AT&T has officially been selected as the commercial partner that will build and maintain a nationwide public safety LTE network for the First Responders Network Authority.
AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson joined federal officials as the news was announced Thursday morning and told the crowd that starting this fall, AT&T will be spending $40 billion of its own money on the FirstNet network – in addition to the $6.5 billion that it will receive from FirstNet for the build. AT&T spends about $20 billion per year on network capital expenditures ($22.4 billion in capex in 2016, according to its annual report); a press release from FirstNet clarified that A&T will spend the $40 billion “over the life” of the 25-year contract.
Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross said the public-private partnership is expected to create 10,000 jobs in the first two years of the contract and the FirstNet network “will change an untenable status quo by providing first responders with the tools they need to keep us safe. Today is a landmark day for public safety.”
After the recent resolution of a lawsuit brought by bidder Rivada Mercury, which protested its exclusion from the competitive range of the contract, FirstNet moved quickly toward the contract award. A judge issued a final ruling in the case on March 17. The FirstNet board held a special meeting on March 28 to delegate authority to FirstNet CEO Mike Poth to finalize the contract, and now FirstNet moves forward with its plans for kick-off meetings with AT&T and the first few months of operations.
“This is not done,” said Jeff Johnson, vice chair of the FirstNet board, at the event. “It does take vision and then we need execution and finally we need adoption.” Johnson went on to say that adoption of the FirstNet network will be where the organization next focuses its energies.
One of the first tasks outlined in the request for proposal is for FirstNet’s partner to complete a network plan for each state (within the first six months of the award) and present them to the governors of the 56 states and territories that will be covered by FirstNet. Each governor then has the option to opt out of FirstNet, in which case the state must design and build its own radio access network that must be interoperable with the rest of the network and tie into the FirstNet core. Opt-out decisions must be made within 90 days of receiving the FirstNet plan, and states then have 180 days to design and submit their own RAN plans.
Rivada Networks has said it wants to work with states who consider opting out of the national build and that it is “ramping up with states that want [the] option to exercise [their] opt-out right.”
For more information on FirstNet’s plans, check out the RCR Wireless News special report and listen to our webinar from last week.
