FirstNet Authority board approves $450.8 million budget for 2024 fiscal year, CEO shares priorities

FirstNet Authority board members this week voted unanimously to approve a $450.8 million budget—about $95 million for operations—for the upcoming 2024 fiscal year that will begin in October.

Under the new budget, the FirstNet Authority will have $94.995 million to fund its ongoing operations, and another $94.995 million that will go into the organization’s operational contingency reserve. The remaining $260.878 million in the budget is allocated for reinvestment into the FirstNet system, although no potential uses for this money were mentioned during the board meeting.

Brian Crawford, chair of the board’s Finance and Investment Committee, said during the board meeting that the FirstNet Authority is “on very sound financial footing and is financially well positioned as we approach the next fiscal year.”

FirstNet Authority CEO Joe Wassel outlined the organization’s priorities for the upcoming fiscal year, citing system resilience—particularly as it related to cybersecurity—and enhancements to the connected-first-responder vision as key technical areas of focus, as well as migrating to 5G.

“We’ve got to get to a 5G core, and we’ve got to make sure that the public-safety experience for first responders is second to none across the country and across the world,” Wassel said during the board meeting, which was webcast. “The 10-year investment is underway now, and we’re working very closely with the board … as we decide where every dollars goes to get the most out of those dollars and the best value for public safety for the nation.”

Outside of the technical arena, Wassel noted that current law calls for the FirstNet Authority to sunset in February 2027, so convincing Congress to reauthorize the FirstNet Authority beyond that date is a key priority for the organization.

“We think it’s important that the Authority continue its work with our public-private partner [AT&T] in bringing the dot-gov leadership, education, training, awareness and advocacy at the federal level for public safety,” Wassel said.

“We’re pushing very hard for reauthorization. We’re working with Congress; we’re working with NTIA; we’re working with the Department of Commerce; and our stakeholders at all levels to make sure that Congress understands that forwarding this program is important for the nation—for its wellness, for its resiliency—so that we be at our best when things are at their worst. Reauthorization is critical, and we’re working it every day.”

Wassel also reflected on his time with the FirstNet Authority since joining the organization as CEO in March.

“It has been five months in the job, and I understand how important trust is,” Wassel said. “I understand how important it is to build it, how easy it is to lose it, and how I need to earn it every single day—not only with the board, not only with the FirstNet Authority, but across public safety in our nation.

“We have a responsibility worldwide. As has been said in other briefings, the world is watching. We are leading the way for public safety—we are the example, we are the beacon of [what is] possible and hope for other nations.”