The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced yesterday that U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick has signed a deal with AT&T that will add value of $2 billion to public safety efforts via the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) Nationwide Public Safey Broadband Network (NPSBN) contract.
According to the NTIA announcement, AT&T will reduce costs borne by FirstNet by roughly $1 billion, unlocking that amount for further investments to the NPSBN. This framework will help promote the accelerated buildout of the Dedicated Public Safety 5G Core.
The company will also invest about $1 billion in network and coverage enhancements. The FirstNet Authority Board will advise on those investments to ensure they meet first responders’ communications needs.
“I am proud to have secured $2 billion in improved value for our nation’s first responders by renegotiating the framework for AT&T’s FirstNet contract,” Lutnick said in the NTIA press release. “This is a great example of Commerce delivering the Benefit of the Bargain for public safety.”
AT&T signed a long-term contract with FirstNet in 2017. Last year, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) granted AST SpaceMobile permission to test direct-to-cellular connectivity on the Band 14 spectrum for FirstNet, a request made in coordination with AT&T.
AT&T is familiar with government work. In 2024, it was awarded a 10-year contract to provide the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) with Government Emergency Telecommunications Service (GETS) and Wireless Priority Service (WPS). The contract, initially awarded in March 2024 and valued at $146 million, was expanded in August to extend these services into next generation 5G networks. That contract marked the latest in a more than 30-year relationship between AT&T and DHS.
