Missouri becomes 34th state to make FirstNet ‘opt-in’ announcement
What is in this article?
Missouri becomes 34th state to make FirstNet ‘opt-in’ announcement
Governors in six states have not announced an “opt-in” decision or had state officials issue an RFP seeking a potential alternative RAN vendor: Delaware, Florida, Illinois, New York, North Dakota, and South Dakota.
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.
“The dedication of Governor Greitens and his staff to first responders was readily apparent in their opt-in considerations, as well as in their decision. It's a pleasure to work with an administration whose commitment to public safety is so closely aligned with our own,” John Sondag, president of AT&T Missouri, said in a prepared statement. “AT&T is honored to bring this dedicated, interoperable public safety broadband network to Missouri, and connect its public safety community to advanced tools that will help save and preserve lives.”