Page 3 - FCW, April 2017

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It’s official: AT&T wins FirstNet award
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross announced on March 30 that AT&T had won the $6.5 billion contract to build a nationwide broadband network for public safety communications.
The contract represents the first phase of a 25-year agreement to estab- lish the network. Although the govern- ment has appropriated $6.5 billion to pay for construction over five years, the total projected costs are as high as $100 billion. In a press release, AT&T said it expected to invest about $40 billion into the network over the life of the contract.
“FirstNet is a critical infrastructure project that will give our first respond- ers the communications tools they need to keep America safe and secure,” Ross said. “This public/private partnership will also spur innovation and create over 10,000 new jobs in this cutting- edge sector.”
Under the partnership, AT&T will develop the nationwide network using spectrum freed up and dedicated for the purpose of public safety commu- nications. AT&T will be able to share unused capacity with its customers, but first responders will be given priority.
“This is an unprecedented public/pri- vate investment in infrastructure that makes America a leader and public safety a national priority,” said Randall Stephenson, AT&T’s chairman and CEO.
The award to AT&T was not a sur- prise. The telecommunications giant was the last company standing when the First Responder Network Authority told the other two bidders they were no longer being considered. Rivada Mercu- ry, a consortium of several companies, filed a protest with the U.S. Court of Federal Claims in November 2016, but the court ruled against it on March 17.
businesses, quickly become clogged. Another issue is interoperability. AT&T estimates that 10,000 networks are being used for voice communications.
The company is responsible for bring- ing individual states onto the network and investing in their infrastructure. However, states can opt out of First- Net and instead contract to build their own interoperable communication net-
“FirstNet is a critical infrastructure project that will give our first responders the communications tools they need
to keep America safe and secure.”
— COMMERCE SECRETARY WILBUR ROSS
AT&T has been tasked with build- ing a nationwide network that could be used by police, firefighters and emergency medical services in all 50 states, five U.S. territories and Washing- ton, D.C. The need for such a network became clear after the 2001 terrorist attacks, when first responders from different departments and jurisdictions were unable to communicate via radio to coordinate their response.
Currently, first responders use com- mercial networks for mobile data and applications, according to AT&T. During a crisis or emergency, those networks, which are also used by individuals and
works. Rivada Mercury plans to con- tinue seeking contracts, and at least five states have issued requests for propos- als that give Rivada or another provider an opportunity to build a network in their states.
The FirstNet contract enables AT&T to add new technologies as they become available, including 5G capabilities. Company officials said the network will improve rescue and recovery opera- tions, connect first responders to critical information, and further develop inter- net-of-things and smart-city solutions, such as real-time traffic conditions.
— Nick Wakeman
FCW CALENDAR
5/3 Cloud
Dennis Kelly and Kevin Curry from the Army’s PEO-EIS and
USDA’s Chad Sheridan are among the speakers at this FCW event on next steps in agencies’ move to the cloud. Washington, D.C. FCW.com/cloud2017
5/10 Defense
Army Maj. Gen. Peter Gallagher and Air Force Brig. Gen.
Aaron Prupas are keynote speakers at 1105 Public Sector Media Group’s Connected Warrior Summit. Arlington, Va. ConnectedWarrior.com/summit
5/21-23 Innovation
ACT-IAC’s annual Management of Change conference
will explore biometrics, cloud migration, cognitive computing, IT modernization and more. Cambridge, Md. is.gd/FCW_MOC17
April 2017 FCW.COM 3
COMMERCE DEPARTMENT