PSnet: A Collaborative, Bottom-up Approach To Building a Regional Public Safety Network

Effective coordination of public safety functions requires high-quality regional data networking that connects many municipal, state, federal and other agencies. One approach would be to build a massive new network and invite (or force) everyone onto it. This paper describes an alternative approach: an ongoing project in the Boston area create a regional network by leveraging existing networking assets and other public safety investments. A pilot project is complete, and growth of the network is underway. The model on which PSnet is based - private and public entities at local, state, and federal levels collaborating to create and operate network infrastructure - has been proven successful from a technical, operational, and business point of view in other domains among other communities such as research and higher education. Creating PSnet is as much about creating the necessary governance and other human and organizational infrastructure as it is about the network itself.