https://urgentcomm.com/wp-content/themes/ucm_child/assets/images/logo/footer-new-logo.png
  • Home
  • News
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Multimedia
    • Video
    • Podcasts
    • Galleries
  • Commentary
    • Back
    • Commentary
    • Urgent Matters
    • View From The Top
    • All Things IWCE
    • Legal Matters
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Resources
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • Reprints & Reuse
  • IWCE
    • Back
    • IWCE
    • Conference
    • Special Events
    • Exhibitor Listings
    • Premier Partners
    • Floor Plan
    • Exhibiting Information
    • Register for IWCE
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Terms of Service
    • Privacy Statement
    • Cookies Policy
  • Related Sites
    • Back
    • American City & County
    • IWCE
    • Light Reading
    • IOT World Today
    • Mission Critical Technologies
    • Microwave/RF
    • T&D World
    • TU-Auto
  • In the field
    • Back
    • In the field
    • Broadband Push-to-X
    • Internet of Things
    • Project 25
    • Public-Safety Broadband/FirstNet
    • Virtual/Augmented Reality
    • Land Mobile Radio
    • Long Term Evolution (LTE)
    • Applications
    • Drones/Robots
    • IoT/Smart X
    • Software
    • Subscriber Devices
    • Video
  • Call Center/Command
    • Back
    • Call Center/Command
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • NG911
    • Alerting Systems
    • Analytics
    • Dispatch/Call-taking
    • Incident Command/Situational Awareness
    • Tracking, Monitoring & Control
  • Network Tech
    • Back
    • Network Tech
    • Interoperability
    • LMR 100
    • LMR 200
    • Backhaul
    • Deployables
    • Power
    • Tower & Site
    • Wireless Networks
    • Coverage/Interference
    • Security
    • System Design
    • System Installation
    • System Operation
    • Test & Measurement
  • Operations
    • Back
    • Operations
    • Critical Infrastructure
    • Enterprise
    • Federal Government/Military
    • Public Safety
    • State & Local Government
    • Training
  • Regulations
    • Back
    • Regulations
    • Narrowbanding
    • T-Band
    • Rebanding
    • TV White Spaces
    • None
    • Funding
    • Policy
    • Regional Coordination
    • Standards
  • Organizations
    • Back
    • Organizations
    • AASHTO
    • APCO
    • DHS
    • DMR Association
    • ETA
    • EWA
    • FCC
    • IWCE
    • NASEMSO
    • NATE
    • NXDN Forum
    • NENA
    • NIST/PSCR
    • NPSTC
    • NTIA/FirstNet
    • P25 TIG
    • TETRA + CCA
    • UTC
Urgent Communications
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Home
  • News
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Video
    • Podcasts
    • Omdia Crit Comms Circle Podcast
    • Galleries
    • IWCE’s Video Showcase
  • Commentary
    • Back
    • All Things IWCE
    • Urgent Matters
    • View From The Top
    • Legal Matters
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • Reprints & Reuse
    • UC eZines
    • Sponsored content
  • IWCE
    • Back
    • Conference
    • Why Attend
    • Exhibitor Listing
    • Floor Plan
    • Exhibiting Information
    • Join the Event Mailing List
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Terms of Service
    • Privacy Statement
    • Cookies Policy
  • Related Sites
    • Back
    • American City & County
    • IWCE
    • Light Reading
    • IOT World Today
    • TU-Auto
  • newsletter
  • In the field
    • Back
    • Internet of Things
    • Broadband Push-to-X
    • Project 25
    • Public-Safety Broadband/FirstNet
    • Virtual/Augmented Reality
    • Land Mobile Radio
    • Long Term Evolution (LTE)
    • Applications
    • Drones/Robots
    • IoT/Smart X
    • Software
    • Subscriber Devices
    • Video
  • Call Center/Command
    • Back
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • NG911
    • Alerting Systems
    • Analytics
    • Dispatch/Call-taking
    • Incident Command/Situational Awareness
    • Tracking, Monitoring & Control
  • Network Tech
    • Back
    • Cybersecurity
    • Interoperability
    • LMR 100
    • LMR 200
    • Backhaul
    • Deployables
    • Power
    • Tower & Site
    • Wireless Networks
    • Coverage/Interference
    • Security
    • System Design
    • System Installation
    • System Operation
    • Test & Measurement
  • Operations
    • Back
    • Critical Infrastructure
    • Enterprise
    • Federal Government/Military
    • Public Safety
    • State & Local Government
    • Training
  • Regulations
    • Back
    • Narrowbanding
    • T-Band
    • Rebanding
    • TV White Spaces
    • None
    • Funding
    • Policy
    • Regional Coordination
    • Standards
  • Organizations
    • Back
    • AASHTO
    • APCO
    • DHS
    • DMR Association
    • ETA
    • EWA
    • FCC
    • IWCE
    • NASEMSO
    • NATE
    • NXDN Forum
    • NENA
    • NIST/PSCR
    • NPSTC
    • NTIA/FirstNet
    • P25 TIG
    • TETRA + CCA
    • UTC
acc.com

Public-Safety Broadband/FirstNet


News

FirstNet deployment should be more than 60% complete by end of year, AT&T exec says

FirstNet deployment should be more than 60% complete by end of year, AT&T exec says

  • Written by Donny Jackson
  • 28th February 2019

More than 60% of the planned buildout of the FirstNet system will be completed by the end of this year—months ahead of the contracted schedule—with a realistic possibility that even more progress will be made on the nationwide public-safety broadband network (NPSBN), an AT&T executive said yesterday.

John Stephens, AT&T’s chief financial officer, reiterated that AT&T—the contractor for FirstNet—had completed 40% of the buildout by the end of 2018, even though the contract only required about 30% of the deployment to be finished in March 2019. The next buildout target is the 60% threshold, which Stephens said he expects will be reached—ahead of contracted schedule—by the end of this year.

“Remember, when we talk about these percentage buildouts, they include both the rural and urban geographic coverage,” Stephens said yesterday at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media and Telecom Conference. “So, this is a significant piece of the country.

“I’d expect that we’ll get there. I would hope that we would get even farther and we certainly have it funded in the plans to allow the team to do that. [AT&T’s network] team that’s running this is doing a great job of being efficient and effective. We don’t want to race at all costs; we want to do this efficiently and effectively, quickly. And I expect that we’re going to have another significant [FirstNet coverage increase in 2019]—at least to 60% by the end of the year, if not more.”

A significant part of the efficiency realized through the FirstNet deployment is that crews installing equipment to support operation on 700 MHz Band 14 spectrum—the airwaves licensed to the FirstNet Authority—at cell sites also are installing gear to enable AT&T commercial services in the WCS and AWS-3 bands, Stephens said. Deploying across this total of 60 MHz of spectrum increases AT&T’s overall spectrum portfolio by 50%, he said.

These cell sites also are being prepared to support 5G services, as part of AT&T’s 5G Evolution initative, Stephens said.

“So, you only pay that tower-climb cost once, and you get three sets of equipment up,” he said. “In addition, the equipment we’re putting up now is 5G-enabled equipment. We are spending a little bit more money … making sure that equipment—the antennas, the radios, whatever go is going up—is 5G-enabled.

“[When AT&T’s network] team finishes that process, it’ll be 5G-enabled. So, when [5G] software comes out, we can just … upload the software into that tower—into that network—and not have to climb it again.”

Even with such efficiencies, some industry experts questioned whether the FirstNet investment would be worthwhile to AT&T, given that the target market of about 3 million fire, EMS and law-enforcement officers is dwarfed by the commercial market, where AT&T boasts more than 150 million mobile subscribers.

Stephens acknowledged the 3 million figure for potential FirstNet core public-safety users but said the opportunity for AT&T is greater than many observers realize, noting that each first responder could have three or more devices—a smartphone, as well as some combination of a tablet, body camera, drone or other devices, like a smartwatch.

“So, there’s a market there that could be 10 million [connections within FirstNet’s core public-safety base],” Stephens said.

In addition, “there’s an opportunity to expand it into other first-responder-type categories,” Stephens said, citing the Red Cross and FEMA as examples.

By meeting the 60% deployment threshold, AT&T expects to receive “a little bit in excess of $1 billion” from the FirstNet Authority during 2019, Stephens said. Combined with the $1.998 billion that AT&T has received from the FirstNet Authority through 2018, this year’s payout would mean that AT&T would approach collecting almost half of the potential $6.5 billion that the carrier could receive by achieving all deployment goals by March 2022.

While the FirstNet Authority pays AT&T for building, operating and upgrading the network, AT&T has started making annual payments to the FirstNet Authority that are designed to ensure that the authority is sustainable and can afford to pay for technological upgrades to the FirstNet system.

During the 25-year contract period, AT&T is scheduled to pay $18 billion to the FirstNet Authority, which is expected to use about $3 billion of that money to fund the operations of the FirstNet Authority. The remaining $15 billion is expected to be reinvested into the FirstNet system, and AT&T anticipates that it will receive the vast majority of the that reinvestment money.

“Being subject to federal acquisition rules, FirstNet is prohibited from contractually committing to a specific vendor for future network reinvestment,” AT&T states in its annual filing with the SEC. “However, it is highly probable that AT&T will receive substantially all of the funds reinvested into the network, since AT&T will own and operate the infrastructure and have exclusive rights to use the spectrum, as all states have opted in. After FirstNet’s operating expenses are paid, we anticipate that the remaining amount, expected to be in the $15 billion range, will be reinvested into the network.”

 

Tags: homepage-featured-4 Broadband Push-to-X Companies Coverage/Interference Critical Infrastructure Federal Government/Military Long Term Evolution (LTE) News NTIA/FirstNet Public Safety Public-Safety Broadband/FirstNet Regional Coordination Standards State & Local Government System Design System Installation System Operation Tower & Site Wireless Networks News

Most Recent


  • FCC approves order to modernize priority-service rules
    FCC commissioners yesterday voted unanimously to approve a report and order that is designed to modernize and streamline the agency’s rules for three priority-service offerings: Wireless Priority Service (WPS), the Government Emergency Telecommunications Service (GETS) and the Telecommunications Service Priority (TSP) System. All three of these services—designed for use by national-security and emergency-preparedness personnel who […]
  • Florida P25 system slated for completion in 2024, will interoperate with FirstNet
    Florida’s efforts to transition its Statewide Law-Enforcement Radio System (SLERS) from legacy EDACS to P25 technology that is augmented by FirstNet broadband service is largely on schedule, with most public-safety users having P25 devices by July, according to an official with contractor L3Harris. Keith Gaston, the SLERS account manager for L3Harris, said that all of […]
  • More Verizon changes: price hikes, departure of biz CEO Erwin
    On the same day that Bloomberg reported on Verizon’s plans to increase prices, the CEO of the company’s business unit, Tami Erwin, announced her plans to leave the company by the end of the year. The developments reflect the difficulties Verizon has been facing amid growing competition in the wireless sector and inflation in the US economy. […]
  • Canada officially gives Huawei and ZTE the boot
    Despite his frothy name, François-Philippe Champagne did not bring any sparkle for Chinese vendors waiting to hear if they would be allowed to sell products in Canada. The Canadian minister of innovation, science and industry had only disappointing news for Huawei and ZTE earlier today. From now on, neither will be allowed to serve Canadian […]

Leave a comment Cancel reply

To leave a comment login with your Urgent Comms account:

Log in with your Urgent Comms account

Or alternatively provide your name, email address below:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Content

  • New Orleans-area 911 center inks multiyear APEX deal with Carbyne to replace call-handling system
  • IoT connectivity spending climbs as COVID-19 cases decline
  • APCO, NENA, NASNA speakers cite ‘discussions’ to address NG911 funding issues
  • UK officials revamp ESN plans again, target Airwave-to-LTE transition for end of 2026

Commentary


LTE and liability: Why the fire service must move forward with digital incident command

  • 2
6th May 2022

Partnership and collaboration must be the foundation for emergency communications

18th April 2022

FirstNet success means no hypothetical ‘shots’ need to be fired, Swenson says

22nd February 2022
view all

Events


UC Ezines


IWCE 2019 Wrap Up

13th May 2019
view all

Twitter


UrgentComm

FCC approves order to modernize priority-service rules dlvr.it/SQmSN0

20th May 2022
UrgentComm

Meet smart city goals cost-effectively dlvr.it/SQmPkr

20th May 2022
UrgentComm

Security for microwave links dlvr.it/SQmNwX

20th May 2022
UrgentComm

Florida P25 system slated for completion in 2024, will interoperate with FirstNet dlvr.it/SQm9cf

20th May 2022
UrgentComm

More Verizon changes: price hikes, departure of biz CEO Erwin dlvr.it/SQlWPT

20th May 2022
UrgentComm

Canada officially gives Huawei and ZTE the boot dlvr.it/SQlGht

20th May 2022
UrgentComm

MITRE creates framework for supply-chain security dlvr.it/SQlFjC

20th May 2022
UrgentComm

John Deere one step closer to fully autonomous farming dlvr.it/SQl7dv

20th May 2022

Newsletter

Sign up for UrgentComm’s newsletters to receive regular news and information updates about Communications and Technology.

Expert Commentary

Learn from experts about the latest technology in automation, machine-learning, big data and cybersecurity.

Business Media

Find the latest videos and media from the market leaders.

Media Kit and Advertising

Want to reach our digital and print audiences? Learn more here.

DISCOVER MORE FROM INFORMA TECH

  • American City & County
  • IWCE
  • Light Reading
  • IOT World Today
  • Mission Critical Technologies
  • Microwave/RF
  • T&D World
  • TU-Auto

WORKING WITH US

  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Events
  • Careers

FOLLOW Urgent Comms ON SOCIAL

  • Privacy
  • CCPA: “Do Not Sell My Data”
  • Cookies Policy
  • Terms
Copyright © 2022 Informa PLC. Informa PLC is registered in England and Wales with company number 8860726 whose registered and Head office is 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.
This website uses cookies, including third party ones, to allow for analysis of how people use our website in order to improve your experience and our services. By continuing to use our website, you agree to the use of such cookies. Click here for more information on our Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy.
X