The board of the First Responders Network Authority on Tuesday moved a step closer to awarding its contract for a new, nationwide LTE network for public safety. The FirstNet board voted unanimously to give the organization’s CEO the power to move forward and complete the award process.
FirstNet expects to award the approximately $6.5 billion contract this week.
FirstNet CEO Mike Poth “I will work with DOI to complete the acquisition & contract process quickly – we will award the contract this week.” pic.twitter.com/7IVOkJXJTG
— FirstNet (@FirstNetGov) March 28, 2017
The FirstNet board held a special meeting on Tuesday to delegate the authority to finalize the contract to CEO Mike Poth.
Poth said in a statement “upon award, FirstNet will immediately start work on delivering this network to public safety and fulfilling our promise to them.” FirstNet has laid out its plans for the first 100 days after the contract is awarded, and its request for proposal mapped out the organization’s goals for the first six months as well as a five-year phased rollout of the network.
Among the initial work items will be development of network plans for the 56 states and territories that will be covered, so state governors have a basis on which to opt in or opt out of the national build. If states choose to opt out, they must design and build their own radio access network interoperable with the rest of the network.
After the recent resolution of a lawsuit brought by bidder Rivada Mercury, protesting its exclusion from the competitive range of the contract, FirstNet has moved quickly toward the contract award. AT&T is the only publicly known company that is still in the running to build the FirstNet network.
