Q&A with Public Safety Network's TJ Kennedy

In the lead-up to this year’s Comms Connect Melbourne conference and exhibition, we’ll be bringing you a series of succinct Q&As with speakers and exhibitors… to find out what they will be sharing with the audience at Australasia’s biggest critical communications event.

We start off with TJ Kennedy, one of the co-founders and principals of the Public Safety Network. Kennedy has had a 25-year career in wireless technology and public safety. Prior to the Public Safety Network, he was president of the First Responder Network Authority, known as FirstNet, an independent US government authority charged with creating the first ever financially self-sustaining broadband nationwide network for public safety.

Kennedy led FirstNet from a start-up inside the US government to become a US$40 billion public-private partnership (PPP) that is deploying a mission-critical 4G LTE network in all 50 US states, five territories and the District of Columbia. This PPP is the largest ever in the United States and is now providing priority public safety communications to law enforcement, fire and emergency medical services personnel.

Prior to joining FirstNet, Kennedy was the president of Raytheon JPS Communications and led the Public Safety business at Raytheon.

At Comms Connect, Kennedy will present a plenary address (Empowering public safety with lifesaving technologies) on day two, and will also take part in two panel discussions.

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For those who don’t know, what does your company/organisation do?

The Public Safety Network empowers public safety with lifesaving technology. We do this through advising technology companies on how best to meet the needs of first responders, as well as through our venture arm, which focuses on accelerating the most innovative new tech companies that are creating public safety solutions that really work.

What roles and responsibilities do you have?

As a founder I both lead our team, help us to grow and execute on our business. I am a board member of some of our start-up companies as well.

What is top of your mind these days, insofar as business- and/or mission-critical communications are concerned?

Enabling public safety to do everything they need to do at their mission-critical job in a mobile-first environment. Ensuring open standards and open standard APIs is top of mind. I think it is so critical that we create an open standard ecosystem for public safety on broadband that drives future innovation.

What information and insights will you be sharing with the Comms Connect audience this year?

I plan to share the vision I see for public safety operators in a mobile-first environment. I plan to discuss what happens when they can reliably leverage the cloud when they have prioritised and pre-emptable public safety LTE.

And what do you hope to learn from the sessions/exhibits at Comms Connect?

I hope to learn more about the progress for public safety broadband in Australia and New Zealand. I also hope to meet innovators and entrepreneurs who are building incredible solutions for public safety.

Don’t miss Comms Connect Melbourne, 20–22 November, at the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre. Full program and registration details are available on the event website.

Image courtesy FirstNet.

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