https://urgentcomm.com/wp-content/themes/ucm_child/assets/images/logo/footer-new-logo.png
  • Home
  • News
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Multimedia
    • Video
    • Podcasts
    • Galleries
    • IWCE’s Video Showcase
    • Product Guides
  • Commentary
    • Back
    • Commentary
    • Urgent Matters
    • View From The Top
    • All Things IWCE
    • Legal Matters
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Resources
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • Reprints & Reuse
  • IWCE
    • Back
    • IWCE
    • Conference
    • Special Events
    • Exhibitor Listings
    • Premier Partners
    • Floor Plan
    • Exhibiting Information
    • Register for IWCE
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Terms of Service
    • Privacy Statement
    • Cookie Policy
  • Related Sites
    • Back
    • American City & County
    • IWCE
    • Light Reading
    • IOT World Today
    • Mission Critical Technologies
    • TU-Auto
  • In the field
    • Back
    • In the field
    • Broadband Push-to-X
    • Internet of Things
    • Project 25
    • Public-Safety Broadband/FirstNet
    • Virtual/Augmented Reality
    • Land Mobile Radio
    • Long Term Evolution (LTE)
    • Applications
    • Drones/Robots
    • IoT/Smart X
    • Software
    • Subscriber Devices
    • Video
  • Call Center/Command
    • Back
    • Call Center/Command
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • NG911
    • Alerting Systems
    • Analytics
    • Dispatch/Call-taking
    • Incident Command/Situational Awareness
    • Tracking, Monitoring & Control
  • Network Tech
    • Back
    • Network Tech
    • Interoperability
    • LMR 100
    • LMR 200
    • Backhaul
    • Deployables
    • Power
    • Tower & Site
    • Wireless Networks
    • Coverage/Interference
    • Security
    • System Design
    • System Installation
    • System Operation
    • Test & Measurement
  • Operations
    • Back
    • Operations
    • Critical Infrastructure
    • Enterprise
    • Federal Government/Military
    • Public Safety
    • State & Local Government
    • Training
  • Regulations
    • Back
    • Regulations
    • Narrowbanding
    • T-Band
    • Rebanding
    • TV White Spaces
    • None
    • Funding
    • Policy
    • Regional Coordination
    • Standards
  • Organizations
    • Back
    • Organizations
    • AASHTO
    • APCO
    • DHS
    • DMR Association
    • ETA
    • EWA
    • FCC
    • IWCE
    • NASEMSO
    • NATE
    • NXDN Forum
    • NENA
    • NIST/PSCR
    • NPSTC
    • NTIA/FirstNet
    • P25 TIG
    • TETRA + CCA
    • UTC
Urgent Communications
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Home
  • News
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Video
    • Podcasts
    • Omdia Crit Comms Circle Podcast
    • Galleries
    • IWCE’s Video Showcase
    • Product Guides
  • Commentary
    • Back
    • All Things IWCE
    • Urgent Matters
    • View From The Top
    • Legal Matters
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • Reprints & Reuse
    • UC eZines
    • Sponsored content
  • IWCE
    • Back
    • Conference
    • Why Attend
    • Exhibitor Listing
    • Floor Plan
    • Exhibiting Information
    • Join the Event Mailing List
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Cookie Policy
    • Terms of Service
    • Privacy Statement
  • Related Sites
    • Back
    • American City & County
    • IWCE
    • Light Reading
    • IOT World Today
    • TU-Auto
  • newsletter
  • In the field
    • Back
    • Internet of Things
    • Broadband Push-to-X
    • Project 25
    • Public-Safety Broadband/FirstNet
    • Virtual/Augmented Reality
    • Land Mobile Radio
    • Long Term Evolution (LTE)
    • Applications
    • Drones/Robots
    • IoT/Smart X
    • Software
    • Subscriber Devices
    • Video
  • Call Center/Command
    • Back
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • NG911
    • Alerting Systems
    • Analytics
    • Dispatch/Call-taking
    • Incident Command/Situational Awareness
    • Tracking, Monitoring & Control
  • Network Tech
    • Back
    • Cybersecurity
    • Interoperability
    • LMR 100
    • LMR 200
    • Backhaul
    • Deployables
    • Power
    • Tower & Site
    • Wireless Networks
    • Coverage/Interference
    • Security
    • System Design
    • System Installation
    • System Operation
    • Test & Measurement
  • Operations
    • Back
    • Critical Infrastructure
    • Enterprise
    • Federal Government/Military
    • Public Safety
    • State & Local Government
    • Training
  • Regulations
    • Back
    • Narrowbanding
    • T-Band
    • Rebanding
    • TV White Spaces
    • None
    • Funding
    • Policy
    • Regional Coordination
    • Standards
  • Organizations
    • Back
    • AASHTO
    • APCO
    • DHS
    • DMR Association
    • ETA
    • EWA
    • FCC
    • IWCE
    • NASEMSO
    • NATE
    • NXDN Forum
    • NENA
    • NIST/PSCR
    • NPSTC
    • NTIA/FirstNet
    • P25 TIG
    • TETRA + CCA
    • UTC
acc.com

Urgent Matters


Even in its first year, FirstNet-AT&T partnership has a significant impact on public-safety communications

  • Written by Donny Jackson
  • 30th March 2018
It has only been a year since AT&T was awarded with the nationwide FirstNet contract. For public safety, progress on the FirstNet LTE system is moving much faster than expected, driven largely by the decision to provide priority and preemption across all of AT&T’s commercial spectrum.

What is in this article?

  • Even in its first year, FirstNet-AT&T partnership has a significant impact on public-safety communications
  • Even in its first year, FirstNet-AT&T partnership has a significant impact on public-safety communications
  • Even in its first year, FirstNet-AT&T partnership has a significant impact on public-safety communications
  • Even in its first year, FirstNet-AT&T partnership has a significant impact on public-safety communications
  • Even in its first year, FirstNet-AT&T partnership has a significant impact on public-safety communications

Even in its first year, FirstNet-AT&T partnership has a significant impact on public-safety communications

What a difference a year makes.

A year ago this morning, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross announced that AT&T had been awarded the contract to build, maintain and upgrade FirstNet’s nationwide public-safety broadband network (NPSBN).

Clearly, this was a momentous from a historical perspective, but it also was also somewhat anticlimactic for many in public safety. After all, it had been clear for months that AT&T had been selected as the winning bidder in the FirstNet request for proposals (RFP) sweepstakes, and it had been a couple of weeks since a federal judge had ruled against Rivada Mercury’s protest of the FirstNet procurement.

As I rushed from my Las Vegas hotel room to the IWCE 2017 after the Ross ceremony—the announcement was made in Washington, D.C., on Thursday morning before the show opened that day—I briefly ran into a public-safety-communications veteran who had followed the public-safety broadband saga for more than a decade.

“Isn’t this great?” the public-safety veteran said with an excited, beaming face as he shook my hand energetically.

But the facial expression quickly turned somber as we quickly discussed FirstNet’s apparent next steps.

“That’s going to take some time, and I’m planning to retire in the next two or three years,” the public-safety veteran said, shaking his head in regret. “My guess is that my agency will never get to use FirstNet while I’m there.”

Another public-safety veteran—this one a FirstNet skeptic—pointed to the fact that it would take years to deploy a Band 14 network.

“Everyone is talking about FirstNet, but the reality is that there’s no service to buy right now—and I’ll be retired by the time this thing gets built out and there’s something to buy,” said one the head of one public-safety radio shop.

It was hard to argue against these conclusions, based on the information available at the time. Building a new public-safety LTE network on the 700 MHz Band 14 spectrum licensed to FirstNet—the task that was identified in FirstNet’s RFP—was scheduled to take five years to be completed, and the work only could begin in earnest after governors made decisions in the unprecedented “opt-in/opt-out” process.

In addition, government-led projects are notorious for taking much longer than projected, although FirstNet already had developed a reputation of meeting its stated deadlines.

But such doubt-filled conversations about FirstNet timelines soon would change dramatically—and it happened within a matter of hours.

By that afternoon, we learned that AT&T had agreed to give FirstNet “primary” public-safety subscribers priority and preemption across its entire network. This meant that first-responder subscribers would have access as much as 150 MHz of AT&T’s existing spectrum in some locations—not to mention the 20 MHz of Band 14 airwaves licensed to FirstNet in states making an “opt-in” decision.

This was an unexpected development. Remember, represenatives for both Verizon and AT&T told federal officials in 2010 that they would not prioritize public-safety users on their wireless networks, because doing so would not be in their shareholders’ best interest. In fact, many public-safety representatives believe FirstNet would not exist today, if the carriers had agreed to give public-safety users priority/preemption at that time.

AT&T’s priority/preemption revelation drastically altered thoughts about timetables and other concerns surrounding FirstNet offerings, although it took some time for many to realize all of the implications.

By providing priority and preemption across all AT&T bands, a service that was superior than the existing AT&T commercial broadband service would be available immediately—after an “opt-in” decision from the state, of course. Instead of waiting years for a Band 14 network to be deployed, this approach meant that FirstNet’s coverage footprint already included most urban and suburban locations nationwide, thanks to AT&T’s commercial coverage.

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
Even in its first year, FirstNet-AT&T partnership has a significant impact on public-safety communications
Tags: Commentary Coverage/Interference Funding IWCE Long Term Evolution (LTE) NTIA/FirstNet Public Safety Public-Safety Broadband/FirstNet System Design System Installation Test & Measurement Urgent Matters Commentary

Related Content

Commentary


How 5G is making cities safer, smarter, and more efficient

26th January 2023

3GPP moves Release 18 freeze date to March 2024

18th January 2023

Do smart cities make safer cities?

  • 1
6th January 2023
view all

Events


UC Ezines


IWCE 2019 Wrap Up

13th May 2019
view all

Twitter


UrgentComm

AT&T wireless growth keyed by FirstNet—now provides 24,000 agencies with 4.4 million connections dlvr.it/ShY5qH

27th January 2023
UrgentComm

Report: Remote work causing offices to empty, but walkable cities still in high demand dlvr.it/ShXM7Z

27th January 2023
UrgentComm

AT&T FirstNet unleashes robotic dogs for emergency services dlvr.it/ShW7p8

27th January 2023
UrgentComm

Federal agencies infested by cyberattackers via legit remote-management systems dlvr.it/ShVhn3

26th January 2023
UrgentComm

How 5G is making cities safer, smarter, and more efficient dlvr.it/ShVS1h

26th January 2023
UrgentComm

MCPTT interworking for critical communications dlvr.it/ShTm3P

26th January 2023
UrgentComm

Self-driving cars present terrorism risk, FBI director says dlvr.it/ShTTHx

26th January 2023
UrgentComm

UK Home Office officially will cut ESN ties with Motorola Solutions in December dlvr.it/ShNjfN

24th January 2023

Newsletter

Sign up for UrgentComm’s newsletters to receive regular news and information updates about Communications and Technology.

Expert Commentary

Learn from experts about the latest technology in automation, machine-learning, big data and cybersecurity.

Business Media

Find the latest videos and media from the market leaders.

Media Kit and Advertising

Want to reach our digital and print audiences? Learn more here.

DISCOVER MORE FROM INFORMA TECH

  • American City & County
  • IWCE
  • Light Reading
  • IOT World Today
  • Mission Critical Technologies
  • TU-Auto

WORKING WITH US

  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Events
  • Careers

FOLLOW Urgent Comms ON SOCIAL

  • Privacy
  • CCPA: “Do Not Sell My Data”
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms
Copyright © 2023 Informa PLC. Informa PLC is registered in England and Wales with company number 8860726 whose registered and Head office is 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.