FirstNet draft state plans expected to be delivered around June 19, AT&T exec says
Beyond the initial network buildout, opt-out states—or, more likely, their chosen vendors—will be responsible all resources associated with RAN maintenance, testing, security updates and network upgrades for the next 25 years. Security updates and network upgrades must be synchronized with changes in the nationwide FirstNet system, according to federal-government officials.
Meanwhile, state officials have expressed increasing frustration with the absence of other key information—most notably, the cost associated with using FirstNet’s spectrum and network core—as many attempt to provide their governors with a viable alternative to compare to the FirstNet state plan. However, persistent speculation that state officials have been told that their states cannot pursue the “opt-out” alternative is not true, according to the several state officials interviewed for this article.
“I’ve never been told that,” John Stevens, New Hampshire’s single point of contact (SPOC), said during an interview with IWCE’s Urgent Communications. “I think there are challenges before the states—they’re certainly making it difficult to [pursue the opt-out alternative]—but I’ve never heard that at all.”
AT&T’s Donovan said his company is optimistic that governors want to accept the FirstNet state plan after reviewing it.
“I think that, once the states have an opportunity to evaluate—in totality—what it means to be in, and what would be necessary to be out, I think it’s a very compelling proposition for the states to join,” Donovan said. “We expect that most—if not all—will, and we believe we’re going to have a very compelling case for them.”