Rivada fleshed out its FirstNet plans, announcing a handful of vendor partners, claims of agreements with a nationwide LTE carrier and regional telecom operators
Fresh off plucking a former Sprint executive to help lead its cause, Rivada Mercury unveiled vendor partners lined up to help the company in its efforts to build out a nationwide public safety network should it win a part or all of the First Responder Network Authority bidding process.
Rivada said partners include Harris Corporation, Ericsson, Nokia, Intel Security, Fujitsu Network Communications and Black & Veatch. The companies plan to pool their resources behind Rivada as it bids in the ongoing FirstNet process that is to culminate with the building of a nationwide public safety network using 20 megahertz of spectrum in the 700 MHz band.
While not named, Rivada is also said to be working with a nationwide wireless operator already running an LTE network as well as a number of regional telecom operators. Among established wireless carriers, AT&T Mobility has expressed interest in partnering with FirstNet and its $6.5 billion in funding, while Verizon Wireless has been more guarded in its interest. T-Mobile US has stated it can’t see how a partnership would work for the carrier, while Sprint is not expected to participate in the FirstNet program.
The FirstNet process is set up to allow carrier partners access to parts of the 20 megahertz of spectrum, with public safety provided priority access when needed. FirstNet was set to close bidding on the process May 31, following an extension on the deadline.
Rivada provided more color on its approach, claiming it will subsidize the cost of building the nationwide LTE network and use existing partner infrastructure to speed deployment and reduce costs. Rivada had previously touted its dynamic spectrum arbitrage tiered priority access technology, which it claims ensures priority network access for public safety agencies over commercial wireless services provided by FirstNet’s planned network partners.
“By allowing businesses to access wholesale bandwidth through both long-term agreements and open market transactions, Rivada is enabling the advancement of [the ‘internet of things’] and other innovations while creating new opportunities for institutional investors,” the company noted.
Brian Carney, SVP for corporate communications at Rivada Networks, outlined the company’s plans at the recent Dynamic Spectrum Summit.
Rivada last month named longtime Sprint CFO Joe Euteneuer co-CEO and CFO Americas, running the organization alongside executive chairman and co-CEO Declan Ganley. Euteneuer left his position as CFO at Sprint last August amidst numerous management changes at the beleaguered carrier, and was replaced by current CFO Tarek Robiaiti. Euteneuer assumed the CFO position at Sprint in 2011, replacing Bob Brust, and coming over from Qwest Communications.
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