DALLAS, Oct. 27, 2021 /PRNewswire/ --
What's the news? A momentous 3rd quarter
saw accelerated adoption from public safety. Now, more than 18,500
public safety agencies and organizations, accounting for more
than 2.8 million connections1 nationwide, are
on FirstNet®, Built with AT&T* –
the only nationwide network built with and for
America's first responders. This growth has helped us to establish
our market leadership position within the law enforcement
community, with the San
Francisco Sheriff's Department, Brevard County Sheriff's
Office, and Newark
Police Department (New
Jersey), as well as the Florida Division of Emergency
Management among the latest agencies to sign on to public
safety's network.
Public safety is utilizing FirstNet to manage daily
operations, planned events, and emergency situations and disasters.
From San Francisco's Fleet Week
earlier this month to COVID-19 testing centers and wildfires in the
West, FirstNet is keeping public safety connected unlike any other
network. In fact, so far this year FirstNet has deployed more
than 650 solutions – from dedicated FirstNet SatCOLTs to
expediting network restoration efforts – to support public safety's
emergency response.
We're also giving first responders truly dedicated coverage and
capacity when they need it most. So far, we've surpassed
95% of our nationwide Band 14 coverage target with the
First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet Authority), well ahead
of schedule. And public safety's dedicated ecosystem is expanding
to support the growing subscribers. There are now 315+ FirstNet
Ready® devices and more than 180
apps in the FirstNet App Catalog, which includes a carefully
curated category of safety and wellness apps to further support the
mental and physical health of first responders. The FirstNet App
Catalog is geared to first responders, featuring apps relevant to
public safety's mission, and gives FirstNet subscribers a dedicated
site to find meaningful new solutions that have been specifically
reviewed for use with their network.
By listening to what public safety needs, we're introducing new
mission-centric solutions including Locate Standard for FirstNet, a
new dynamic mapping application that includes Z-Axis, and
NumberSync for Samsung wearables.
Why is this important? FirstNet is public
safety's network. While commercial wireless offerings are available
to public safety, FirstNet continues to grow because it stands
apart from those commercial offerings. Unlike commercial networks,
FirstNet is built to public safety's strict specifications and
requirements. It is providing first responders with truly dedicated
coverage and capacity when they need it, unique benefits like
always-on priority and preemption, and high-quality Band 14
spectrum. These advanced capabilities help emergency managers,
fire, EMS and law enforcement save lives and protect their
communities.
We continue to listen to public safety and focus on delivering
the services they need, on their network. Nowhere else can public
safety get its own nationwide, dedicated communications platform
with the mission-ready and mission-critical standards-based
solutions they need to protect themselves and our communities. And
the public safety analyst community agrees. Frost &
Sullivan has recognized AT&T with the 2021 North
American Mobile Situational Awareness Customer Value Leadership
Award for expertly leveraging 3 strengths to create
push-to-talk (PTT)-based situational awareness solutions that offer
clear value-add. Our leadership in the traditional PTT market, our
deep understanding of evolving customer needs, and our unique role
as builder and operator of FirstNet were specifically
highlighted.
What are the new solutions? FirstNet is
expanding public safety's network and rolling out
mission-driven innovative solutions. These new solutions and offers
will give public safety new capabilities:
- Locate Standard and Locate Pro Offer for
FirstNet: As every public safety agency knows,
coordinating first responders in the field during emergency
situations can be challenging. Existing solutions that utilize
radio to verbally communicate position and provide limited
situational awareness, especially within multi-story structures.
This limited location visibility can lead to delayed response times
and error-prone operational decisions, ultimately, putting lives at
risk. FirstNet understands these challenges and will soon provide
first responders an exclusive solution to solve this problem –
Locate Standard for FirstNet. This dynamic mapping
application empowers public safety by providing near real-time
responder locations on a detail-rich Google map, including Z-Axis
(or vertical position) to identify a team member's location during
critical times. Locate Standard provides greater efficiency to keep
your teams safe, improved situational awareness and coordination
and decreased response times. Agencies on FirstNet can sign-up for
Locate Standard free for 1-year, along with Locate Pro – a premium
mapping solution, and Activate – an emergency callout and team
mobilization tool, free for the first 2 months of the
offer.2
- NumberSync for Samsung Wearables: NumberSync allows a
user to "twin" a smartphone with a wearable, like a smartwatch, to
make and receive calls and text messages, check email, monitor
health status and more without the smartphone present. Coming soon,
this functionality will be more widely available to public safety
with the Samsung Galaxy Watch3, Watch4 and the Watch4 Classic
wearables. This is just another technology advantage available to
first responders.
Where can I find more information? For more about
the value FirstNet is bringing to public safety, check out
FirstNet.com. And go here for more FirstNet
news.
What people are saying:
Jason Porter
President, Public Sector
and FirstNet, AT&T
"In less than 5 years, we've built a
network with and for America's first responders and have built an
ecosystem with the communication tools and technologies they need
every day, on every mission. As FirstNet's market leadership grows,
we will continue to innovate new solutions and enhance existing
ones, helping to ensure public safety has access to the information
they need, when they need it."
Ed Parkinson
CEO of
the FirstNet Authority
"From accelerating innovations in
mapping technologies to simplifying access to devices, FirstNet
continues to raise the bar for what it means to be a network built
for and by public safety. Feedback from America's first responders
is at the center of everything we do, and the FirstNet Authority
will continue to work with public safety and AT&T to evolve and
enhance the network based on their operational needs."
Sheriff Paul Miyamoto
San Francisco Sheriff's
Office
"When an emergency strikes, reliable
communication is vital for our department and the communities we
serve. We are proud to partner with FirstNet, and confident that
this technology will help our members make better decisions at
incidents to help mitigate the loss of life and property. FirstNet
also ensures streamlined communication between regional public
safety agencies during mutual aid incidents."
Robert Little
Telecommunications Specialist, Florida
Division of Emergency Management
"The entire Florida
Division of Emergency Management is on FirstNet. My whole agency
depends on reliable communication to help the counties. That's the
most critical aspect of my job. We're here to support and
coordinate what the counties need. If they can't reach me, I can't
reach them, then everything breaks down. Reliable communications is
imperative to the work we do."
Jeanine Sterling
Industry Director, Frost
& Sullivan
"As a leader in mobile situational
awareness offerings, AT&T has demonstrated vision and
innovation in multiple ways. These include the carrier's role in
building the national FirstNet public safety communications
network, its ongoing creative enhancement of its PTT solutions, and
its larger health and wellness effort to support a highly stressed
first responder community. These and other actions lay the
groundwork for further opportunities in the situational awareness
industry."
1As of Q3 2021
2Ltd. time
offer. Select locations only. Avail. only to
verified FirstNet public safety entities for Agency Paid Primary
user lines of service. After said free mos., must opt-in & pay
a per mo. charge per subscriber. Data charges may apply for
app download and usage. Add'l fees, taxes & other charges &
restr's apply. See
https://www.firstnet.com/content/dam/firstnet/white-papers/firstnet-locate-standard-for-firstnet.pdf
or store rep for details.
FirstNet and the FirstNet logo are registered trademarks and
service marks of the First Responder Network Authority. All other
marks are the property of their respective owners.
*About AT&T Communications
We help family,
friends and neighbors connect in meaningful ways every day. From
the first phone call 140+ years ago to mobile video streaming, we
@ATT innovate to improve lives.
AT&T Communications is part of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T). For
more information, please visit us at att.com.
©2021 AT&T Intellectual Property. All rights reserved.
FirstNet and the FirstNet logo are registered trademarks and
service marks of the First Responder Network Authority. All other
marks are the property of their respective owners.
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SOURCE AT&T Communications