FirstNet Reauthorization A Must for Public Safety Communications

By James Careless

Since its inception in 2012, the FirstNet Authority has done great things for public safety communications in the United States. The most significant of these is the establishment of the FirstNet broadband wireless network which ensures secure priority carriage of first responder cellular traffic throughout the country 24/7.

FirstNet was born out of the tragic loss of far too many first responders at the World Trade Center on 9/11, due to a lack of interoperability and overburdened commercial networks. This is why first responders compelled Congress to develop a nationwide high speed wireless network for public safety. Congress listened and created the FirstNet Authority under the Middle-Class Tax Relief Act of 2012.

At the time, the FirstNet Authority was a new and untested concept. This is why the legislation contains a provision that sunsets the organization in February 2027, unless it is deliberately reauthorized to continue by Congress.

Because reauthorization is likely to be a long process, the effort to educate Congress and public safety begins now. And make no mistake: American first responders want FirstNet to be reauthorized indefinitely, rather than have to do this all over again down the road. This is why the Congressional Fire Services Institute (CFSI) has begun their advocacy and educational efforts on the importance of reauthorization to protect public safety communications, ‘FirstNet Reauthorization’. 

Michael A. Barnbeck is Deputy Director of the Public Safety Broadband Technology Association (PSBTA), which is another strong first responder advocate for FirstNet’s reauthorization. “This reauthorization is not about AT&T: It is about the FirstNet Authority and their record of putting first responders’ communications needs first,” Barnbeck said. “Reauthorization affirms that the FirstNet public safety network will be overseen by public safety through its membership on the FirstNet Authority Board and through the Public Safety Advisory Council that reports directly to the board. Without this reauthorization, FirstNet could be forced to terminate network services, which would impact nearly 30,000 agencies using close to seven million devices on FirstNet. This is why Congress must reauthorize the FirstNet Authority now.”

Asked why Congress should reauthorize the FirstNet Authority on an indefinite basis, rather than for just another time period, Barnbeck replied, “The only reason Congress put in this time limit was because they weren’t sure that the concept would work. Now FirstNet has proven itself to be all that was hoped for and more. So, there is no need to set another time limit, because doing so puts the surety of this public safety network in doubt every time a renewal is on the schedule.” The PSBTA wholeheartedly supports reauthorization to preserve this governance framework and ensure public safety has continued and uninterrupted access to the FirstNet network.

The fact is that FirstNet is a public safety network built by and for public safety users that works. 

This commitment underlies the FirstNet Authority’s $6.3 Billion 5G network upgrade, which will see the incredible capabilities of 5G wireless service extended to all FirstNet users throughout the United States. As AllThingsFirstNet.com reported, this 5G project will upgrade FirstNet’s dedicated core network and its radio access network on the Band 14 spectrum. The result will be faster data speeds and larger carriage capacity than can be carried on 4G/LTE cellular networks, supporting far more capable multimedia broadband applications for use by public safety agencies.

At the same time — precisely because the FirstNet Authority is responsible to the public safety community — FirstNet will continue to support its current 4G/LTE users for an extended period of time. This will allow them to make this switch to 5G on their budgetary schedule, rather than having it imposed on them as might happen with a commercially run, profit-minded enterprise. 

This is why CFSI and the PSBTA are supporting the reauthorization of the FirstNet Authority, and why Michael Barnbeck thinks all U.S. first responders should do the same. “FirstNet is too important a resource to be lost or interrupted,” he said. “We need to ensure its survival for all first responders, and getting behind the reauthorization is the way to do it.”