RESTON, Va., Sept. 19, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Texas is
making another major move to strengthen public safety and enhance
emergency preparedness across the state. Today, Governor
Greg Abbott announced his decision
to partner with FirstNet and AT&T* to deliver a
wireless broadband network to the state's public safety community.
The FirstNet network will provide Texas with modernized devices, apps and tools
for first responders to boost their communication abilities on the
job, helping them save lives and protect communities.
"The safety and security of Texas communities is my number one priority,
and I want to provide our first responders with the best technology
possible," said Governor Abbott. "As we saw in the aftermath
of Hurricane Harvey, our first responders are often the last
and only hope for safety in rapidly-changing and life-threatening
situations, but this partnership with FirstNet and
AT&T, allows Texas's
fire, police, EMS and other public safety personnel to be better
equipped when responding in these emergencies."
AT&T, in a public-private partnership with FirstNet, will
build, operate and maintain a highly secure, resilient wireless
broadband communications network for Texas's public safety community at no cost to
the state. This plan will help improve public safety and enhance
emergency preparedness across the state by providing first
responders with cutting edge communication technologies.
"Hurricane Harvey is still fresh on our minds as the area
continues to recover. The support we received from AT&T and
FirstNet during our response was incredible, and with this
partnership, it will only get better," said Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar. "Whether responding to storms
like Harvey or wildfires in West
Texas, our state's first responders go above and beyond the
call of duty every day to help Texans and save lives. The
innovative FirstNet system will provide them a network worthy of
their service — that will help protect their safety while giving
them the tools and technologies they need to stay connected and to
help communities and citizens across Texas."
The FirstNet network will transform the way Texas's fire, police, EMS and other public
safety personnel communicate and share information before, during
and after emergencies and natural disasters, by:
- Connecting first responder subscribers to the critical
information they need in a highly secure manner when handling
day-to-day operations, responding to emergencies and supporting
large events, like the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo, which
hosts over 2 million visitors each year.
- Strengthening emergency response communications for public
safety personnel in agencies and jurisdictions across the state to
support the preparation and response to natural disasters, such as
the recent and ongoing response to Hurricane Harvey.
- Enhancing network coverage across Texas's diverse landscape, benefitting first
responders and residents throughout the state's rural and tribal
areas.
- Driving infrastructure investments and creating jobs across the
state.
- Ushering in a new wave of innovation that first responders can
depend on. This will create an ever-evolving set of life-saving
tools for public safety, including public safety apps, specialized
devices and Internet of Things technologies. It also carries the
potential for future integration with NextGen 9-1-1 networks and
Smart Cities' infrastructure.
"With Governor Abbott's decision to join FirstNet, Texas continues to lead the way on public
safety by taking emergency response and innovation to the next
level," said FirstNet CEO Mike
Poth. "We are honored to serve the state's first
responders and will continue to collaborate with them to ensure the
Network delivers what they need, both now and in the future."
FirstNet has met with Texas
public safety officials including the Texas Interoperable
Communications Coalition and the Texas Department of Public Safety
to address specific safety needs across the state. This
includes:
- Expanded coverage and coordination with deployable solutions
and additional investments beyond what is currently available from
commercial carriers with a focus on underserved public schools,
hospitals, public safety answering points, the Texas-Mexico
border, tribal areas and hurricane evacuation routes.
- Using the investment, innovation, best practices and lessons
learned from the Texas Early Builder Program in Harris County to inform how the network can
support response and recovery activities during disasters and large
events while also informing the development of intuitive service
solutions that will meet the expectations of the public safety
community.
The opt-in decision enables FirstNet and AT&T to begin
creating an entirely new wireless ecosystem for public safety
communications. Texas's first
responder subscribers will have immediate access to quality of
service and priority to voice and data across the existing
nationwide AT&T LTE network.
Preemption for primary users over the AT&T LTE network is
expected by year-end. This means fire, police, EMS and other public
safety workers will have dedicated access to the network when and
where they need it – 24/7/365, like their mission.
"When Harvey hit, first responders were the first in to help
rescue and support those in need," said Chris Sambar, senior vice
president, AT&T – FirstNet. "No matter the emergency – big or
small – we can count on public safety to be there when we need them
most. We're honored to continue our close collaboration with
Texas and its public safety
community to give these everyday heroes the game-changing tools and
technologies they need to carry out their life-saving mission."
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. 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.
© 2017 AT&T Intellectual Property. All rights reserved.
AT&T, the Globe logo and other marks are trademarks and service
marks of AT&T Intellectual Property and/or AT&T affiliated
companies. All other marks contained herein are the property of
their respective owners.
**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 Q1 + Q2 2017
across 121
markets.
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SOURCE AT&T Inc.