New investments will fund more than 200 sites in rural and remote areas, enhance situational awareness capabilities on FirstNet
BOSTON, Mass. — The First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet Authority) announced today that it is investing in 220 new cell sites for FirstNet, the nationwide public safety broadband network. Meeting today in Boston, the FirstNet Authority Board said the investments would fund public safety’s top priority for the network — coverage — and enable the deployment of new sites in rural and remote areas.
The FirstNet Authority also said today that it has authorized new investments in mission-critical services on FirstNet. These investments will lead to additional features and capabilities for the network’s push-to-talk and situational awareness services, such as FirstNet Central.
“The FirstNet Authority is moving forward on network investments with momentum and purpose as we continue to deliver for public safety,” said Sheriff Michael A. Adkinson, Chairman of the FirstNet Authority Board. “We are putting our investment dollars to work where it matters most to public safety — expanding coverage, evolving the network, and enhancing the services they rely on every day.”
The FirstNet Authority coordinates network investments with the U.S. Department of Commerce and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to ensure they deliver the greatest impact for public safety operations. The FirstNet Authority’s investment portfolio was bolstered by U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick’s deal that created $2 billion in additional value for the FirstNet network contract with AT&T earlier this year.
“Building on Secretary Lutnick’s efforts earlier this year to strengthen the FirstNet contract, these important new investments will expand coverage and strengthen capabilities for public safety at lower cost—preserving more public safety dollars for future investments,” said Arielle Roth, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information and Administrator of NTIA. “The Trump Administration is committed to effective oversight and ensuring our nation’s first responders have access to the resilient communications they need to carry out their critical missions.”
This coverage expansion builds on previous investments in purpose-built sites, with more than 350 FirstNet sites now in development. The FirstNet Authority identifies potential new site locations through a data-driven process that draws on input from public safety users, coverage enhancement workshops, network coverage assessments, and other key data. The FirstNet Authority works with AT&T to determine where new sites can best address public safety’s coverage needs. The FirstNet Authority’s network investments fund the new sites, which are then deployed by AT&T.
“We have a proven approach for turning public safety input into targeted network improvements,” said Michael Cannon, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of the FirstNet Authority. “We are working with public safety across the states and territories, along with the Department of Commerce, NTIA, and the Public Safety Advisory Committee, to prioritize where our investments can have the greatest impact on public safety operations. This will be critical as we look to ramp up the breadth and depth of our investments in the coming year.”
Last month, the Board approved a $1.2 billion budget to fund FirstNet Authority operations, reserves, and network investments in Fiscal Year 2027. Of that amount, the Board approved nearly $1.1 billion to fund network enhancements in the coming fiscal year. The FirstNet Authority has made several investments in the network to date, including improvements to in-building coverage, as well as the expansion of the FirstNet fleet of deployable assets to support FirstNet users at no cost to them.