First Responder Network Authority Weekly Update to the

State and Territory Single Points of Contact (SPOC) –January 16, 2018

FirstNet News

  • American Samoa opted in to the FirstNet network last week. Stay tuned at
  • FirstNet was at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2018 last week in Las Vegas, Nevada, presenting the "Transforming the Future of Public Safety Communications” conference track, which explored how smart cities technology will impact public safety through the use of sensor networks, data, and technology tools. FirstNet CEO Mike Poth also gave the keynote address at the CES Government conference, held in conjunction with CES 2018.
  • FirstNet Board member Kevin McGinnis and FirstNet staff hosted a booth at the National Association of EMS Physicians’ (NAEMSP) Annual Meeting last week in San Diego, California.
  • Kevin McGinnis and PSAC Chairman Tom Sorley presented to a full meeting of the National Public Safety Telecommunications Council (NPSTC) last week via teleconference.
  • The FirstNet tribal team was in New Mexico last week for a series of meetings with the Pueblo of Santa Ana, the OhkayOwingeh Pueblo, the Pueblo of Pojoaque, the Santa Clara Pueblo, and the Tesuque Pueblo.
  • This week, FirstNet will participate in the National Emergency Number Association (NENA) Next Generation 9-1-1 Standards & Best Practices Conference in Kissimmee, Florida; the New Mexico Association of Counties 2018 Legislative Conference in Santa Fe; a meeting of the Massachusetts Major City Chiefs of Police Association in Everett; the Chat Mobility Conference in Omaha, Nebraska; Fire Rescue East in Daytona Beach, Florida; a meeting with Hartford County fire chiefs in Simsbury, Connecticut; the State of Ohio FirstNet Kickoff Conference in Columbus; a meeting with area fire chiefs in Enfield, Connecticut; a meeting of the Connecticut Statewide Interoperable Executive Committee Broadband Working Group in Middletown; a meeting of the Department of Defense Public Safety and Emergency Management Communications Working Group via teleconference; a meeting with Washington County public safety officials in Jonesborough, Tennessee; and a meeting of the National Tribal Telecom Association in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Media Watch

*The information provided is copied as-is from the media outlet source and is not edited by FirstNet. Links to non-Federal Government websites do not constitute endorsement of any product, service, organization, company, information provider, or content. Clicking on non-Department of Commerce hyperlinks will direct you to websites that are not under the Government’s control.

Urgent Communications 1/10: American Samoa makes FirstNet ‘opt-in’ announcement, leaving one territory to make decision

American Samoa Gov. Lolo MatalasiMoliga today announced that he has accepted the nationwide public-safety broadband network (NPSBN) deployment plan offered by FirstNet and AT&T, making American Samoa the second Pacific territory to “opt in” to the FirstNet system.

Cnet 1/9: AT&T's smart city vision: More parking, fewer traffic jams

AT&T also offered an update on its network for first responders. The company plans to hook up emergency vehicles, drones, body cameras and other tools to the network. Similar to its broader smart city push, the company wants cities to connect their infrastructure to FirstNet to aid in public safety.

City & County 1/8: Three tech tools that can keep our citizens and first responders safe

Those are problems a nationwide public safety broadband network from the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) and AT&T are expected to fix. They’re building a communications network solely for public safety use. By incorporating existing AT&T infrastructure, the network will be available to all 50 states, the District of Columbia, U.S. territories and tribal lands.

Web and Social Media

FirstNet’s social media presence grew at faster than its normal rate last week. Twitter gained 111 new followers, now at 8,920. Facebook has 2,456 followers. LinkedIn now has 3,677 followers. YouTube has 659 subscribers.

Do you have something you want to feature in the weekly update, such as a conference date, personnel announcement, or news article showcasing the work of your organization? Please send it to for possible inclusion in an upcoming update.