FirstNet’s spectrum use has been reauthorized, but Congress must act to extend its statutory authority
A Federal Communications Commission bureau has reauthorized Firstnet’s use of its Band 14 700 MHz spectrum, while a pending bill in the U.S. House of Representatives would make the agency’s statutory authority permanent.
The FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland Security (PSHSB) has granted FirstNet’s spectrum license for another 10 years, or “for the remaining period of its authorization from Congress, whichever is sooner.” FirstNet’s statutory authority will end in 2027 unless Congress takes action to extend that period or remove an authorization time limit altogether—and in a time when the FCC’s auction authority was allowed to lapse, an agency’s continued operating authority isn’t necessarily a given.
The original 2012 bill creating the First Responder Network Authority, which officially holds the lease on the spectrum that is used as the backbone of its shared network riding on AT&T’s RAN, included a stipulation that FirstNet’s statutory authorization would end after 15 years—in 2027. New legislation proposed in the House would remove that time limit on the FirstNet Authority’s authorization. That legislation was introduced in the House by Rep. Lizzie Fletcher (TX-07); she had originally introduced that legislation in early 2022 with co-sponsor Congresswoman Val Demings (FL-10). At the time, FirstNet’s then-CEO Ed Parkinson said that such legislation would “would provide certainty for the FirstNet Authority to continue its focus on improving and innovating the network so that responders have the tools they need to help ensure the safety of the American people.”
The Government Accountability Office noted in a 2022 report that if FirstNet’s authority is allowed to expire, the foundational legislation “doesn’t identify another federal agency to oversee network operations or updates.” Without legislative action, there could be risks to service continuity and network reinvestment, the GAO report said. The GAO report recommended that Congress reauthorize FirstNet, despite some identified weaknesses in how the agency is performing its duties of contract oversight that has led to some FirstNet changes in administration.
FirstNet-AT&T now says that its network covers 2.91 million square miles and has more than 4.4 million devices connected, from 25,000 customer agencies. FirstNet says it has more than 200 authorized applications and 560 devices available to first responders around the country; it recently launched a mini rapid deployable which is comprised of two suitcase-sized cases and provides up to half a mile of cellular coverage with satellite backhaul.
The FirstNet Authority also recently gained a new chair: Chief Richard Carrizzo, who is the fire chief for the Southern Platte Fire Protection District (MO). Carrizzo was appointed to the FirstNet Authority Board in 2018 and had served as vice chair since 2020.
