AT&T exec shares capacity-based FirstNet Band 14 deployment plans with Congress
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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.”
If ATT won the contract with
If ATT won the contract with FirstNet, I assume they will have the nationwide license to stand-up cell sites/equipment on Band 14. They have the whole spectrum. I don’t see how VZW can stand up anything natively on Band 14.
I’m not the brightest star in
I’m not the brightest star in the sky, but I don’t see any valid reason for AT&T to build out the 700 MHz network originally envisioned by a group of starry eyed bureaucrats who had no concept of what business is all about. What this amounts to is making AT&T a sole source supplier to public safety.
The impact “could” be significant if Verizon and others simply stand by and let it happen (which they won’t). It is just another nail in the coffin for true interoperability and the end of P25 as carrier based services replace privately owned infrastructure.
Whatever happened to anti-monopoly legislation? The winners as usual will be the dominant equipment providers, in particular, the “public” company with only 4% of the stock on the market and the rest being privately help. But, that’s good for competition isn’t it?
The robber barons of the 19th century would be proud!