FirstNet users enjoy largest coverage footprint in the U.S., AT&T says

FirstNet subscribers have access to the wireless network with the largest coverage footprint in the United States by more than 50,000 square miles, AT&T stated this week as part of press announcement released on the 10th anniversary of the FirstNet Authority being created.

Jason Porter, president of AT&T’s public-sector and FirstNet business units, said AT&T—the FirstNet Authority’s contractor building the nationwide public-safety broadband network (NPSBN)—has spent more than $130 billion on wireless infrastructure and spectrum in the five years since being awarded the FirstNet contract in March 2017.

Those investments are reaping dividends for FirstNet subscribers, who are able to leverage all of AT&T’s commercial spectrum, as well as the 20 MHz of 700 MHz Band 14 spectrum licensed to the FirstNet Authority, Porter said.

“The results for first responders is what I’m most proud of, [particularly] our ability to expand coverage to first responders that have never had the coverage before,” Porter said during an interview with IWCE’s Urgent Communications. “All of our coverage is guided by first responders telling us where they need coverage and us building it there.

“We now have more than 2.81 million square miles of coverage for those first responders. That’s more than 50,000 square miles more than any of our competitors, and that’s really only made possible because of our commitment to first responders through FirstNet.”

These new figures represent a dramatic turnaround in the relative coverage offered by AT&T in comparison to Verizon.

When AT&T won the FirstNet contract in 2017, Verizon boasted a wireless footprint that was more 450,000 square miles greater than any carrier. Verizon parlayed this advantage to a dominant position in the cellular and wireless broadband market for public safety, which has long held a “coverage is king” mantra when selecting providers.

But AT&T has spent billions of dollars on its network since winning the FirstNet contract in 2017, including building out coverage in remote locations that previously were not deemed economically viable but were required under the FirstNet deal.

“The desire to reach those areas that hadn’t been touched—desert areas, mountainous areas or even in tribal areas and territories like Guam—and have been underserved for so many years now are covered, thanks to FirstNet and the mission here,” Porter said. “It’s really transformed everything that AT&T does about planning and designing our network.”

By March 2020, this network investment resulted in AT&T’s 4G coverage expanding to 2.61 million square miles—a figure within 70,000 square miles of Verizon’s footprint, although Verizon still claimed its former 450,000-square-mile advantage in promotional material as late as February 2020.

AT&T has added another 200,000 square miles of coverage to its network during the last two years, according to the carrier giant. Its 2.81 million-square-mile footprint exceed the coverage provided by other U.S. carrier by 50,000 square miles—about the geographical size of Alabama, an AT&T press release states.

Porter also reiterated recent statements by AT&T executives that FirstNet is now the market leader in providing broadband services to U.S. law-enforcement personnel. AT&T has not identified the source of this information, but it is based on “third-party data,” Porter said.

Verizon did not address AT&T’s coverage claim, but it provided IWCE’s Urgent Communications with a prepared statement from Maggie Hallbach—senior vice president of Verizon’s public-sector unit—asserting that it continues to lead the public-safety broadband market.

“Verizon Frontline’s reliability, security and ability to harness 5G in more than 2,700 U.S. cities is why Verizon Frontline is the No. 1 network for public safety,” according to Hallbach. “And, Verizon Frontline is used by more first responders than any other network, hands down. It was built over a 30-year partnership with public safety and is designed to meet the unique and evolving needs of first responders today and in the future.”

AT&T officials have announced that its contracted initial buildout of the FirstNet system on Band 14 spectrum is more than 95% complete, and the company recently filed an SEC report indicating that the Band 14 deployment will be completed during this calendar year—at least three month ahead of the contracted schedule.

AT&T coverage will continue to grow in the future. Porter said. In addition to fulfilling its FirstNet deployment, AT&T likely will uncover new opportunities to expand its wireless footprint as federal grant programs make hundreds of billions of dollars available to fund fiber-based broadband in unserved areas. These fiber assets can be leveraged to provide backhaul for future FirstNet sites, he said.

“As we’re pursuing the last 5%, we’re putting cell towers in places that have never had fiber and have never had electricity—they’re in extremely rural areas, even on tribal lands and national parks,” Porter said. “Getting access to put those there is a challenge. If fiber was there, we could put these cell towers up much more quickly, much more cost effectively, and cover more.

“So, we’re really excited about the rural-broadband play and what it’s doing to support first responders, as we’re able to follow along that and continue to put FirstNet coverage up where that goes.

While rural-broadband efforts can help first-responder communications, Porter noted that the reverse is also true. FirstNet is designed to serve first responders, but the buildout of the public-safety network also has resulted in wireless broadband coverage to the general public in rural areas, he said.

“When we put up a Band 14 cell tower, when it has spare capacity—the general public gets to take advantage of that spectrum,” Porter said. “And when we hang a Band 14 radio, lots of times we are hanging an additional radio for the commercial users, as well, while we’re up there.

“So, even though FirstNet is not a rural-broadband program, it’s provided tremendous coverage to communities that were unserved before. They now have broadband because of FirstNet.”

Most coverage metrics highlight the outdoor footprint for a given carrier, but one of most-cited challenges to first-responder communications is in-building coverage—an issue that has become increasing problematic as more structures are built with energy-efficient materials that reflect wireless signals. With this in mind, AT&T recently joined the Safer Buildings Coalition (SBC).

“The FCC estimates that over 10,000 lives could be saved each year if public safety were able to reach callers just 1 minute faster,” according to an AT&T press release. “And since 80% of wireless calls take place indoors, the need for in-building, dedicated public-safety connectivity is essential to public-safety operations and overall safety.

“That’s why we are collaborating with the Safer Buildings Coalition, the nation’s leading industry advocacy group focused on advancing policies, ideas, and technologies that ensure effective in-building communications capabilities for public-safety personnel and the people they serve.”