FirstNet under the microscope in reauthorization hearing

At the hearing on the reauthorization of the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet), Sen Klobuchar (D-MN) asked Melvin Maier, CEO and executive director of APCO International, what metrics should be used to evaluate the FirstNet network performance and reliability. “Public safety has to have the tools they need during the crisis,” Maier said, noting that law enforcement officers use uplink out in the field far more than downlink, sending data back to the home office for evaluation. “We look at cell edge performance on the edges of those maps where they say that there’s coverage,” he said, adding that cybersecurity and backup power are also part of the equation.  FirstNet was created by Congress in response to the failure of communications during the 9-11 attacks on the U.S., and the FirstNet Authority, which oversees FirstNet, ultimately awarded a contract to AT&T, the only mobile carrier that bid for it. AT&T’s award also means it can use FirstNet’s 20 megahertz (MHz) of 700 MHz spectrum. AT&T has achieved a great deal, but the scale and importance of the public safety assets it now operates makes stronger oversight more essential than ever, said Sen Deb Fischer (R-NE). Of course, AT&T strongly supports reauthorization of FirstNet and would like to see it done well in advance of the February 27, 2027, expiration. Over the life of its 25-year contract, AT&T expects to invest about $40 billion of its own capital to build and operate FirstNet, said Scott Agnew, president of FirstNet and Public Sector Mobility at AT&T.