Coverage

St. Augustine, a coastal city in Florida, is working toward hurricane resilience. The city has dealt with six Category 1 surges in the past six years alone. After a natural disaster occurs, reliable communication is critical to emergency response times, damage evaluation, and clean-up efforts. With the assistance of FirstNet, public safety agencies in the area are better prepared to efficiently respond and stay connected in situations where traditional infrastructure may be impaired. Learn more: https://firstnet.gov/newsroom/blog/ci...

The fire service faces many different challenges—from structure fires and HAZMAT incidents to wildfires and road accidents. Firefighters need the right tools for the job at hand. FirstNet is a key tool to help firefighters communicate in all incidents. Learn five ways that FirstNet helps the fire service communicate.

Ambulance runs can go to the most remote of places—in both rural and urban environments. A useful piece of technology for EMS is FirstNet’s high-power user equipment, or HPUE. HPUE boosts signal power up to six times the normal strength at the edges of the network. Lieutenant Humza Shamsuddin, Technology Director for the Bristol Kendall Fire Protection District in Illinois, explains how his agency uses HPUE for EMS.

Hear from Warren Mickens, FirstNet Authority Board Member, as he recounts FirstNet's journey to provide unparalleled coverage across the nation.

The volunteer EMS community is a vital part of our nation’s public safety efforts, especially in rural areas. FirstNet provides important communication benefits to all first responders. For smaller volunteer EMS agencies, FirstNet levels the playing field, giving access to the same quality of services and products that bigger agencies with more resources have.

Today’s firefighters must maintain connectivity, whether the mission takes them into remote wilderness areas or dense urban buildings. These places can be at the edges of where networks reach. By boosting signal strength, high-power user equipment on FirstNet helps firefighters stay connected wherever the call takes them.

When an eight-year-old boy went missing in Michigan's sprawling Porcupine Mountains, an extensive search and rescue operation was initiated. Darian Reed, President of Superior Search and Rescue, shared that broadband and data service support from FirstNet was pivotal in successfully and safely recovering the child.

3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Plenary meetings held in June 2023 focused on the feature progress for Release 18, including the completion of the architecture (stage 2) and the development of protocol work (stage 3). The meetings also included two workshops on Release 19 feature planning. This session marked the 100th set of 3GPP Plenary meetings.

The University of Virginia (UVA) Health system uses nearly 4,000 mobile devices, powered by FirstNet, to enhance care for patients. The leader of UVA Health’s Mobile Device Technologies program, Anthony Thompson, discusses the impact of FirstNet in healthcare and how it’s supporting telemedicine capabilities, translation services, and rural healthcare.

In Wisconsin, Winnebago County has adopted FirstNet, a broadband communication network dedicated to first responder use. The FirstNet network will help improve the county’s communication capabilities and public safety services across its departments, including the Sherriff’s Office. With this initiative in place, the county is now equipped with cutting-edge tools, a secure network, and guaranteed priority access to help streamline their operations.

Macon Bibb County, Georgia is redefining they way it prepares for disasters and major events each day. Spencer Hawkins, Emergency Management Director for the Macon-Bibb County government discusses the county’s plans for facing all types of issues including hurricanes, tornadoes, flooding, and other major weather events. The Emergency Management team also works tirelessly to ensure all stakeholders in the area work on integrated communications when they approach disasters including local law enforcement, fire, emergency medical services, and secondary users like public works.

FirstNet is an important resource for emergency managers, whether during disasters, everyday operations, or large planned events. FirstNet’s unique public safety features help emergency managers be more prepared, increase situational awareness, and better track assets and people. For better response and operations, emergency managers should know these five things about FirstNet.

Tens of thousands of runners and more than 100,000 spectators gather in Boulder, Colorado, every Memorial Day for the BOLDERBoulder, one of the largest 10-kilometer road races in the world. During the 2022 race, FirstNet enabled communications inside the emergency operations center, bringing critical connectivity to local first responders. Learn more at FirstNet.gov/Colorado.

Each year on Memorial Day, runners and spectators gather in Boulder, Colorado, for the BOLDERBoulder, one of the largest 10-kilometer races in the world. With more than 100,000 people in attendance, communication can be a challenge for local public safety. During the 2022 race, FirstNet helped connect responders on the race course and at the emergency operations center.

When a rural fire in Brooks County, Texas engulfed 6,500 acres of land, the Falfurrias Fire Department faced significant communication and coordination challenges due to the remote location of the fire. FirstNet provided a solution to this problem with the deployment of a SatCOLT, a vehicle with its own cell site non-reliant on commercial power supplies, that provided crucial connectivity and support to over 40 agencies and public safety personnel. This subsequently enabled efficient mapping of the location, real-time weather updates, and seamless communication among first responders.

The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Plenary e-meetings concluded in March 2023. The meetings focused on the feature progress and schedule for Release 18 (R18) and included the initial discussions of Release 19 planning. The remaining stage 2 architectural work in R18 is advancing well and is expected to complete in June 2023, as scheduled, allowing the R18 stage 3 protocol work to proceed.

In rural Jackman, Maine, the community has taken an innovative approach to providing emergency care quickly and efficiently. With the help of FirstNet, the nationwide public safety broadband network, local paramedics can conduct telehealth sessions and treat residents at the local health clinic or in their homes. Through the use of telemedicine and a reliable broadband connection, paramedics can treat patients on site rather than transporting them to a hospital over an hour away. Learn more: https://firstnet.gov/newsroom/blog/firstnet-enables-telehealth-inland-island-jackman-maine

A prominent leader in the 9-1-1 community—Renee Gordon, Director of the Emergency Communications Center (ECC) in the City of Alexandria, Virginia—recently joined the FirstNet Authority Board. Renee has led some particularly innovative efforts in remote 9-1-1 operations and in regionalizing ECCs. We asked Renee about the current and future state of 9-1-1, the role of FirstNet in the ECC, and her priorities while serving on the FirstNet Authority Board.

To prepare for a potential Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake, Pacific Northwest tribal groups participated in a full-scale disaster preparedness exercise called Thunderbird and Whale. This exercise simulated a 9.0 magnitude earthquake and a 100-foot tsunami to help test emergency management plans and communication capabilities during a catastrophic event. Tribal agencies relied on a FirstNet deployable and cache of devices to communicate and coordinate with public safety partners.

Superior Ambulance has adopted FirstNet to strengthen paramedic communications and data sharing. The service has outfitted its emergency vehicles with FirstNet-enabled devices, facilitating secure and efficient data transmission between their medical professionals. The partnership will enhance public safety services across Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin.