https://urgentcomm.com/wp-content/themes/ucm_child/assets/images/logo/footer-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
    • Events
    • 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
    • Galleries
  • Commentary
    • Back
    • All Things IWCE
    • Urgent Matters
    • View From The Top
    • Legal Matters
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Events
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • Reprints & Reuse
    • UC eZines
  • IWCE
    • Back
    • Conference
    • Special Events
    • Exhibitor Listings
    • 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
  • 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

NTIA/FirstNet


News

FirstNet Authority releases new details about impact of Nashville explosion on broadband system

FirstNet Authority releases new details about impact of Nashville explosion on broadband system

  • Written by Donny Jackson
  • 4th January 2021

Public-safety subscribers to FirstNet responding to the Dec. 25 massive explosion near the AT&T network hub in Nashville experienced a four-hour outage when some services were not rerouted prior to deployable cell sites becoming operational at the scene, according to a FirstNet Authority blog.

Released Friday evening, the FirstNet Authority blog reiterated several facts previously released by AT&T—the FirstNet Authority’s contractor to build and maintain the nationwide public-safety broadband network (NPSBN)—about the incident attributed to explosives detonating in a recreational vehicle parked in front of the building. Notably, the FirstNet Authority stated that backup battery power kept the system on the air for hours after the blast.

However, the FirstNet Authority blog noted a failure to reroute all service and provided more precise information about the length of the outage.

“Based upon initial analysis, it appears the FirstNet network infrastructure was not directly impacted by the explosion, and service continued operating on temporary battery power in the hours immediately following the event,” the FirstNet Authority blog states. “However, because the bomb destroyed two local water mains, backup power generators were flooded and inoperable, and there was insufficient time to reroute all services before backup batteries were exhausted …

“FirstNet deployable assets arrived on the scene less than five hours after the blast, and local FirstNet services were restored within four hours after batteries were exhausted, supporting multiple agencies that were responding to the events on the ground. These assets function like self-contained mobile cell towers and link to FirstNet via satellite, providing service to first responders as well as other authorized users.”

While the FirstNet Authority blog does provide a more precise timeline for the outage in the Nashville area, it does not address the length of reported outages in other locations, such as in other parts of Tennessee and in the state of Alabama. Numerous reports indicate that the Nashville explosion impacted the cell services of carriers other than AT&T and FirstNet.

FirstNet Authority officials are “in close contact with AT&T,” and an “in-depth review of how the network performed during this extraordinary attack” is underway, according to the blog. Information from this effort could help shape policies regarding FirstNet in the future, according to FirstNet Authority board Chair Tip Osterthaler.

“The purpose of FirstNet is to provide connectivity to first responders regardless of conditions or circumstances, and that places a heavy burden on the Authority and AT&T—the service provider—to deliver the most resilient network achievable,” Osterthaler states in the blog. “As we absorb the lessons learned from this attack, we will adjust our risk-management and investment strategies as appropriate to deal with the changing threat environment.

“We are thankful that the only fatality from the bomb was apparently the bomber, and we are also thankful for the first responders, utility crews, and AT&T personnel who rushed to the scene on Christmas morning in order to protect lives and property and restore services.”

Congress created the FirstNet Authority in 2012, providing the organization—an independent authority within the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA)—with 20 MHz of 700 MHz D Block spectrum, $7 billion in funding, and a mandate that the FirstNet system must be financially self-sustaining.

Although most industry analysts estimated that a new nationwide LTE network would cost more than $50 billion to build, the FirstNet Authority effectively assured its financial security by signing its contract with AT&T in March 2017 after completing a procurement process.

The 25-year deal provides AT&T with access to the 20 MHz of prime 700 MHz spectrum licensed to the FirstNet Authority as well as potentially $6.5 billion—paid in phases, as AT&T meets network-deployment benchmarks—in funds generated from FCC spectrum auctions several years ago.

In return, AT&T is responsible for building and maintaining the NPSBN and making annual payments totaling $18 billion to the FirstNet Authority over the 25-year period of the contract. Of this $18 billion in AT&T payments, about $3 billion is expected to fund FirstNet Authority operations, and about $15 billion is slated to fund enhancements to the FirstNet system.

Terms of the contract between the FirstNet Authority and AT&T have not been made public—and they are not required to be available, according to the 2012 law. As such, it is not immediately clear what entity—the FirstNet Authority, AT&T or a combination—would be responsible for funding any network-resiliency enhancements necessary to harden the FirstNet system to a greater degree in the future, based on initial responses to inquiries from IWCE’s Urgent Communications on the matter.

 

Tags: homepage-featured-4 Backhaul Coverage/Interference Critical Infrastructure Deployables Federal Government/Military Funding Incident Command/Situational Awareness Long Term Evolution (LTE) News NTIA/FirstNet Policy Power Public Safety Public-Safety Broadband/FirstNet Regional Coordination Standards State & Local Government System Design System Operation Test & Measurement Tower & Site Tracking, Monitoring & Control News

Related


  • AT&T provides initial insights about FirstNet performance, recovery efforts after Nashville explosion
    Some FirstNet subscribers experienced service outages after the massive Dec. 25 explosion at AT&T’s Nashville network hub, but backup battery power at the facility and the use of deployable cell sites meant that many FirstNet users were able to communicate “within hours,” according to AT&T. Although the Christmas-morning explosion caused significant damage to AT&T’s Nashville […]
  • AT&T provides some details about March 5 FirstNet data-service outage
    A “software issue” in a Georgia data center caused the March 5 service outage that impacted some FirstNet subscribers in the southeast U.S. region, according to a statement from AT&T, the contractor charged with building and maintaining the FirstNet nationwide public-safety broadband network (NPSBN). “Our root-cause analysis confirmed a software issue prevented some data traffic […]
  • AT&T: Fred Scalera, Ryan Burchnell highlight FirstNet subscribers' increased use of deployables
      Fred Scalera (left) and Ryan Burchnell of FIrstNet, Built by AT&T, outline the increased demand for deployable LTE coverage this year by FirstNet subscribers, who can request  such communications support at no additional cost. Scalera and Burchnell spoke to IWCE’s Urgent Communications Editor Donny Jackson during the APCO 2019 event in Baltimore.
  • AT&T’s Sambar projects accelerated FirstNet buildout—‘a lot faster’ than five years for most of U.S.
    AT&T’s Sambar projects accelerated FirstNet buildout—‘a lot faster’ than five years for most of U.S.
    AT&T already is deploying cell sites that operate on the 700 MHz Band 14 spectrum licensed to FirstNet and expects to finish the buildout—covering 95% of the U.S. population—well before the contracted five-year contract period expires in most cases, according to the AT&T executive heading the project.

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

  • At CES 2021, Verizon touts 5G connectivity as enabler in pandemic times
  • How the city of Fullerton navigated adding candidates to ballots remotely
  • Federal judge reduces Hytera legal payment to Motorola Solutions by $220.9 million
  • Florida county announces successful test of Motorola Solutions' cloud-based P25 core technology

Commentary


Public safety needs a better way to triage emergency calls

13th January 2021

In challenging year, working with public safety to move FirstNet forward

30th December 2020

Communications solutions must evolve quickly to meet needs of a changing world

31st October 2020
view all

Events


UC Ezines


IWCE 2019 Wrap Up

13th May 2019
view all

Twitter


UrgentComm

RT @IWCEexpo: 📆 Mark Your Calendars: IWCE will be returning to Las Vegas this September and registration is slated to open in April 📆 Wa…

15th January 2021
UrgentComm

RT @IWCEexpo: ⚡FLASH SALE: Don't miss this exclusive offer! Passes to #IBFVirtual are now 50% off with code TWITTER50. Take advantage of th…

6th November 2020
UrgentComm

Get ready for part 2 of "Ensuring Public Safety Emergency Communications" next week! @PCTEL_inc will explore… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

3rd November 2020
UrgentComm

Over the past few months, we’ve seen the world transform, and it's clear that cities will be affected in the long-t… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

27th October 2020
UrgentComm

Florida state & local agencies subscribing to the Statewide Law Enforcement Radio System (SLERS) will be able to co… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

26th October 2020
UrgentComm

Tune in to @slacorp CEO Josh Lober as he explains how the company has fully integrated its #PTT application to work… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

26th October 2020
UrgentComm

.@SierraWireless announced the commercial availability of the AirLink MG90 platform, which they tout as the first m… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

26th October 2020
UrgentComm

Attorneys for #Hytera and #MotorolaSolutions this week submitted final written arguments, apparently clearing a pat… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

22nd October 2020

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 © 2021 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