Why FirstNet Reauthorization Matters for Public Safety Communications

In This Article

FirstNet: A Direct Response to 9/11

Many lessons were learned from 9/11. One of the most pressing was the need for reliable, consistent, and interoperable wireless communications between police, fire EMS, and public safety agencies. 

For many reasons, this high standard of public safety communications wasn’t available during 9/11 — a shortcoming that led to many people dying when the World Trade Center towers collapsed. According to the 9/11 Commission Report (page 397), “The inability to communicate was a critical element at the World Trade Center, Pentagon, and Somerset County, Pa., crash sites, where multiple agencies and multiple jurisdictions responded. The occurrence of this problem at three very different sites is strong evidence that compatible and adequate communications among public safety organizations at the local, state and federal levels remains an important problem.”

In response to this problem, the 9/11 Commission Report recommended that, “Congress should support pending legislation which provides for the expedited and increased assignment of radio spectrum for public safety purposes.” 

It was this recommendation, along with some other factors, which led to Congress passing The Middle-Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 (H.R. 3366), This passage led to the creation of the FirstNet Authority. It is an independent federal agency run by first responders for first responders.

As FirstNet’s thousands of public safety supporters will tell you, the FirstNet Authority should be permanently reauthorized because it deserves to be.

To make FirstNet happen, Congress allocated $7 billion and 20 megahertz of broadband radio spectrum. After an open, fair, and competitive bidding process between wireless telephone carriers, AT&T was selected to provide the network infrastructure and support for FirstNet’s public safety broadband network — one whose network core is physically separated from AT&T’s commercial networks.

“The promise made by Congress in 2012 was to confirm that a disaster like 9/11 would never leave first responders helpless without communications,” said Chief John Cueto, Chief of Police-Retired for the Town of Duck, North Carolina, in an article published on AllThingsFirstNet.com. “In agreement with the founding public safety experts that testified before our representatives and senators, Congress made it clear that the most effective deployment of FirstNet was to be installed with one carrier and to utilize one dedicated network core.”

Because nothing like FirstNet had even been attempted before anywhere, H.R. 3366 set 2027 as the reauthorization date for the FirstNet Authority. Today, America’s police, fire and EMS agencies are urging Congress to reauthorize the FirstNet Authority permanently. The reason? FirstNet works.

FirstNet’s Impact on Public Safety Communications

The creation of the FirstNet network means that US public safety agencies of all sizes have access to a dedicated, reliable, and capable wireless broadband network. Operating in the 4G/LTE mode and now being upgraded to support 5G, FirstNet delivers always-on priority wireless service to first responder smartphones, tablets, and wirelessly-enable computers — especially during manmade and natural disasters when commercial cellular networks are overloaded or down. This is why more than 30,000 public safety agencies across America are now using FirstNet for public safety communications, and 7 million public safety devices use FirstNet every year.

However, despite offering far better service than conventional public safety radios can, FirstNet costs much less to deploy, maintain, and expand. This is because AT&T is responsible for FirstNet’s communications infrastructure. In contrast, public safety agencies who still run their own radio networks have to pay to build and maintain their towers and transmitters, plus buy and maintain expensive handheld and mobile radios for their officers. 

FirstNet also can use any consumer-grade Android/Apple smartphone, although ruggedized models are recommended. They need to be registered on the FirstNet network first with an AT&T FirstNet Sim Card For FirstNet Ready™. A ruggedized phone is recommended for work in the field, but you can pick one of those up at your nearest AT&T store. 

“FirstNet is too vital a resource to be lost or interrupted.”

As well, FirstNet’s Response Operations Group (ROG) is available to help these multi-jurisdictional  agencies with interoperability and dedicated spectrum when disaster strikes by providing them with rapidly deployable portable cellular towers and transmission sites. This allows these public safety agencies to restore coverage within their communities as soon as possible.

FirstNet a Successful Public-Private Partnership

FirstNet is the largest and most successful public-private partnership in America today. It is now financially self-sustaining, with FirstNet’s operational and upgrade costs being covered by subscriber fees rather than taxpayer dollars. In turn, the subscriber fees paid by FirstNet member agencies, combined with the cost of buying ruggedized handsets and tablets, are still substantially lower than the cost of running traditional public safety radio networks. 

Meanwhile, AT&T’s network infrastructure has exceeded expectations in supporting FirstNet. It is simply providing more and better connections that had been planned for.

The Need for FirstNet Authority Reauthorization

As FirstNet’s thousands of public safety supporters will tell you, the FirstNet Authority should be permanently reauthorized because it deserves to be. 

One of these supporters is the Public Safety Broadband Technology Association (PSBTA), whose members are US public safety professionals. “Our call for permanent reauthorization is based on the FirstNet Authority’s record of putting first responders’ communications needs first,” said PSBTA Deputy Executive Director Michael A. Barnbeck. “Reauthorization affirms that the FirstNet public safety network will be overseen by public safety through its membership on the FirstNet Authority Board.”

“The only reason Congress put in this time limit was because they weren’t sure that the concept would work,” Barnbeck observed. “Well, it does. So there is no need to set another time limit.”

The Risks of Not Reauthorizing FirstNet

Without reauthorization, FirstNet could be forced to terminate network services. “This would seriously impact more than 30,000 agencies using close to seven million devices on FirstNet,” said Barnbeck. “The safety of first responders and the public would be threatened if this were allowed to happen.”

Now, there are those in the business community who say that the FirstNet Authority should not be reauthorized; that its spectrum and services should be turned over to the private sector.

Well, that was the case when 9/11 occurred, and the consequences were severe. This is why the bipartisan 9/11 Commission — which was appointed by President George W Bush — recommended that Congress provide “for the expedited and increased assignment of radio spectrum for public safety purposes.” And this is why Congress created the FirstNet Authority.

It is no exaggeration to state that the FirstNet Authority represents a ‘lesson learned’ from the tragedy of 9/11. In an increasingly dangerous world, now is the time to remember that lesson and stick to it.

Securing the Future of Public Safety Communications

As its over 30,000 public safety agency members and numerous supporters can attest, FirstNet works. This is why they want Congress to reauthorize the FirstNet Authority for good.

The National Association of Counties (NACo) is one of these avid supporters. “NACo urges Congress to remove the sunset date for the FirstNet Authority,” said the NACo website. “Urge your Members of Congress to reintroduce and pass legislation to amend the Middle-Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 to reauthorize the First Responder Network Authority.” 

“FirstNet is too vital a resource to be lost or interrupted,” Barnbeck concluded. “We need to ensure its survival for all first responders, and getting the FirstNet Authority reauthorized for good is the way to do it.”