12 | T-Mobile makes public safety a 3-way race – sort of | ---------- | |
FierceWireless: Wireless | 2020-05-23 03:00 | ????0? | |
According to Rehbehn, the closure of Sprint merger was the only way the new T-Mobile could really start to cultivate this market. “I think there’s so much more that they can do and that they should do. They should be able to go ahead and create a dedicated core,” he said. “They should be able to really describe the capabilities of their network so that agency officials who are considering alternatives can include them” when making their decisions about service providers.AT&T emphasized that it provides a level of priority for public safety that others do not. “We are proud to work with the public safety community to build a network dedicated specifically to them when they need it, and one that always puts them first. Early in the COVID-19 fight, FirstNet launched free smartphones for life for first responder agencies and those free devices are more important than ever now on their truly unlimited plans,” said Jason Porter, senior vice president, FirstNet Program at AT&T, in a statement.“FirstNet doesn’t block, or throttle data or voice calling, unlike many commercial network plans,” Porter added. “Much more than a service plan, FirstNet is an entire ecosystem to help them effectively respond to their critical missions. We’ve been serving public safety’s fight in this pandemic since January. I’m humbled by the role our company plays in serving these heroes. I expect first responders can see through a carrier that shows up 5+ months late to the fight.” Seybold noted T-Mobile’s pre-merger promises that it would offer free 5G network access to first responders. “It turns out Sprint is not willing to offer priority and pre-emption on 5G, which is the foundation of the FirstNet network,” he wrote in a recent commentary. “Without priority and pre-emption, public safety is not guaranteed access to the network when it is being heavily used by commercial users. FirstNet is a separate network with a separate core and FirstNet users do not compete with commercial users on Band 14. This is a good example that ‘free’ does not necessarily mean something meets the needs of the public-safety community.”“AT&T’s successful bid for building FirstNet should have sent a clear message to all these networks that public safety wants and needs a single nationwide broadband network with a single point of contact when problems occur,” Seybold wrote. “Having more than a single organization providing services is not a good idea. Public safety is much too familiar with multi-vendor systems and finger-pointing when something does not work and public safety personnel cannot communicate. A single point of contact is the only option for a system dedicated to critical communications.” -- ???????? | |||
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