Illinois and Colorado signed on for the buildout of the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) along with public-private partner AT&T. FirstNet announced the decisions by each state. That makes 38 states that have chosen to opt-in before the December 28 deadline.
“Opting into the FirstNet emergency responder network is an important advance for public safety in Illinois,” said Governor Bruce Rauner. “FirstNet’s technology will help us keep important lines of communication open when we most need them.”
FirstNet serves the needs of each state individually from an emergency response standpoint. In Illinois, FirstNet will help personnel better respond to emergencies and support large events like games or concerts at Soldier Field, create an effective communications process during severe winter weather, including winter snow and ice storms, tornadoes, and flooding, plus enhance and expand network coverage benefitting the state’s rural areas.
For Colorado’s emergency personnel, FirstNet will begin creating an entirely new wireless ecosystem for public safety communications. The state’s first responder subscribers will have immediate access to quality of service, priority, and preemption to voice and data across the FirstNet network.
Colorado’s Governor John Hickenlooper added, “We are opting in to allow FirstNet to make an investment in Colorado that promises to make our state more resilient against threats to our safety. We, together with Colorado’s Governing Board, are confident that the investment will not only benefit public safety, but also provide much-needed telecommunications infrastructure in rural areas of our state.”
December 20, 2017
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