Leon Valley Police Department Transforms First Responder Communications with FirstNet America’s Public Safety Platform

New Technologies Expand Our Capabilities to Better Serve Leon Valley

PRESS RELEASE

LEON VALLEY, Texas, Oct. 2, 2019— The City of Leon Valley Police Department is connecting our officers to FirstNet – a new communications platform just for public safety. With this tech advancement, we can equip our first responders with new capabilities and reliable access to critical information while in the field. That allows us to better serve those who live, work and visit Leon Valley.

FirstNet is designed to improve communications across public safety entities nationwide, allowing first responders to easily and quickly communicate with one another during everyday situations, big events or emergencies. This is integral to solving for the common roadblock that communications issues have imposed on past public safety responses.

The Leon Valley Police Department is using FirstNet on our smartphones, tablets, laptops and to connect body cameras through the in-vehicle modem.

“The system has resolved all of our dropped calls and slow speeds we incurred on our previous network,” said Chief Joseph Salvaggio, Leon Valley Police Department. “I now have confidence that our communications during day-to-day operations, and especially during critical incidents, will come through without disruption. I couldn’t say that before we adopted FirstNet.”

 The Leon Valley Police Department joined FirstNet to provide our first responders with reliable, modern communications tools needed to perform at our best, including:

• One, nationwide communications platform that allows us to efficiently and effectively coordinate emergency responses across agencies and jurisdictions.
• Always-on priority and preemption to give us reliable access to the connection we need – even when the network is congested.
• A physically separate, highly secure network core purpose-built for public safety’s sensitive communications.
• Planned increases in coverage and capacity, enabling us to better respond to emergencies in all areas of Leon Valley – and across the state.
• Innovative tools – like relevant applications and connected devices – to give us more actionable information for heightened situational awareness.

 “Knowing our phone systems will work during emergency and critical incident calls gives me peace of mind as we strive to provide uninterrupted and first-rate public services to our residents,” said City Manager Kelly Kuenstler.

 FirstNet is built with AT&T in public-private partnership with the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet Authority). It’s designed with and for public safety.

“We’re honored that Leon Valley Police Department chose FirstNet to elevate their communications capabilities,” said Leslie Ward, president, AT&T in Texas. “It’s our mission to give first responders the cutting-edge tools they need to safely and effectively achieve their mission. FirstNet will help first responders in Leon Valley and across the country perform at the highest levels to keep themselves and those they serve out of harm’s way.”

“FirstNet is the exclusive communications platform being built with AT&T for public safety, inspired by public safety. There is no substitution for this dedicated network,” said Jeff Bratcher, Chief Technology and Operations Officer, FirstNet Authority. “We look forward to supporting Leon Valley and all of Texas’s public safety community with FirstNet, making sure it delivers what they need, when they need it.”

To learn more about Leon Valley Police Department, visit leonvalleytexas.gov.  

To learn more about FirstNet, go to FirstNet.com. To learn more about subscribing to FirstNet, contact Stephen Pundt at 210-464-8702 or stephen.pundt@att.com. Individual first responders can also subscribe to FirstNet at a local AT&T store.

FirstNet and the FirstNet logo are registered trademarks of the First Responder Network Authority.  All other marks are the property of their respective owners.