AT&T Learned From Mistakes: FirstNet CEO

I think AT&T has, too.” Public safety “is a very, very different kind of customer and AT&T … from a cultural perspective, needed to learn that.” AT&T has done “a very good job of correcting some of the mistakes,” he said. It's an “enormous organization” that “really adopted the culture of FirstNet,” he said: “My job is to hold them accountable.” The Senate Communications Subcommittee had a hearing in September (see 2009240056). FirstNet is unique with its public sector oversight and public safety customers, Parkinson said. Making sure AT&T “maintains a focus” on public safety will be important beyond 2023 when the initial deployment ends, he said. Parkinson plans further outreach to public safety agencies in the Nashville area following a Dec. 25 bombing (see 2012280048) and can’t promise there won't be outages. “These types of events, one can never predict,” he said. FirstNet “will be stronger as a result of the lessons we learned,” he said. The network is 93% complete, Parkinson said: “From there, we’ll be able to look at where else can we expand the network, how else can we evolve the network.” More than 300 devices can use FirstNet’s Band 14, he said. Most FirstNet staff continue to work remotely, Parkinson said. “The pandemic has changed everything for everyone,” he said. “Post-COVID, the way that public safety responds to certain incidents and the type of information they’re going to need is going to change.” Public safety users were using twice as much data at the beginning of the pandemic as the average AT&T customer, he noted. FirstNet’s network will evolve as 5G launches and leads to 6G, but “public safety doesn’t necessarily want to be on the cutting edge,” he said. “They want to ensure that this is the technology that they can trust with their lives.” Parkinson said one focus of FirstNet next year will be working with the FCC to get license renewal for Band 14.