AT&T clarifies FirstNet service plans, prioritization for utilities

Utility companies can subscribe to FirstNet as “extended primary” users of the nationwide public-safety broadband network (NPSBN) being deployed by AT&T, but utilities would not be eligible to receive preemptive access rights to the system unless such access was activated temporarily by a traditional public-safety entity, according to AT&T.

SOURCE: Urgent Communications

DATE: May 11, 2018

Utility companies can subscribe to FirstNet as “extended primary” users of the nationwide public-safety broadband network (NPSBN) being deployed by AT&T, but utilities would not be eligible to receive preemptive access rights to the system unless such access was activated temporarily by a traditional public-safety entity, according to AT&T.

“As an extended-primary subscriber, a utility company providing public safety services in support of first responders has the option to purchase First Priority’s™ priority-access and data-prioritization features to help prioritize and support their critical communications for data/signaling needs,” AT&T said in a prepared statement provided to IWCE’s Urgent Communications.

Not all utility communications would be eligible for extended-primary use on the FirstNet system and the accompanying prioritization over consumer traffic, according to an AT&T spokesperson. For instance, sales and marketing personnel for a utility would not be eligible, because they would not have a role in supporting public safety, the spokesperson said.

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