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Arizona to Transform Communications for Public SafetyRESTON, Va., Aug. 14, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The State of Arizona is opting into FirstNet. With this decision, FirstNet and AT&T* will deliver a specialized wireless broadband network to Arizona's public safety community. This makes Arizona the 13th state or territory in the country to bring first responders advanced technologies that will help them save lives and protect communities. "The State of Arizona is ready to work shoulder-to-shoulder with AT&T and FirstNet to finally deploy a true interoperable nationwide communications system for public safety. We have much work ahead of us, but with AT&T's open communication and commitment to excellence, the future for all first responders will be safer as will the lives of our citizens," said Col. Frank Milstead, Director of the Arizona Department of Public Safety. AT&T, in a public-private partnership with FirstNet, will build, operate and maintain a highly secure wireless broadband communications network for Arizona's public safety community at no cost to the state. The FirstNet network will drive innovation and create an entire system of modernized devices, apps and tools for first responders. Arizona led a comprehensive solicitation of potential vendors to build and maintain its FirstNet network. Ultimately, Arizona selected the FirstNet and AT&T public-private partnership. The FirstNet network will transform the way Arizona's fire, police, EMS and other public safety personnel communicate and share information. Specifically, FirstNet and AT&T will:
"This decision comes after the state considered several options to get the best solution for its public safety community," says FirstNet CEO Mike Poth, who began his law enforcement career with the Tempe Police Department. "FirstNet and AT&T are pleased to have been selected for having the best network solution for the state, and we are honored to serve Arizona's first responders." The decision enables FirstNet and AT&T to begin creating an entirely new wireless ecosystem for public safety communications. Arizona's first responder subscribers will have immediate access to quality of service and priority to voice and data across the existing nationwide AT&T LTE network. Preemption for primary users over the AT&T LTE network is expected by year-end. This means fire, police, EMS and other public safety workers will have dedicated access to the network when and where they need it – 24/7/365, like their mission. "After thoughtful analysis that included issuing an RFP, Arizona concluded that opting in provided the best solution for their first responders. We couldn't be more pleased about that," said Chris Sambar, senior vice president, AT&T – FirstNet. "We take our public safety mission very seriously, and we're honored to deliver first responders access to the cutting-edge tools and technologies that will help them better serve the people of Arizona." For more information on FirstNet, please visit FirstNet.gov/mediakit and att.com/FirstResponderNews. For more about the value FirstNet will bring to public safety, please visit FirstNet.com. About FirstNet *About AT&T AT&T products and services are provided or offered by subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T brand and not by AT&T Inc. Additional information about AT&T products and services is available at about.att.com. Follow our news on Twitter at @ATT, on Facebook at facebook.com/att and on YouTube at youtube.com/att. © 2017 AT&T Intellectual Property. All rights reserved. AT&T, the Globe logo and other marks are trademarks and service marks of AT&T Intellectual Property and/or AT&T affiliated companies. All other marks contained herein are the property of their respective owners. **Claim based on the Nielsen Certified Data Network Score. Score includes data reported by wireless consumers in the Nielsen Mobile Insights survey, network measurements from Nielsen Mobile Performance and Nielsen Drive Test Benchmarks for Q4 2016 + Q1 2017 across 121 markets.
View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/arizona-to-transform-communications-for-public-safety-300504136.html SOURCE AT&T Inc. |