Washington, D.C. – The Communications Workers of America (CWA) announced a series of webinars and Q&A sessions about FirstNet, as part of informational packets mailed out to over 3,700 volunteer fire departments in multiple states this week, including California, Colorado, Florida, Pennsylvania, Texas and Washington. This builds on the recent launch by CWA of FirstResponderVoice.org, an educational website that increases the availability of online information about FirstNet for first responders and public safety agencies.
First Responder Voice’s ‘Intro to FirstNet’ webinars and Q&A sessions will take place on Thursday, December 6th at 12 pm EST and Friday, December 14th at 8 pm EST. Individuals and departments may RSVP to confirm interest and receive the video webinar link.
RSVP for Thursday, December 6th at 12 pm EST: http://bit.ly/fnwebinardec6
RSVP for Friday, December 14th at 8 pm EST: http://bit.ly/fnwebinardec14
The mailer also includes a letter from New York-based volunteer firefighter and CWA member Vinny Galvin. Galvin writes:
“As first responders we face unique challenges when preparing for and responding to natural disasters and public safety crises. We can all agree that our communications equipment should not be one of these challenges. A new, nationwide broadband network called FirstNet dedicated to first responders is changing the game in firefighter communication. FirstNet promises greater reliability, better coverage and extensive interoperability for your department at an affordable price.”
Additional resources dispatched to volunteer fire departments this week include a FirstNet fact sheet that outlines the benefits of the FirstNet platform and instructions on how to subscribe.
FirstResponderVoice.org is poised to be a leading resource for first responders – professional and volunteer, urban and rural – and other public-safety stakeholders, including IT directors, emergency communications coordinators, private citizens, and elected officials, to learn how communities can take full advantage of FirstNet and stay abreast of developments related to emergency communications and public safety. It features industry news, a monthly newsletter, events alerts, a nationwide directory of selected FirstNet subscribers, step-by-step FirstNet subscription instructions and relevant webinars and online trainings.
“We’re excited to provide thousands of volunteer fire departments around the country with the information they need to make FirstNet a crucial tool in saving lives,” said Bianca Garcia, CWA’s FirstNet Program Coordinator. “The webinars we’re hosting are an important first step for first responders to educate themselves and their communities about the benefits of FirstNet.”
FirstNet is being built, operated and maintained by AT&T, the union wireless carrier. CWA represents tens of thousands of AT&T workers, public-safety professionals, and first responders across the United States and was an active member of the Public Safety Alliance, a coalition of first responder groups that was instrumental in supporting the creation of FirstNet. CWA also represents the growing workforce of customer care agents in Cerritos, California, Greensboro, North Carolina, and Paramus, New Jersey who are trained to handle FirstNet customer service calls from first responders.
The Communications Workers of America represents 700,000 workers in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico, working in telecommunications and IT, the airline industry, news media, broadcast and cable television, education, health care and public service, law enforcement, manufacturing and other fields.
