Wireless carriers are key to successful FirstNet RFP bid. Which are interested?

It should be noted that the FirstNet does not dictate that a carrier be part of the winning contractor—it is open to any structure, as long as the 16 statement of objectives included in the RFP are met. Furthermore, there is nothing that requires a carrier to be the prime contractor; a bid could be headed by a system integrator or another entity. But I’ve yet to find anyone who believes a viable bid will be submitted that does not include an existing carrier as part of the team.

Speculation regarding carriers’ interest in FirstNet has been rampant for years, even before Congress passed the law establishing the entity. Naysayers have noted that commercial carriers are worried about partnering with government on projects that could influence internal operations, such as network management.

But supporters cite the opportunity to get prime spectrum at a huge discount, as well as the chance to secure millions of public-safety and critical-infrastructure customers. Meanwhile, being part of the FirstNet system could give a carrier an opportunity to have a seat at some very impressive tables—whether the subject is public safety, national security, cyber strategy—which could prove to be an intangible benefit that could be significant.

So, who are the potential carriers that could be part of a team, and what is their interest level in the FirstNet project? In no particular order, here are some early returns:

AT&T—A huge carrier that long has shown interest in the public-safety and government sectors, AT&T has the assets and pedigree to execute what FirstNet outlines in its RFP. In addition, an AT&T recently stated that the carrier plans to “aggressively” pursue the FirstNet opportunity. The fact that using FirstNet spectrum does not count against a carrier’s spectrum-cap calculation for a market has to be attractive to AT&T, which will be prohibited from bidding on certain spectrum in the 600 MHz incentive auction because of its current license holdings.

Rivada Networks—No entity has been as outspoken in its interest in public-safety broadband as Rivada, which plans to couple its public-safety service with a wholesale-bandwidth market concept to unlock the value of shared spectrum. Many have applauded the company’s innovative business model, and its patented processes may well be utilized in other offerors’ packages, if Rivada is willing to accept such an arrangement. What Rivada lacks is real-world success stories implementing its intriguing technologies.

T-Mobile—At one time, industry sources cited T-Mobile as one of the carriers that was most interested in the FirstNet opportunity. This made sense, because T-Mobile needs more low-band spectrum. But company officials recently noted that they are concerned about uncertainties surrounding FirstNet and expressed much more enthusiasm toward this spring’s 600 MHz incentive auction. Indeed, the carrier is the favorite to win reserve low-band spectrum in the auction—AT&T and Verizon are not eligible to bid on it, and Sprint has declared it will not participate.

Sprint—Sprint is not expected to be a significant player in the FirstNet sweepstakes, because the carrier is focused on slashing its network costs in an effort to return to profitability. Sprint officials have said that the carrier does not need new spectrum; if this is the case, then it’s hard to imagine the FirstNet proposition being particularly attractive to the company.