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Following days of water main issues, the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska held a tribal council meeting on Thursday morning. One issue from the water situation was communication between utilities and other organizations.
FirstNet by AT&T is a closed circuit communication network supported by the federal government. Utilizing 5G wireless connection, it could connect multiple primary and secondary emergency response teams in times of crisis. That’s Pam Bryan, the government executive for FirstNet AT&T.
“FirstNet is built for fire, law enforcement, EMS, and PSAP. Just think of it like a car accident or a tornado. Anyone that’s at the scene of the first accident,” she said.
In the presentation, Bryan detailed how FirstNet can be used to make communication in times of emergency faster and more reliable. Bryan also said the Winnebago school district is moving forward with adopting the system in case of mass shootings.
“How are we going to have the school connect to the police department? How are we gonna have the school connect to the fire department if there was an emergency?” she said.
Winnebago Tribal Council member Isaac Smith said the FirstNet communication system could have helped during the recent water main issues.