Public safety, government groups call for FirstNet reauthorization
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By
Chris Teale
The collection of 17 public safety and local organizations said it is “imperative” that the FirstNet Authority be reauthorized before it expires in 2027.
A group of law enforcement, public safety, emergency management and county and municipal leaders wrote to leaders in Congress earlier this month urging them to reauthorize the FirstNet Authority before the 2027 deadline and remove its sunset date.
The letter sent to House Speaker Mike Johnson, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said it is “imperative” that the authority for FirstNet, a communications network built for exclusive use by public safety agencies, not be allowed to expire.
The group said FirstNet has been vital in helping coordinate public safety responses to various incidents, like hurricanes, wildfires and other natural disasters, as well as various events like the recent presidential inauguration, the Super Bowl, terrorist attacks and plane crashes.
“Since the creation of the FirstNet Authority, this program has helped front-line public safety personnel respond to numerous events affecting the everyday lives of American citizens,” the letter says. “[Public] safety is committed to ensure continuation of FirstNet and an ability to respond effectively with the right resources, at the right time, in the right way to protect the homeland.”
But contained within the legislation that established FirstNet in 2012 — the Middle-Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act — is a sunset provision, under which the FirstNet Authority would lapse in 2027. The letter warned of “significant disruption for first responders who rely on the network for emergency responses” and said such a lapse would be “unacceptable.”
“This program has allowed our first responders to worry less about connectivity and focus more on their lifesaving missions,” the letter says. “Public safety is already struggling with rising costs and staff turnover. If dedicated and reliable connectivity is one less thing we must worry about, then the result will be more lives saved.”
The letter marks one of the opening salvos in a broad push to reauthorize FirstNet’s authority, which will include dozens of public safety groups, government leaders and elected officials at all levels. The program is popular, too. A fact sheet from AT&T, which won the contract in 2017 to build out FirstNet as a public-private partnership, found that more than 29,500 agencies have subscribed to FirstNet, with almost 3 million square miles of network coverage and almost 900 devices.
The idea of a dedicated public safety communications network was one of many recommendations issued by the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, known as the 9-11 Commission. The signees said that, given the difficulties agencies had staying in touch as they responded to the 2001 attacks in New York City and at the Pentagon, Congress should have an incentive to keep FirstNet going.
“On the day of America’s worst ever terrorist attack, many heroic first responders lost their lives due to not being able to communicate with one another,” the letter says. “The lessons learned from that horrific day should never be forgotten. Since the release of the 9/11 Commission report, our organizations and associations have advocated for a network that ensures dedicated, prioritized, and reliable connectivity for all first responders: whenever and wherever they need it.”
The Government Accountability Office warned in 2022 that if Congress does not act to reauthorize the FirstNet Authority or transfer its responsibility away from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, it could put the public safety network “at risk.” City leaders have said previously that local governments would suffer tremendous “instability” if the network goes away.
“They have to have contingency plans,” Angelina Panettieri, the National League of Cities’ legislative director for information technology and communications, said in a previous interview. “They have to figure out what their backup is. … And it's not like the instability would hit the day after the authorization expires. It would be before then, because public safety can't take a day off. They have to be ready no matter what, and they would have to do that months in advance.”
Those in public safety also want to keep the network intact.
“From our perspective, FirstNet is something we sought,” Craig Allen, chair of the International Association of Chiefs of Police’s Communications and Technology Committee, said in a previous interview. “It is a solution. I'm in the technology space every day, and I have no idea what we would use if FirstNet went away.”