FirstNet Partners with AT&T to Build Wireless Network for First Responders

By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief

In a formal ceremony at the U.S. Department of Commerce on Thursday, the FirstNet contract was awarded to AT&T for the nation’s first nationwide wireless broadband network, Inside Towers reported. Several fire/police/EMS officials who spoke said the interactive network will help all first responders connect to their colleagues anywhere; when built, the network will replace gear like legacy land-mobile radios.

“It will change an untenable status quo by providing first responders the tools they need to keep us safe,” said U.S. House Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR), who co-led the FirstNet legislation in Congress with former Senate colleague Jay Rockefeller (D-N.Y.). FirstNet is part of an effort “to build a more secure society” after 9/11, said Walden, who added: “The Administration is now prepared to deliver” on the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Report.
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