AT&T has announced the release of its highly anticipated “state plans”, part of the overall First Responders Network Authority (FirstNet) network development process. The State Plans, which will be made available via an online portal, are available for review by the various states, which then have 45 days to review the proposed plans. The states and territories will then have time to exchange feedback with FirstNet, before a 90-day clock starts for each state or territory governor (or delegated executive) to make an “opt in/opt out” decision on its respective State Plan. Should a state elect to “opt in” to the proposed State Plan developed by AT&T: (1) states will transfer the financial, operational, and technical risks of building, maintaining, and upgrading the FirstNet network in the state or territory to AT&T for 25 years; (2) AT&T will provide dedicated, “fast-lane” access to fire, police and EMS to AT&T’s nationwide LTE network and have this first responder preemption in place by the end of 2017; and (3) AT&T will launch key network features and services to first responders, including quality of service provisions, and priority access voice and data, and do so at competitive rates. While AT&T intends to rely heavily on its own radio access network and exclusively on its network core for FirstNet capabilities, it is also expected to engage with dozens of rural network service providers to provide additional LTE coverage to make FirstNet as close to “nationwide” as physically possible.
