And in addition to its baseline standards, 3GPP has also standardized mission-critical services that focus on high performance and critical communications specifically developed for first responders and their mission.

In fact, the industry needn’t look any further than industry organizations like 3GPP (the global standards body for LTE and 5G), which has been setting standards for international wireless communications since the early ‘90s.

These standards mean that FirstNet subscribers can talk, text and exchange data with the users of commercial wireless networks (and vice-versa) across the globe.Īll the misinformation from others simply doesn’t hold water. This is because FirstNet is based upon adhering to open international wireless standards as required by federal law. More than 15,000 public safety agencies and supporting organizations, representing over 2 million connections 1, enjoy full, seamless operability with one another on FirstNet – as well as interoperability with users on commercial wireless networks. We believe FirstNet is the most important wireless network in the country because it is specifically designed to serve America’s first responders. And in 2005, when rescue workers from other states showed up in New Orleans to respond to Hurricane Katrina, their radios would not allow them to connect with those radio networks used by local officials, further cementing the need for FirstNet. The 9/11 attacks served as the catalyst for creating FirstNet – America’s single, nationwide and interoperable wireless broadband network built specifically for the public safety community, not a patchwork of disparate commercial networks. 11, police in helicopters above the twin towers couldn’t warn firefighters and other first responders on the ground of the building’s imminent collapse. And FirstNet allows its subscribers to do all of this and more.įor far too long, interoperability challenges have plagued the public safety community. First responders can work and communicate together to achieve their life-saving missions. Interoperability means first responders can communicate (talk/text/share video/share photos, etc.) with one another regardless of factors such as responder location, jurisdiction, discipline, device or even wireless carrier. We’re cutting through the clutter and setting the record straight. This misinformation campaign only hurts the first responder community. These carriers passed on the opportunity to partner with the FirstNet Authority and answer public safety’s call for the creation of their own dedicated wireless communications platform. It’s unfortunate to see this misinformation being touted by others in the telecommunications industry. There have been a lot of misconceptions and confusion out there about interoperability. And they can they have simply chosen not to. Any carrier servicing public safety should – like FirstNet – provide all public safety communications with this type of prioritized treatment on their network.

And FirstNet is the only network that provides all first responder traffic (regardless of network origin) with always-on priority and preemption across voice and data with multiple priority levels.The dedicated FirstNet network core provides unmatched enhanced security consistent with Congressional intent and public safety’s needs.FirstNet Push-to-Talk is the first in a suite of standards-based, mission-critical communications solutions delivering interoperability between 2-way radios and smartphones.It is the foundation for public safety to achieve standards-based, mission-critical interoperability between communications systems. Contrary to assertions by some, FirstNet is inherently interoperable because it adheres to open international wireless standards (3GPP) as required by federal law.FirstNet is solving long-standing communications challenges faced by the public safety community by ensuring a dedicated and highly secure platform for public safety communications.

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