State & Local Government Policy, Business and Technology

AT&T's FirstNet buildout could start as early as June, Barclays says

Fierce Wireless: AT&T could start deploying the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) as early as June if it is awarded the contract next month, Barclays said.

The U.S. Federal Court of Claims ruled in favor of FirstNet on Friday, meaning the first broadband network devoted to public safety can proceed with a contract award. The 25-year contract is expected to bring additional business to infrastructure vendors and tower operators.

And if it’s awarded to AT&T—as widely expected—the carrier will get access to FirstNet’s 20 MHz of 700 MHz low-band spectrum and $6.5 billion for designing and operating the nationwide network for federal, state and local authorities, with the right to sell excess capacity on the system.

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