Fight Goes On for New Hampshire FirstNet Contract, Despite Sununu No to AT&T
Some don’t see New Hampshire’s no to FirstNet as final, even though Gov. Chris Sununu (R) announced two weeks ago it would choose Rivada's alternative. FirstNet isn’t saying New Hampshire officially opted out and the New Hampshire Executive Council has final say on that alternate contract. Councilor Joseph Kenney (R) supports opt-in, more so after Tuesday's letter from FirstNet CEO Mike Poth to Attorney General Gordon MacDonald (R) about potentially missed benefits of AT&T's plan. New Hampshire businesses and union workers urged opt-in in.
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Rhode Island opted in, the state's Emergency Management Agency tweeted Wednesday. It did a request for proposal seeking alternative plans and is the 12th RFP state to say yes. With about a week until the deadline, 41 of 56 states and territories decided in the affirmative. New Hampshire is the only state to say no, but FirstNet hasn’t declared the state as officially opting out because the authority says the state hasn’t submitted a statutorily required notification to FirstNet, FCC and NTIA (see 1712130054). FirstNet, AT&T and other New Hampshire government officials didn’t comment.
The New Hampshire council didn’t address Rivada's contract at its Wednesday meeting. “The executive council does have the final word,” said Executive Assistant Dana Laviano. “If they vote no, it will revert to AT&T.” The council’s next meeting is Jan. 10, so the opt-out deadline will likely be missed, she said.
The state stands to lose extra benefits promised by AT&T if it formally says no by the deadline and later reverses course, said Poth, replying Tuesday to MacDonald's letter. Before Sununu’s decision, AT&T offered incentives including 48 new site builds, Poth said. The additional sites would provide coverage of up to 96 percent of total geography and more than 99 percent of its population, Poth said. If New Hampshire formally opts out and abandons that during the 240-day FCC submission period, it won’t get the incentives, Poth said.
The additional coverage has “enormous” impact to northern New Hampshire, said Kenney, who represents that area. “Rivada does not have resources, capacity or track record to provide the services that AT&T can in my district,” said Kenney, one of five Executive Council members.
The two states that seemed most likely to stay out were New Hampshire and Colorado, and now Colorado has opted in, noted a public-safety lawyer expert. New Hampshire hasn't forwarded the required paperwork to FirstNet, NTIA and the FCC.
Rivada isn’t worried about continuing opt-in arguments, a spokesman said Wednesday: “I’m impressed but not surprised that AT&T and FirstNet continue to lobby” New Hampshire, and “it’s frankly childish that FirstNet refuses to mark them as opted out.” Rivada hasn’t spoken to Kenney and hopes to lay out its case, the spokesman said. When the councilor hears both sides, Rivada expects Kenney “will come around to the same place as other New Hampshire officials, who have spent years studying this matter.”
The executive council should reject Rivada, the New Hampshire Business and Industry Association said. The chamber of commerce questioned Rivada’s fitness and urged the state to change course, in letters to councilors. “The company bid on the nationwide contract with FirstNet, but was disqualified from the bidding process for failing to demonstrate its ability to finance, construct or maintain a wireless system,” wrote BIA President Jim Roche.
CWA supports AT&T, "the union wireless carrier," saying the company brings "higher job standards for workers and greater protections for consumers,” wrote Local 1400 President Don Trementozzi to Sununu. CWA and AT&T last week reached tentative contract for 21,000 wireless workers (see 1712140014). Trementozzi warned the state “could be liable for tens of millions of dollars in termination payments to FirstNet” by taking the different course and it not working out. The authority Tuesday clarified states are responsible only for actual costs of re-establishing the radio access network (see 1712190069).
FirstNet Notebook
FirstNet is exempt from Freedom of Information Act requests, U.S. District Court in Burlington decided (in Pacer) Wednesday, supporting the Commerce Department in a lawsuit by local news outlet VTDigger (see 1712070035). VTDigger failed to persuade that FOIA is “so separate and distinct from the [Administrative Procedure Act] that it should be treated as something other than a part of the APA,” wrote Judge Geoffrey Crawford. FOIA falls within Chapter 5 of the APA, he said. That’s proper, the judge said. “FirstNet is an instrumentality of emergency response in the face of threats to national security. Congress was well within its rights to relieve FirstNet of the obligations imposed by the APA on other agencies.” He said NTIA and Commerce reasonably determined they were unlikely to have responsive records. Crawford asked for more details on the request to prohibit FirstNet from collecting personally identifiable information, saying the court would decide on that later. FirstNet is pleased, a spokeswoman said. NTIA declined comment and VTDigger didn’t comment.