Ohio becomes 33rd state to make FirstNet ‘opt-in’ announcement

Meanwhile, the District of Columbia and 11 states have issued an RFP without having their governors announce an “opt-in/opt-out” decision to date: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington and Wisconsin. Of these states, Colorado and New Hampshire are the only states to announce winners of their procurement.

AT&T officials have stated that deployment of LTE on the 700 MHz Band 14 spectrum licensed to FirstNet could begin as early as this year in certain parts of the country. Public-safety agencies in “opt-in” states are eligible to sign FirstNet contracts that give first responders priority access across AT&T’s commercial networks immediately and preemptive access by the end of the year.

AT&T will build the FirstNet RAN in “opt-in” states or territories at no cost to each jurisdiction, although local public-safety entities will be responsible for paying subscription costs and end-user device expenses. However, the law that established FirstNet stipulates that individual public-safety agencies and potential first-responder users are not required to subscribe to the FirstNet service.

“As evidenced by Ohio’s thoughtful consideration and decisive action, public safety is a top priority here in the state,” AT&T Ohio President Adam Grzybicki said in a prepared statement. “First responders will now have immediate access to FirstNet’s life-saving communications tools, and we’re proud to support them in their mission to serve Ohio’s residents—day in and day out—for the next 25 years.”