FirstNet Authority board approves $2 billion in coverage enhancements to key areas

FirstNet Authority board members yesterday voted unanimously to approve plans to enhance the wireless coverage provided by FirstNet with an investment of about $2 billion during the next decade to bolster the system’s terrestrial footprint, with a focus on tribal, terrestrial and rural locations.

“With the board’s actions today, the Authority will continue during our work to deliver the network that public safety has asked for and needs,” FirstNet Authority board Chair Richard Carrizzo said during the board meeting, which was webcast. “We continue addressing their top priority, which is more coverage, coverage, coverage.

“We will continue to focus and plan our coverage enhancements in the areas that need it most, with a strong focus on our territorial, tribal and rural plans.”

FirstNet Authority board member Jocelyn Moore—chair of the board’s Programs and Future Planning Committee—also emphasized the importance of serving the “critical focus” on tribal, territorial and rural areas. Moore noted that the $2 billion-over-10-years coverage commitment will be in addition to the 1,000 new 700 MHz Band 14 cell sites that contractor AT&T is scheduled to deploy in 2024 and 2025 as announced early this year.

In that February announcement, the FirstNet Authority announced 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. Yesterday’s vote solidifies the other $2 billion cited in the February announcement.

Moore also cited potential FirstNet coverage growth by leveraging emerging technologies.

“We … continue to explore future potential upgrade opportunities, such as upgrading our deployable fleet with low-Earth-orbit [LEO satellite] backhaul capability,” Moore said during the board meeting.

“We are also planning on additional investments that will—over time—enable satellite-direct-to-device capability for FirstNet subscribers. We will work with public-safety stakeholders nationwide to ensure that our investment dollars achieve the maximum benefit for public safety. Our goal is to enhance the experience of public safety, wherever and whenever they access the nation’s only dedicated public-safety network.”

FirstNet Authority Executive Director and CEO Joe Wassel echoed this sentiment.

“I can’t overstate how important the efforts of the board today … [are] as we think about FirstNet 3.0, and we move this network forward for public safety and forward for the nation,” Wassel said during the board meeting.

With more than 6 million connections serving more than 28,500 agencies, FirstNet’s role as the highest-profile, operational public-safety broadband system continues to draw attention from countries around the world that hope to provide similar communications capabilities to their first responders, Wassel said.

“It’s not a pioneering effort anymore,” Wassel said. “The expectation is that we are here, we will remain here, and we will continue to improve this capability for first responders.

“[In terms of] American leadership around the globe, I used to say that the world is watching. The world is actually with us, as they are trying to do exactly the same thing, as American leadership is shining brightly with this effort in the United States.”

Wassel and other board members also thanked five FirstNet Authority board members—Carrizzo, Paul Patrick, Billy Hewes, Brian Crawford and Sylvia Moir—who will be stepping down from the board with the expiration of their terms next month.