FirstNet tops 6 million connections while facing other challenges

FirstNet topped a significant threshold by supporting more than 6 million connections for more than 28,000 public-safety organizations, according to figures from AT&T, the contractor building and maintaining the nationwide public-safety broadband network (NPSBN) for the FirstNet Authority.

AT&T typically updates the number of FirstNet connections and public-safety entities subscribed when it reports its quarterly results, the next of which are scheduled to be released in July. However, the carrier decided to release the updated FirstNet figures last week, with the 6-million-connection threshold being cleared as of June.

In addition, AT&T noted that the NPSBN—built under a 25-year contract between the FirstNet Authority and AT&T—now provides more than 2.97 million square miles of coverage, which AT&T claims is more than 250,000 square miles “more than commercial networks.”

Topping 6 million connections is particularly significant, given many industry sources’ estimations about the size of the market when FirstNet was established in 2012. At the time, a common estimate was that there were only 3 million public-safety users to connect.

Of course, the FirstNet system now serves more than just core public-safety users—personnel in fire, EMS, law-enforcement and emergency-management departments—which FirstNet references as “primary” public-safety users. FirstNet subscribers also can include “extended primary” public-safety users, which serve public-safety functions at times and/or play key roles in supporting public-safety responses. Some have estimated that these two groups combine to total more than 10 million.

AT&T has not provided a breakdown of its FirstNet connection or agency numbers, so it impossible for outsiders to know exactly what percentage of a given market—such as local core public safety vs. state “extended primary” users—or whether a connection serves an IoT device or full-function smartphone.

Also notable is the fact that some did not expect FirstNet to begin gaining subscribers until the initial 5-year buildout of the 700 MHz Band 14 network was completed—something that AT&T claimed was finished last March and that the FirstNet Authority validated in December 2023. But a decision by AT&T to provide public-safety users with priority and preemption across its commercial spectrum allowed FirstNet subscriptions to be sold, even while the Band 14 network development was in its infancy.

For all of the successes that FirstNet has achieved, it continues to face challenges.

AT&T—and FirstNet, as a result—has experienced several service outages or disruptions this year, the most significant of which was an outage that halted service on Feb. 22. This incident occurred just a week after the FirstNet Authority board committed to investing more than $8 billion in new funding into the FirstNet system.

On Feb. 22, AT&T consumer customers were unable to communicate for more than seven hours. Restoring service to FirstNet subscribers was prioritized, and affected public-safety users experienced an outage of about two-and-a-half hours, according to information shared with the FirstNet Authority board in March.

AT&T attributed the Feb. 22 outage to the execution of “an incorrect process” but has not provided any further information, other than to emphasize that the problem was not caused by a cyberattack.

FirstNet Authority board Vice Chair Renee Gordon noted the importance of first responders having reliable communications and vowed that the FirstNet Authority “will continue to hold AT&T accountable for delivering the network public safety requires and relies on for their life-saving missions.”

With this in mind, FirstNet Authority Executive Director Joe Wassel announced the creation of a task force that is supposed to examine the causes of the Feb. 22 outage and determine what steps should be taken to avoid a repeat of the episode. The task force is “made up of public-safety technical and emergency-management experts from across the organizations,” according to Wassel.

No details of the task force’s work have been released to date, but a FirstNet Authority spokesperson provided the following statement about the task force in response to an inquiry from IWCE’s Urgent Communications.

“The FirstNet After Action Task Force has made significant progress with its review of the February 22^nd outage,” according to the FirstNet Authority statement.

In addition, AT&T last month experienced a service outage impacting customers in at least two states, according to reporting from Light Reading, a sister publication to IWCE’s Urgent Communications.

Most recently, some AT&T customers—including FirstNet subscribers—experienced a widespread “issue” that resulted in calls between customers of AT&T and subscribers of other carriers being disrupted. Industry sources indicated that calls between AT&T and FirstNet subscribers were never impacted, and the issues between carriers was resolved in a matter of hours.

AT&T released the following statement about the episode on the evening of June 4.

“Our network is operating normally,” according to the AT&T statement. “The issue affecting some users’ ability to complete calls between carriers has been resolved. We collaborated with the other carrier to find a solution and appreciate public safety’s patience during this period.”

These incidents come at a time when the FirstNet Authority faces increased scrutiny from policymakers in Washington, D.C.

Last year, the FCC decided to extend the FirstNet Authority’s spectrum license for the 700 MHz Band 14 airwaves, but Congress has not yet taken any significant action on legislation that would reauthorize the FirstNet Authority, which is part of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). The FirstNet Authority–created by law in 2012—is scheduled to see its authorization expire in 2027, absent some sort of action by Congress to extend the authorization.

Finally, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) recently issued a management alert that expresses concern about the signal-strength metrics used under the contract terms between the FirstNet Authority and AT&T could result in coverage maps that overstate the NPSBN’s practical service area. AT&T said the OIG reached “unsubstantiated conclusions” and that AT&T “consistently represent(s) the signal strength in all public-facing maps.”