The First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet Authority) and its network partner, AT&T, recently announced the next phase of its public safety broadband network, with 5G upgrades, coverage enhancements and service updates spurred by more than $8 billion of investments.
Those investments will be rolled out over 10 years, although this latest network investment will consist of $6.3 billion for its targeted investments and an anticipated additional $2 billion for ongoing coverage enhancements currently under discussion. AT&T will also deploy a new standalone FirstNet 5G network, and starting in March, FirstNet will be the first and only wireless providing first responders in the U.S. with always-on priority and preemption across the 5G spectrum.
“We are dedicated to the future of public safety communications, and that starts with expanding and evolving FirstNet to meet first responders’ needs,” Joe Wassel, executive director and CEO of FirstNet Authority, said. “With this investment, we are ensuring FirstNet remains at the forefront of technology so that public safety can respond smarter, safer, and more effectively. I look forward to our continued partnership with the public safety community and AT&T to deliver the most reliable, innovative communications network for public safety.”
Currently, the system hosts more than 5.5 million connections and has about 27,500 public safety and organizational users. To support them, FirstNet will build 1,000 new sites within the next two years, expand voice, video, data and location services, upgrade deployable network assets with 5G connectivity, and prepare the network to evolve beyond 5G services in the future. Faster speeds, increased capacity and enhanced service quality should result.
The current FirstNet iteration is a 4G LTE network.