- AT&T supplies the network for first responders who use FirstNet
- The head of AT&T’s FirstNet division told Fierce that more public safety agencies are choosing FirstNet
- Still, organizations across the country are urging lawmakers to remove uncertainty about FirstNet’s future and reauthorize the FirstNet Authority this year
Given all the budget cuts happening in Washington, D.C., under Trump 2.0, Fierce wondered how FirstNet, the government-authorized wireless network for public safety, will fare. Is there any chance it will face cutbacks or something more severe?
After all, there is a clause in the Project 2025 document that sounds ominous. It states:
- “Review FirstNet. Evaluate the performance and long-term value proposition of FirstNet in view of modern technologies that will render it obsolete.”
Asked about that statement in a wide-ranging interview this week, AT&T FirstNet President Scott Agnew pointed to the number of public safety agencies that are choosing FirstNet on their own accord.
“Public safety is choosing this network more than any other network that’s out there. I think that kind of stands on its own and as you can see, it continues to grow significantly year over year,” he told Fierce. “Everywhere you look, it’s public safety grade across the board.”
Indeed, AT&T on Tuesday revealed that its network now serves more than 7 million public safety connections and covers more than 2.99 million square miles across the U.S. At the same time, they’re making improvements, like distributing free cell boosters for improved coverage indoors and hooking up with AST SpaceMobile for satellite coverage in hard-to-reach outdoor areas.
But FirstNet also faces new competition from T-Mobile, which is using its 5G network to more aggressively go after the public safety market, earlier this year announcing a “landmark connectivity deal” with the City of New York and talking up its T-Priority network slicing service. Verizon, the longtime leader in the public safety market, continues to boast its own network reliability and resiliency, providing service to more than 40,000 public safety agencies.
AT&T’s Agnew said they’re not really seeing the impact from T-Mobile’s foray.
“I think public safety is overwhelmingly selecting FirstNet,” he said, noting that the New York Police Department (NYPD) and Fire Department of New York City (FDNY) are customers of FirstNet. That’s notable, given the establishment of FirstNet was a direct response to the communications failures during the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Update: Since this story first published, a Verizon spokesman confirmed to Fierce that both the NYPD and FDNY are also Verizon Frontline customers.
FirstNet as a self-sustaining entity
None of this sounds like FirstNet is susceptible to being rendered “obsolete.” The First Responder Network Authority, or the FirstNet Authority, is an independent agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). A FirstNet Authority spokesperson didn’t respond to a request for comment for this story.
Others point out that financially, FirstNet is a self-sustainable entity; Congress used the sale of spectrum to fund FirstNet’s initial operations. No taxpayer dollars were used to fund the network, which was launched in 2017 under the first Trump administration, presumably making it less likely to get the boot. Plus, messing with it would disrupt millions of critical public safety connections.
The FirstNet Authority board includes law enforcement representatives and other public safety officials from across the country. Last year, FirstNet Authority Executive Director and CEO Joe Wassel shared his task force recommendations related to the major network outage that AT&T experienced in February 2024 and concluded that the outage ultimately made them stronger.
Calls to remove uncertainty about FirstNet
There is sense of urgency, however, around the re-authorization of FirstNet. Within the law that created the FirstNet Authority lies a sunset provision. “This sunset provision creates a very uncertain future for the national public safety broadband network and all the advances made in public safety communications since the FirstNet Authority was established,” a group of 17 organizations told Congressional leaders in a March 17 letter.
The organizations include the National Fraternal Order of Police, International Association of Fire Chiefs, National League of Cities and others who say it’s imperative that FirstNet’s authority not be allowed to expire. Another letter was sent to lawmakers on March 21 citing much of the same sentiment and included the National Conference of State Legislatures and the National Association of Chief Information Officers.
“FirstNet is a public policy triumph, providing broadband connections to over 27,000 state and local public safety agencies throughout the nation. It is critical that Congress act on legislation to eliminate the sunset clause for the agency in order to ensure that state and local first responders continue to have access to the interoperable, nationwide broadband communication network they fought so hard to secure,” they wrote.
Roger Entner, founder of Recon Analytics, recently hosted a podcast where Agnew appeared as a guest. “I am not concerned about FirstNet reauthorization as it is a critical first responder network,” Entner told Fierce.
AT&T: We're pushing the envelope
Agnew pointed to a recent Frost & Sullivan report that said FirstNet is uniquely positioned in the public safety sector.
Remarking on FirstNet’s eighth anniversary this week, “we're going to continue to push the envelope. We're going to continue to build out coverage for public safety, not where the business wants it, but where public safety wants it. It’s purpose built. Our products are based off of what public safety needs. I think that's what makes it so special,” he said.
“My expectations are we continue to move the needle for public safety and public safety continues to overwhelmingly select FirstNet,” he concluded.
Article updated April 3 with comment from Verizon.