AT&T exec shares capacity-based FirstNet Band 14 deployment plans with Congress

Sambar said that AT&T will build out the FirstNet system on Band 14 spectrum on a “significant portion” of its network but declined to provide any greater specifics, citing the “proprietary” nature of the information. However, state officials helping the governor decide whether to accept the FirstNet state plan or pursue the “opt-out” alternative have access to detailed coverage information for the state, he said.

“Every state in the state-plan portal can see exactly where the buildout is happening in the state, and there are multiple layers to choose from—they can see 2G, 3G, 4G, LTE, Band Class 14,” Sambar said. “They can see the buildout by year.

"So, individual states … can see what’s happening over the next five years and where the Band Class 14 buildout is happening in their state.”

If the governor accepts the FirstNet state plan, there will be a “commitment to the state” to deploy the network as outlined in the state plan, but FirstNet CEO Mike Poth stopped short of describing the arrangement as a contract between the state and FirstNet.

“It will be a legally binding contract between FirstNet and AT&T to execute to that plan,” Poth said during the hearing. “Now, how do the states hold us accountable? As FirstNet shifts gears from developing a proposal to making an award, for the next 25 years, we are going to be in a position to work with the states continuously—and with public safety in all of those states—to make sure that all of their expectations, both from the state plans and in the future, are being met and being translated, if appropriate, back into contractual, actionable items.

“If AT&T is not meeting the requirements or expectations, FirstNet will—on behalf of public safety and those states—enforce the terms of the contract.”