AT&T, FirstNet Didn't Get Everything They Sought in Opt-Out Order

called opting out a “false choice” and AT&T questioned whether opting out was practical (see 1706190072). “While we acknowledge that the statutory process may be exacting, we also believe that Congress intended to establish a process that affords states a meaningful opportunity to ‘develop and complete requests for proposals,’ as well as to prepare and file the required opt-out plan with the Commission,” the order said. “States are entitled to make a deliberate, informed choice to opt out of the network, so long as the statutory requirements are met.” AT&T won on another issue, with the FCC tightening the requirements for governors to attach their names to any decision even if authority is delegated to another state official. “We agree with AT&T’s suggestion that a reasonable safeguard would be to require evidence of such delegation and require that such evidence be included with the notice submitted to the Commission,” the order said. If a governor delegates authority to another official, the FCC said, it will require memorialization of “such delegation of authority in writing, and for that written delegation be included with the opt-out notice to the Commission.” While FirstNet had called on the regulator to require that a state have a signed contract with a vendor to opt out (see 1706160043), the commission said it wouldn’t go that far since the act creating FirstNet was “ambiguous” on that point. The FCC favors “a reading that allows a more practicable administration of the statute,” the order stated. “Proceeding to the selection of a vendor provides sufficient indicia of completeness to support both statutory and practical requirements for the process.” FirstNet and AT&T expressed general support Thursday. “APCO appreciates the Commission’s efforts to prepare for its important role to support FirstNet’s mission by guarding against alternative [radio access network] plans that fail to make an initial showing of interoperability” with the FirstNet network with the NPSBN,” APCO CEO Derek Poarch emailed Friday. “A state that attempts to opt out will not only need to ensure interoperability, but account for the significant delays that will result to the delivery of advanced, interoperable broadband communications to its first responders.” The order was praised by a competitor to FirstNet. “We think the FCC’s decision not to reject State opt-out plans where the State employs its own core network elements is particularly important,” emailed Michael Rosenthal, director-legal and external affairs at Southern Linc. Rosenthal said that in 2018 the carrier will deliver “a new public safety grade, highly reliable LTE network “ for push-to-talk, voice, and data in its service territory. “Our mission critical LTE network will serve customers years before the availability of FirstNet,” he said. “We look forward to working with interested organizations in Alabama and Georgia to determine how we can provide the best mission critical communications solution for them.”