The 2012 Congress established the First Responder Network Authority also known as FirstNet.
The FirstNet is “for public safety by public safety,” and consults with local, states, territories, tribal and federal public safety agencies.
The contract is part of the Fourth Estate Network Optimization (4ENO) initiative from the Defense Information Services Agency. And it will be a single-award deal to consolidate the networks of 22 non-warfighting agencies in the Department of Defense (DoD).
Over 14,000 agencies on-board
In addition to the FBI, other DOJ agencies using FirstNet include the Antitrust Division, U.S. Marshals Service Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Attorneys Office, U.S. Marshals Service, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.
The FBI’s expanded agreement allows any agency to expand its use of FirstNet and all agencies that are not signed on are free to begin to use the services.
ATF was the first agency to adopt FirstNet in 2018. They signed on with 4,800 users. AT&T built the network in a public-private partnership.
