New Hampshire becomes the first state to announce plans to pursue FirstNet ‘opt-out’ alternative

FirstNet vowed to work with New Hampshire to ensure that the state’s “opt-out” initiative is successful for public safety.

“FirstNet has worked closely with all of the states and territories to help them make the most informed decision for their public-safety communities and supported their right to choose whether to opt in to the FirstNet Network or take on the responsibility of deploying the state radio-access-network portion of the network,” according to a prepared statement from FirstNet. “With New Hampshire's announcement to opt-out and deploy their state RAN, FirstNet looks forward to continuing to work with the state following the successful completion of the opt-out process to deliver an interoperable, nationwide network to public safety.”

Meanwhile, a prepared statement from Chris Sambar—AT&T’s senior vice president for FirstNet—expressed hope that Sununu would reconsider today’s “opt-out” announcement.

“To date, all other states and territories that have made a decision have chosen to opt in to FirstNet—reflecting a belief across the nation that it is the best option for the public-safety community and the residents they serve,” Sambar said in a the statement. “Today, Gov. Sununu has expressed his decision to go down a path not chosen by any of the 35 states and territories before him. We remain hopeful New Hampshire will continue to assess the substantial risks associated with an opt-out proposal of an unproven vendor.”

Under the law that established FirstNet, governors in all 56 states and territories have the choice of making an “opt-in” decision—accepting the FirstNet deployment plan and allowing AT&T to build the LTE radio access network (RAN) within the state’s borders at no cost to the state—or pursuing the “opt-out” alternative, which would require the state to be responsible for building and maintaining the RAN for the next 25 years.

FirstNet released its initial state plans on June 19 and made them actionable, so governors would have the opportunity to “opt-in” to FirstNet prior to the final state plans being released on Sept. 29. Governors in 53 states and territories that received initial state plans on June 19—the exceptions being the Pacific territories of Guam, American Samoa and the Northern Mariana Island, which will have a separate timetable—are required to make their “opt-in/opt-out” decisions by Dec. 28.

Prior to today’s New Hampshire announcement, governors in 33 other states—Virginia, Wyoming, Arkansas, Kentucky, Iowa, New Jersey, West Virginia, New Mexico, Michigan, Maine, Montana, Arizona, Kansas, Nevada, Hawaii, Alaska, Tennessee, Nebraska, Maryland, Idaho, Texas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Alabama, Indiana, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Utah, North Carolina, Georgia, Vermont and Ohio—had announced their “opt-in” decisions, as did the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico territories.