FirstNet Network Celebrates Momentous Week for Public Safety with First 5 States

Arkansas, Iowa, Kentucky, Virginia and Wyoming are the first 5 states to join the FirstNet network. This is the first-ever nationwide broadband network and technology ecosystem being delivered by FirstNet and AT&T* to specifically meet the communications needs of America’s public safety community.

“This has been a momentous week for the FirstNet network,” said FirstNet CEO Mike Poth. “Governors Hutchinson, Reynolds, Bevin, McAuliffe and Mead are taking critical steps to fulfill the final recommendations from the 9/11 Commission. This decision will help ensure their states’ first responders have the communications capabilities they need without delay. And it’s a tremendous example of how the federal government, state governments and the private sector can work together for the true benefit of the public safety community and the citizens they bravely serve.”

With their decisive actions over the past week, Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin, Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe and Wyoming Governor Matthew Mead are equipping first responders with modern communication tools for every day and every emergency.

“Arkansas, Iowa, Kentucky, Virginia and Wyoming are leading the way to transform how public safety communicates,” said Chris Sambar, senior vice president, AT&T – FirstNet. “The need to keep first responders safe and provide them with the tools that will help them protect people and communities is something we can all get behind. We’re honored to work with each of these states. And we’re 100% committed to the mission ahead.”

States and territories have until mid-December to make their final decisions. But the sooner a decision is made, the sooner FirstNet and AT&T can deliver specialized services to their public safety community.

For more information on FirstNet, please visit FirstNet.gov/mediakit and att.com/FirstResponderNews. For more about the value FirstNet will bring to public safety, please visit FirstNet.com. 

About FirstNet

The First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) is an independent authority within the U.S. Department of Commerce, overseen by a 15 member Board. Chartered in 2012, its mission is to ensure the building, deployment, and operation of the nationwide, broadband network that equips first responders to save lives and protect U.S. communities. Learn more at FirstNet.gov/mediakit and follow FirstNet (@FirstNetGov) on Facebook and Twitter for updates.

*About AT&T

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) helps millions around the globe connect with leading entertainment, business, mobile and high speed internet services. We offer the nation’s best data network** and the best global coverage of any U.S. wireless provider. We’re one of the world’s largest providers of pay TV. We have TV customers in the U.S. and 11 Latin American countries. Nearly 3.5 million companies, from small to large businesses around the globe, turn to AT&T for our highly secure smart solutions. 

AT&T products and services are provided or offered by subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T brand and not by AT&T Inc. Additional information about AT&T products and services is available at about.att.com. Follow our news on Twitter at @ATT, on Facebook at facebook.com/att and on YouTube at youtube.com/att.

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**Claim based on the Nielsen Certified Data Network Score. Score includes data reported by wireless consumers in the Nielsen Mobile Insights survey, network measurements from Nielsen Mobile Performance and Nielsen Drive Test Benchmarks for Q4 2016 + Q1 2017 across 121 markets.