State

America’s first responders are at the heart of the FirstNet Authority’s mission. Many FirstNet Authority staff are either current or former public safety officials. Collectively, they have deep experience in all public safety disciplines. We celebrate all first responders on Honoring the Nation's First Responders Day, and we appreciate their service every day of the year.

When the COVID-19 pandemic struck our Nation, first responders began to face a new set of challenges that changed operations for many public safety agencies and call centers. The District of Columbia’s emergency communications center, the Office of Unified Communications, quickly made accommodations to support remote call taking to keep call takers safe while continuing to be a one-stop shop for emergency communications in the Nation’s capital.

Gainesville Fire Rescue in Florida is a 200-person responder agency with specialized teams such as HAZMAT response, urban search and rescue, and advanced emergency medical services. Operating in an urban city while also responding to rural areas means Gainesville Fire Rescue responders need access to secure and reliable communications. The agency tested FirstNet across the county to see the benefits in every aspect of their response.

FirstNet is building new cell sites as well as upgrading existing cell sites in New York state, bringing Band 14 to local first responders. This enhanced coverage gives public safety uninterrupted access to the network and the resources they need.

The Tennessee National Guard has been deployed across the state for incidents ranging from disaster relief after devastating tornadoes to pandemic response. FirstNet has provided the National Guard with a secure and reliable network that helped overcome communications challenges and allowed Guardsmen to serve their communities more efficiently. 

With a fleet of 76 deployable assets ranging from Satellite Cell on Light Trucks to the FirstNet One Aerostat, FirstNet is prepared for hurricane season. These assets are pre-staged and available to respond when disasters strike.

The Arlington Police Department in Texas is using FirstNet to support tools that help officers better serve their communities. FirstNet’s dedicated network gives Arlington Police confidence and reliability across the city to remain connected to the resources they need most.

In Walker County, Alabama, Sheriff Nick Smith said that digital radios running over FirstNet kept deputies connected to dispatch and an aviation unit that helped locate missing persons. Walker County deputies currently carry DuraForce Pro 2 smartphones by Kyocera which use FirstNet, a broadband network for first responders offered by AT&T.

During a missing person search last fall in a remote part of the western Black Hills in South Dakota, the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office had no cell-phone service. Within hours of calling FirstNet, Captain Tony Harrison said that the AT&T-FirstNet team set up a mobile cell tower to allow deputies to communicate with dispatch and locate the missing person.

Florida’s first responders got a major boost in their wireless communications with the addition of new, purpose-built FirstNet cell sites and more than 2,000 other network enhancements. This new infrastructure is a part of the FirstNet network expansion taking place across the state, bringing increased coverage, capacity and capabilities for public safety.

First responders in Western Massachusetts got a major boost in their wireless communications with the addition of new, purpose-built cell sites. The sites – located in the communities of Worthington, Hardwick and Huntington – are part of the FirstNet network expansion taking place in Massachusetts, which is bringing increased coverage, capacity and capability to first responders across the state.

Alabama’s first responders got a major boost in their wireless communications with the addition of new, purpose-built FirstNet cell sites supporting 8 communities: Anniston, Banks, Berry, Clio, Orrville, Ranburne, Union Springs and Woodland. This new infrastructure is a part of the FirstNet network expansion taking place across the state, bringing increased coverage, capacity and capabilities for public safety.

New cell sites in the state of South Carolina will bring improved coverage to first responders. The new sites are part of the FirstNet network’s expanding infrastructure for the state.

New cell sites in the state of North Dakota will bring improved coverage to first responders. The new sites are part of the FirstNet network’s expanding infrastructure for the state.

A new cell site in the state of Maryland will bring improved coverage to first responders in the city of Waldorf. The new site is part of the FirstNet network’s expanding infrastructure for the state.

New cell sites in the state of Georgia will bring improved coverage to first responders across 11 different counties. The new sites are part of the FirstNet network’s expanding infrastructure for the state.

Mississippi’s first responders are getting a major boost in their wireless communications with the addition of new, purpose-built FirstNet cell sites as well as the addition of Band-14 to more than 400 sites across the state. This new infrastructure is a part of the FirstNet network expansion that is bringing increased coverage, capacity, and capabilities for public safety.

Sacred Cross EMS provides EMS and emergency and non-emergency ambulance transport services across North and West Texas. Many of the areas that the company services are rural, and cellular coverage is traditionally sparse. With the help of FirstNet, Sacred Cross is able to communicate among crews, with hospitals, and with dispatch provide better patient care in these remote areas during everyday incidents and planned events. 

Maine’s first responders got a major boost in their wireless communications with the addition of new, purpose-built FirstNet cell sites – located in Aroostook, Penobscot, Oxford, Somerset, Hancock, Kennebec and Knox counties. This new infrastructure was a part of the FirstNet network expansion taking place across the state, bringing increased coverage, capacity and capabilities for public safety.

The FirstNet Authority’s Public Safety Advocacy team proactively reaches out to public safety to discuss FirstNet and elicit feedback and insight regarding their communication needs for public safety broadband and innovative technologies. In the East region, the team includes seven public safety advisors covering a geographically diverse region of 19 states.