AT&T (T) has 90% of states in the bag for its FirstNet wireless public safety network, with Thursday the final day for states and most U.S. territories to announce decisions on taking part in the project.
California, Florida, Mississippi and New York are the states that have not formally opted-in for FirstNet, the federal government's nationwide wireless network for emergency responders. While New Hampshire has said it will opt out, it's still in talks with FirstNet.
AT&T has been awarded a swath of 20 MHz of radio spectrum in the 700 MHz frequency band for the life of the 25-year contract. While the FirstNet public safety network would be prioritized for emergency responders, AT&T also will be able to use the spectrum for commercial purposes and consumer services.
There could be revenue upside for cell tower operators such as American Tower (AMT), Crown Castle (CCI) and SBA Communications (SBAC) from the FirstNet build-out, analysts say.
If states choose not to take part in FirstNet, they need to fund their own network that connects to AT&T's public safety system. No states have announced plans to go with an alternative public safety network planned by Verizon Communications (VZ). New Hampshire has been studying a network proposal from Rivada Networks. States that don't announce decisions will be included in the FirstNet project.
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AT&T is building a nationwide ground network, with backup generators and a dedicated security operations center. As AT&T hits project milestones, it'll get funds from $6.5 billion that Congress has set aside for the project. AT&T has stated it expects to spend about $40 billion over the life of the deal to build, deploy, operate and maintain the network.
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