FirstNet Deploys 'Ruthless Preemption' for Subscribers as Opt-Out Deadline Approaches
FirstNet passed a critical milestone Tuesday, making “ruthless preemption” available to customers that subscribe to its network with AT&T. Pre-emption enables first responders to communicate and coordinate when commercial networks become congested. With about two weeks before the Dec. 28 opt-out deadline, 19 of 56 states and territories haven't revealed decisions. An Illinois decision is imminent, and Washington and Oregon will convene soon to review bids to their joint request for proposal, state officials told us. New Hampshire last week was the first to opt out (see 1712070035), and 36 other jurisdictions accepted AT&T radio-access-network plans.
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Now, “public safety is ensured a ‘fast lane’ to connect,” said Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Chief Richard Bowers from Virginia, the first state to say yes, in a FirstNet news release. “FirstNet will provide reliability, confidence and ability for first responders." When a line becomes crowded, “ruthless preemption” shifts “non-emergency traffic to another line, freeing up space for first responders to more easily get through,” FirstNet said. Calls or texts to 911 won't be shifted from the network.
Chris Sambar, senior vice president, AT&T/FirstNet, said first responders made clear that pre-emption was a top priority. AT&T promised to make it available by the end of the year, he said. “An opt-out state will not be able to offer its first responders access to a similar capability until its alternative plan is approved and Band 14 is deployed, which will likely take years,” FirstNet said.
Illinois plans to announce a decision Monday, said Illinois Statewide Interoperability Coordinator Joe Galvin. Illinois held a request for information for alternative plans, not an RFP. Washington state and Oregon plan to meet Monday to review bids, said a spokeswoman for Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D). Colorado is still deciding, said Single Point of Contact Brian Shepherd. Five other undecided states with RFIs or RFPs didn’t comment.
Washington canceled a Statewide Interoperability Executive Committee meeting for Thursday, the Inslee spokeswoman said. “We let the participants know that our intent was to provide comprehensive information regarding the options available to the governor for his FirstNet Opt-In/Opt-Out decision,” she said. “However, due to proprietary and confidentiality constraints, as well as procedural considerations related to the FirstNet State Plan and the Joint Oregon/Washington Request for Proposal, we were unable able to provide them with the information that would allow them to carefully consider a recommendation to the governor.” Washington and Oregon state procurement laws prohibit disclosure of bid information during an active RFP and that prevents the SIEC from seeing the alternative bids, she said. SIEC may still provide input, comment and recommendations, she said.
New Hampshire's opting out was “a big deal” that could spur other states to go public soon with opt-out decisions, but isn’t likely to change the minds of states planning to participate, said Jeff McLeod, National Governors Association Center for Best Practices' Homeland Security and Public Safety division director. The legislation establishing FirstNet made opt-in the easier call, so Gov. Chris Sununu (R) “didn’t make that decision lightly,” McLeod said in an interview. New Hampshire's opting out doesn’t change FirstNet’s mandate nor will it upset the FirstNet business model, the NGA official said. NGA doesn’t have a position on what states should decide, McLeod said.
Each state did its own due diligence and has its own considerations, but states most likely to opt out are those like New Hampshire that held RFPs, McLeod said. One state to watch is Colorado, which last month awarded a conditional award to Rivada that’s contingent on a recommendation from the FirstNet Colorado Governing Body to opt out (see 1711170026). Missouri Monday became the ninth state to opt in after soliciting alternative plans (see 1712110017). It would be significant if a large state with a large urban population opted out, since AT&T is relying on those kinds of states to fund the nationwide network, McLeod said.
NGA plans regional meetings next year for states on FirstNet and emergency communications, McLeod said. “The hard part is rolling [FirstNet] out and making it work.” New governors in Virginia and New Jersey will have to get up to speed on FirstNet, he said. The learning curve will be less steep in Virginia because its residents elected the current lieutenant governor as governor, so there probably will be more staff continuity. By contrast, the New Jersey governor’s office swapped parties in the 2017 election.
A FirstNet.gov map of state decisions didn’t show New Hampshire’s decision, though the state announced opt-out last Thursday. The map showed the more recent decision by Missouri to opt in. FirstNet didn’t say why.