High-Power Broadband Devices for FirstNet and First Responders

For many years, the public-safety community struggled with the many land mobile radio systems being spread out over various portions of the radio spectrum, which resulted in the inability for neighboring agencies to communicate directly with each other when needed. This lack of interoperability led the public-safety community to call for a single, nationwide, public-safety broadband network that would provide full interoperability. This network became a reality in 2012 when Congress passed and the then President signed a bill to establish this new network and provide some basic funding to start the project.

Once radio spectrum was allocated to what is now The FirstNet Authority, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued a nationwide license under the rules than govern public-safety spectrum. It further authorized exclusive use of higher-power field devices within this spectrum for the purpose of providing enhanced coverage and higher data rates for the public-safety community. The FirstNet Authority did not award the contract to build and operate this network until 2017. In January 2021, the network was ready to support high-power devices.