AT&T FirstNet buckles down as Hurricane Helene hits the east coast

As Hurricane Helene barrels up the east coast, AT&T’s FirstNet Response Operations Group (ROG) and Network Disaster Recovery (NDR) team are following and tracking the hurricane to support first responders with network connectivity and emergency resources.

The First Responders Network Authority (FirstNet) is a US government agency focused on delivering a nationwide wireless network to public-safety agencies, including police and firefighters. The FirstNet network is operated by AT&T and utilizes FirstNet’s Band 14 700MHz spectrum and AT&T’s commercial spectrum bands.

Light Reading spoke with Rich Johnson and Kelley Adley, both former law enforcement officials who are now on AT&T’s ROG team, about how AT&T supports first responders during a hurricane.

As of Thursday afternoon, Johnson and Adley were standing by in Daphne, Alabama, with a team of 14 ROG members. ROG, which includes about 44 members in total and is made up of former first responders, works closely with the NDR team plus 400 other AT&T employees on the support team.

The ROG team also collaborates with the AT&T Weather Operations Center, which assists in making tactical decisions on where and when the ROG team should go to support first responders during a natural disaster, explained Johnson, who is associate director of Law Enforcement at FirstNet. AT&T is the only carrier with a team of dedicated meteorologists, he said.

The AT&T Weather Operations Center watches the hurricane’s path and forecast “just like the weather service and provides us really good information to make those tactical decisions on where best to be safely, because you want to be part of the solution, not part of a problem,” explained Johnson.

Deployable network assets

AT&T also has a suite of network assets that can be deployed based on what’s needed during the hurricane. Assets include SatCOLTs, which are vehicles that act as mobile cell sites and connect via satellite, and the 5G Flying COW (Cell on Wings), a drone that provides 5G coverage.

To read the complete article, visit Light Reading.