FirstNet Performing as Expected Through Busy 2025, Board Members Say
Members of the FirstNet Authority board said during a meeting Wednesday that the AT&T-run network was very active in recent months. For example, FirstNet was at the Super Bowl, which raised unique security concerns because of the attendance of President Donald Trump, members said.
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Moreover, FirstNet was involved in the follow-up to the January crash of an American Airlines jet and an Army Black Hawk helicopter near Reagan National Airport, the New Year’s Day terrorist attacks in New Orleans and Las Vegas, and various natural disasters, board members said. They met in Oklahoma City, site of the 1995 attack on the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, which killed 168 people.
“Our first responders and the emergency response system they rely on were put to the test,” said Renee Gordon, acting chair of the authority board. “I speak ... from personal experience -- the plane crash at National Airport happened in our backyard.” She's also director of the Alexandria, Virginia, Department of Emergency & Customer Communications.
“My team worked nonstop, taking calls from the public through the night and supporting first responders throughout the response and recovery efforts, which lasted several days,” Gordon said. “It is vital that we continue to drive this network forward."
Trisha Wolford, chair of the board’s Advocacy Committee, said, “We continue to coordinate regularly with AT&T to support events and understand network performance during all of these events." During the last quarter, the committee participated “in nearly 300 engagements,” reaching 13,000 stakeholders, she said. “We gathered public safety feedback on their use of FirstNet and some known operational needs or capability gaps,” she added. “We know that direct feedback from our end user is critical to our continued investment."
“Coverage in all forms continues to be the most common public safety need,” Wolford said. FirstNet users are also still raising reliability concerns, she said, citing the use of “push-to-talk” communications on the network as one continuing challenge.
Sean McDevitt, Finance and Investment Committee chair, said that during the first five months of the authority’s fiscal year, it “obligated” a cumulative $36.5 million, about 20% less than projected. FirstNet must be self-sustaining and doesn’t receive money from taxpayers, he noted. The authority has worked with AT&T to activate 1,000 new “Band 14-enabled” sites, using the main spectrum band controlled by FirstNet, he said.
FirstNet is also adding Starlink capabilities to its fleet of deployable vehicles, McDevitt said. “No single coverage solution can possibly address the unique coverage needs of all public safety stakeholders.”
FirstNet is performing well but has room for improvement, said Rasheid Scarlett, chair of the Programs and Future Planning Committee. “We keep asking ourselves, 'How can we do even more?'” FirstNet is deploying a 5G stand-alone core, he said. “This unlocks capabilities such as lower latency and improved reliability.”
“We’re expanding coverage,” including in rural areas, on tribal lands and along the U.S. border, Scarlett added. FirstNet is also improving in-building coverage, especially inside hospitals, schools and public safety agency buildings, he said. “We are ahead of schedule on 1,000 new Band-14 cellsite deployments,” bringing coverage to first responders “even faster than planned.”