Networks Holding Up for First Responders

AT&T reports that FirstNet -- the high-speed, nationwide wireless broadband network it’s building for use by first responders -- is performing well. More than 1.2 million first responders and other emergency response workers have connectivity. Additionally, more than 11,000 public-safety agencies and organizations nationwide have subscribed to the network, which gives responders preemption across voice and data with multiple priority levels that they can apportion as needed, too. To ensure that things run smoothly, FirstNet liaisons are embedded at state and federal emergency operations centers. When connectivity needs a boost, FirstNet users have access to 76 deployable cell sites that the FirstNet Response Operations Group put in place. The team comprises former first responders who manage the program with the National Incident Management System and the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s National Response Framework.