The Trump administration on Thursday awarded AT&T a contract to develop a country-wide broadband network dedicated to first responders.
The First Responder Network Authority, FirstNet for short, is an independent agency within the Commerce Department that was authorized by Congress in 2012.
According to a press release from AT&T, the network will create an alternative, real-time mode of communication for police, firefighters and emergency medical services, who have run into problems communicating via thousands of different commercial networks.
“Today is a landmark day for public safety across the Nation and shows the incredible progress we can make through public-private partnerships,” Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said. “FirstNet is a critical infrastructure project that will give our first responders the communications tools they need to keep America safe and secure. This public-private partnership will also spur innovation and create over ten thousand new jobs in this cutting-edge sector.”
AT&T will give FirstNet $6.5 billion over the next five years to support the network buildout. The money was raised from wireless spectrum auctions conducted by the Federal Communications Commission. AT&T led the field in an action that concluded in 2015, getting $18.2 billion in winning bids, according to Ars Technica.
AT&T says will spend $40 billion over the life of the contract to build and maintain the network.
FirstNet will use a 700 MHz spectrum license awarded by the FCC back in 2012.
FirstNet came into being as a response to the “communications challenges” faced by the public safety community responding to major incidents, including the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and Hurricane Katrina.
AT&T it will provide “20 MHz of high-value, telecommunications spectrum” in a network that will cover all 50 states as well as the five U.S. territories and the District of Columbia, and will extend to often underserved rural areas.
