FirstNet takes next steps, but without its general manager.

The First Responder Network Authority, better known as FirstNet, recently took some key steps toward its long-term goal of building a nationwide communication network for first responders.

It has released "checklist" documents to 56 states and territories that will help it understand their needs, a strategic roadmap to assist it in developing its business plan, named a chief technology officer and funded key activities.

The announcements of these achievements came only weeks after its first general manager, Bill D'Agostino, abruptly resigned after less than a year on the job.

Congress in 2012 established FirstNet, which is an independent organization administered within the Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration.

Congress allocated $7 billion to kickstart the effort to build the nationwide network and reserved highly sought after spectrum for first responders' exclusive use.

Its goal is to build a nationwide broadband network where a police officer, firefighter or other emergency personnel can use a single communication device and have it work interoperably whether they are in the middle of Death Valley or in the heart of Manhattan. The 9/11 Commission initially recommended the creation of the network in 2004.

D'Agostino departed for "personal and...