enhancing Nebraska’s emergency preparedness.

When finished, the system will allow for interoperable communication among city and county law enforcement, medical personnel across Nebraska’s 93 counties, as well as state emergency personnel including the Nebraska State Patrol, the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency, the Fire Marshal’s Office, the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, and the Departments of Agriculture, Roads and Correctional Services.

The regional communications networks have already proven useful in recent years as communities responded to severe storms. The statewide network will be an invaluable asset, and I look forward to having the final pieces come together in the coming year.

Dave Heineman of Fremont is governor of Nebraska. He can be reached at P.O. Box 94848, Lincoln NE 68509-4848, (402) 471-2244, fax: (402) 471-6031 or e-mail at his Web site, www.gov.state.ne.us.