Advocates gear up for FirstNet reauthorization push

When an American Airlines regional jet collided with an Army helicopter at an airport near Washington, D.C., last month, it prompted an enormous response from state, local and federal public safety agencies.

In the frantic search for possible survivors in the Potomac River and to secure the scene, first responders needed to communicate quickly, without worries about low bandwidth preventing them from sending each other photos of the scene or staying in touch.

“Seconds matter,” said Craig Allen, chair of the International Association of Chiefs of Police’s Communications and Technology Committee. “We're in the business of seconds.”

While the crash ended in tragedy for all 67 victims, it was the latest in a series of events — which has included wildfires, natural disasters and terrorist attacks this year alone — to show the importance of the dedicated communications network for first responders, known as FirstNet.

That network’s future could be in jeopardy, however, as its federal authority runs out in 2027. Various groups, lawmakers and other interested parties are already gearing up for a reauthorization fight, hoping it can happen cleanly and avoid the political infighting Congress has become known for.

“From our perspective, FirstNet is something we sought,” Allen said. “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.”

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. That commission noted that first responders struggled staying in touch as they dealt with the attacks in New York City and at the Pentagon, as phone networks became overwhelmed with people ringing their loved ones at the same time.

Eventually, Congress established the First Responder Network Authority, an independent government authority within the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, under the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012. Congress appropriated $7 billion and 20 megahertz of spectrum to the network, then AT&T won the contract in 2017 to build it out as a public-private partnership. Later that year, the company announced that every state had opted in.

An AT&T fact sheet notes that more than 29,500 agencies have subscribed to FirstNet, with almost 3 million square miles of network coverage and almost 900 devices.

“FirstNet is not a commercial offering to first responders,” an AT&T spokesperson said in an email. “Built in an unprecedented public-private partnership with the federal government, FirstNet delivers a unique network purposefully developed with and for the public safety community to solve common and long-standing communications challenges that first responders face. We are proud to be public safety’s network partner and are committed to delivering a second-to-none experience for first responders and the extended public safety community.”

The network has proven to be wildly popular with the public safety community, as well as state and local government organizations. The International Association of Fire Chiefs recently passed a resolution supporting FirstNet’s reauthorization, while local police chiefs have joined wider organizations like IACP in supporting the network’s continued use. The National League of Cities and the National Association of Counties have been similarly supportive, particularly for the technological benefits.

“Thirteen years ago, we could not have guessed where the direction of technology and smartphones was going to go,” said Angelina Panettieri, NLC’s legislative director for information technology and communications. “The way that it brings technology into their work, and something that is intuitive and that they know how to use and that they can just walk into a store and get it and have it not be a big deal, has been a really unexpected benefit for people.”

Political leaders appreciate the benefits as well. Rep. Lizzie Fletcher, a Texas Democrat, has previously introduced legislation to reauthorize FirstNet and make the network permanent by removing its sunset clause. In an interview, Fletcher told Route Fifty that the natural disasters that have struck her Houston-area district, including Hurricane Harvey, showed her how important it is for first responders to be able to communicate.

“What we know is that in those moments, it is critical that first responders can communicate with each other, and also that people can have access to information and that people can communicate with one another as well,” she said. “That's such a huge part of the anxiety: the unknown and the fear of being out of communication with the people you need to be in touch with, whether that's first responders or loved ones.”

Such legislation would likely get a hearing with the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, which Fletcher is no longer a member of. She pledged to work “full speed ahead” with her colleagues to reauthorize the network.

Panettieri said she hopes that the debate over reauthorization does not become a “political football” that gets tied into other issues, like spectrum management and funding for other programs. Even letting the reauthorization debate drag on could harm network continuity, she said, echoing a similar warning the Government Accountability Office issued in 2022.

Yucel Ors, NLC’s legislative director for public safety, said a “worst case scenario” could be FirstNet losing its spectrum license or seeing it auctioned off, while a lengthy reauthorization fight could jeopardize the contract with AT&T. Local governments would suffer from the “instability,” Panettieri said.

“They have to have contingency plans,” she said. “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.”

It is also unclear how FirstNet might fit into the wider cost-cutting push by the Department of Government Efficiency. NTIA and FirstNet spokespeople did not respond to requests for comment.

“What happens to those seven million public safety users? What do they do?” Allen said. “And more importantly, what about the public they serve? What do they do?”

While the reauthorization journey will likely be long and runs the risk of becoming politically fraught, those involved said given the broad agreement on FirstNet’s usefulness, it should get done.

“I think we should be able to find agreement around ensuring that we have these tools and that our first responders have these tools without having to worry about the infrastructure, about the build out and about access to them,” Fletcher said. “All 50 states have opted into FirstNet, and we've seen, especially recently, how important it is to have this program.”