FirstNet Authority commits to investing more than $8 billion into FirstNet NPSBN

Officials representing the FirstNet Authority and network partner AT&T today announced plans to invest more than $8 billion during the next decade that is earmarked to fund 5G evolution, expanded mission-critical services and coverage enhancements to the FirstNet nationwide public-safety broadband network (NPSBN).

“Today definitely marks a milestone in the evolution of FirstNet,” FirstNet Authority Richard Carrizzo said during an event in Fairfax, Va., celebrating the investment announcement. “We’re here to launch the next phase of … the public-safety broadband network with a major investment announcement in innovation and mission-critical services for all of public safety.”

FirstNet Authority Executive Director and CEO Joe Wassel described AT&T—announced as the FirstNet contractor in March 2017—as an “amazing” public-private partner in building and maintaining the FirstNet system, noting that the carrier giant completed the initial five-year buildout on 700 MHz Band 14 spectrum on time.

“In March of last year, the initial buildout was complete in every state, in every territory and the District of Columbia, but that’s not the end of the story. It’s just the beginning of the journey,” Wassel said during the Fairfax event. “We’re not done, and we’re launching … FirstNet 3.0, which begins right here, right now.

“These are some big numbers for public safety today. “We are excited to unveil a 10-year investment—an initiative totaling over $8 billion—that will transform this network into [FirstNet] 3.0.”

According a press release issued today, the FirstNet Authority will make a $6.3 billion network investment with AT&T that is expected to allow the NPSBN to provide users with full 5G capabilities via a 5G standalone (SA) core, expand mission-critical services like mission-critical-push-to-talk (MCPTT) and enhance coverage.

Jim Bugel, president of AT&T FirstNet team, talked about significance of the network investment to public safety.

“As we look ahead, delivering the standalone 5G core will be a game-changer for all of the nation’s first responders—rural, urban, tribal and territorial,” Bugel said during the event in Fairfax. “Together with the FirstNet Authority, we will continue to drive innovation, expand mission-critical capabilities, build out reliable connectivity dedicated to [public safety] and what you do at the most important times.

“It’s real stories from the public-safety community that keep us moving as quickly as possible to deliver the tools and solutions to first responders needed to keep them safe and to keep our communities safe. After all, we all know that there is no connection more important than the one that saves lives.”

Although the $6.3 billion includes money for enhanced coverage—notably, at least 1,000 new cell sites within the next two years—even more money is expected to be allocated to increasing FirstNet coverage.

“The FirstNet Authority anticipates an additional $2 billion in ongoing investments dedicated to coverage enhancements, which is currently under discussion by the parties,” according to the press release.

Wassel said the $2 billion investment during the next decade would be used “to deliver Band 14 coverage in every state, in every territory, in the District of Columbia, in rural areas and capacity in the urban areas. We will invest in coverage enhancement that reflect public-safety factors and network considerations.

“We are building a deliberate and strategic investment to ensure that we maximize these dollars, and the impact for public safety will begin the ripple effect, starting right here, right now.”

No statements were made during the Fairfax event or in the press release indicating what types of technologies may be used to enhance coverage. While building more terrestrial cell sites is the most traditional option, the FirstNet Authority board previously has approved investments in deployable and in-building solutions to help public-safety users address gaps.

Some industry observers also have noted the possibility of enhancing coverage through the use of direct-mode technologies like 5G sidelink and high-powered user equipment (HPUE), particularly with a second HPUE standard for Band 14 being developed primarily for FirstNet by the 3GPP standards body.

In addition, AT&T has conducted tests with satellite-direct-to-phone provider AST SpaceMobile, and the FCC approved some testing of the technology on the 700 MHz Band 14 spectrum licensed to the FirstNet Authority.

In addition to the network-investment announcements, AT&T has agreed to provide FirstNet subscribers with always-on priority and preemption across all of AT&T’s 5G commercial spectrum, as well as the Band 14 airwaves licensed to the FirstNet Authority, beginning in March. AT&T has been providing such priority and preemption across the carrier’s commercial 4G LTE spectrum since being awarded the FirstNet contract in 2017, but this is the first time a similar policy has been announced for 5G spectrum.

This projected $8.3 billion investment is being announced two months after the FirstNet Authority announced it validated that AT&T completed the initial five-year buildout of the NPSBN—something officials repeatedly have stated was done on time and on budget. AT&T was eligible to receive as much as $6.5 billion for this initial buildout work, but there has been no public confirmation yet that this occurred.

While the source of funding for the initial $6.5 billion were proceeds from FCC spectrum auctions, the money for today’s investment announcement is not being generated with any direct involvement from the federal government. Instead, the $8.3 billion will come from the FirstNet Authority’s investment fund, into which AT&T pays annually for the right to utilize the 20 MHz of 700 MHz Band 14 spectrum that is licensed to the FirstNet Authority.

A key aspect of the 25-year contract between the FirstNet Authority and AT&T are these annual payments, which are slated to total $18 billion during the life of the agreement. Of this total, about $3 billion is expected to pay for the operations of the FirstNet Authority organization, and the remaining $15 billion is required to be invested back into NPSBN.

Under the initial contract, AT&T’s annual payments to the FirstNet Authority were scheduled to begin at a relatively low level and steadily increase throughout the duration of the 25-year agreement, with the largest payments being due in the latter years of the deal. This structure would not have allowed the $8.3 billion investment during the next 10 years, because the FirstNet Authority would not have had enough money to make such a large investment.

This issue was resolved by AT&T agreeing to accelerate some payments, although the total amount for the 25-year contract remains the same, according to a FirstNet Authority spokesperson. Specifics about the restructured yearly payments that AT&T will make under the new agreement have not been disclosed yet.