Status Report: October 04, 2002
Hello, all. The purpose of this email is to provide information relevant to the Wyoming Statewide Public Safety Mobile Communications (PSMC) planning initiative. If you would like to be removed from this list, please reply to me, and I'll make the change. Please forward this to others in your organization who should receive it.
Robert Wilson
Project Manger, WY Statewide PSMC Plan
WYDOT Telecommunications Program Manager
307/777-4440
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When I issued the last update in June, funds had been made available for a statewide plan, and a Request For Proposals (RFP) was about to be released. Here are some highlights, since then.
1. Federal Engineering selected as PSMC Consultant. Clarifications on the PSMC RFP went out July 10th. Proposals were received by August 16th, and the proposal evaluation process was done through August and September. Federal Engineering was selected in a highly competitive procurement, from the initial field of 17 'Statements Of Interest'. FE's documented experience planning land mobile radio systems for sparsely populated states like WY, and their thorough approach for gathering information from all levels of government made them the outstanding candidate. The contract was signed on Sept. 30th. FE has completed similar projects for other state and local governments and the selection committee expects that their expertise in rural America will be a valuable asset in planning a public safety mobile radio infrastructure that is practical, accommodates the autonomous operation of many diverse organizations, and ensures interoperability. FE will make extensive use of FEClientNet, its web-based productivity enhancement tool, for gathering information about existing infrastructure from PSMC plan participants, and to maintain and store planning documents throughout the project. The project manager for Federal Engineering is Mr. Al Rhodes.
2. Steering Committee. Several organizations were explicitly named as coorperating parties in the RFP outlining the planning process: the Association of Public Safety Communications Officials (APCO), Wyoming Chapter; Wyoming Association of Municipalities; Wyoming Homeland Security Council; Wyoming County Commissioners' Association; Wyoming Law Enforcement Communications Commission (SALECS); and the Wyoming Telecommunications Council. Agencies funding the initiative directed SALECS Chair (Kelly Hamilton) to convene the Steering Committee, with involvement from these and other contributors. The first meeting of the PSMC Plan Steering Committee was Sept. 19th, and a makeup session was held October 2nd.
3. Outreach efforts. The WY PSMC project manager spoke to the County Commissioner's Association about the initiative in Rock Springs on Sept. 17th. Overall, the presentation was well received. The County Commissioners' concerns included: keeping costs low, involving elected officials in Steering Committee deliberations, improving coverage, and using real Wyoming events as justification for upgrading mobile communications capabilities. The project manager and other project team members also made regular presentations to SALECS, the Homeland Security Council's Communications Operations Group, and the Telecommunications Council.
4. Informational Event Schedule. Persons with an interest in improved public safety mobile communications should mark their calendars with the following important dates:
> Steering Committee meeting with FE (tentative, location TBD): Nov. 1, 2002.
> PSWN Wyoming Public Safety Communications Interoperability Conference: Nov. 7, 2002
5. WY Public Safety Wireless Network (PSWN) Conference.
Thursday, November 7, 2002; RADISSON HOTEL; CASPER, WY. At the conference, elected and appointed officials, public safety executives, and communications managers will learn about initiatives that are under way and focused on improving interoperability among public safety wireless networks within Wyoming. Approaches to overcoming known challenges to interoperability will also be discussed. If you are involved in decision making, policy development, or other projects focused on for improving public safety wireless communications, this event is for you. There is no fee for attending. Registration materials will be promulgated soon by the federally-funded PSWN program, which is sponsoring this event. This conference will use a combination of panels, presentations, and successful state model presentations to create a comprehensive understanding of the importance of interoperability among public safety wireless networks. These include:
> Updates on PSWN Program and FEMA work through Project SAFECOM.
> Case studies, perspectives, and challenges affecting communications interoperability in the State of
Wyoming.
> Success stories: lessons learned from Colorado, South Dakota, and Nebraska in the development of
statewide radio systems.
> State and regional approaches for the Wyoming Statewide Public Safety Mobile Communications
Strategy.
6. Project milestones include:
> Federal Engineering kickoff meeting with project team: October 16, 2002
> Detailed project plan delivered by FE: no later than October 30, 2002
> Detailed project plan accepted by Steering Commitee: no later than November 8, 2002
> FEClientNet online and operational: November 11, 2002
> Coverage analysis of existing systems completed by subcontractor SAIC: January 15, 2003
> Draft document of existing infrastructure delivered by FE: January 29, 2003
> Final of baseline needs/performance standards delivered by FE: April 9, 2003
> Complete Assessment Phase: no later than April 16, 2003
> Start Planning Phase, kickoff meeting: April 16, 2003
> Request for Information (RFI) prepared by FE, distributed by WYDOT: June 4, 2003
> RFI responses received: July 9, 2003
> Multiple system architectures document delivered by FE: August 6, 2003
> Steering Committee select optimal architectures: August 20, 2003
> Final Business Case for Statewide PSMC delivered by FE: Sept. 18, 2003
> Complete Planning Phase: no later than October 16, 2003
7. Other resources. Past status reports and studies done for the State of Wyoming are available as background information, at . Other past analysis and more background information has been added to the site since this summer.

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