AT&T FirstNet, the telecommunications company’s branch for first responders, has debuted several new tools and features to advance its mission of protecting citizens and shortening emergency response times.
Among the newly announced features are mini cell towers for indoor use enhancement, compact rapid deployables, emergency response kits, 9-1-1 improvements and a push-to-talk service, AT&T Public Sector said Tuesday.
“As technology rapidly evolves, we'll continue to create innovative solutions and equip public safety to further strengthen their situational awareness and incident response in any emergency,” said AT&T Public Sector and FirstNet President Jason Porter, who is also a 2022 Wash100 Award recipient.
Porter emphasized that the company is creating the new services “because it ultimately helps all people across the country stay safe” and predicts FirstNet will “continue to lead the industry, providing interoperable, end-to-end emergency communication solutions for decades to come.”
The Cell Booster Pro, available April 1, is designed to strengthen cell phone reception and connectivity so that the 80 percent of wireless calls that occur at indoor locations can have a better chance of reaching a public safety official. This mini cell tower is able to transmit both Band 14 spectrum specific to FirstNet as well as commercial LTE service.
AT&T has also unveiled a geospatial Z-Axis technology that empowers more accurate location identification and visualization so that people stuck in a certain place during an emergency can be swiftly tracked.
In addition, the company has introduced a disaster response package that includes 150 assets for public safety usage, among which are compact rapid deployables or mobile assets that are built for fast distribution throughout areas suffering from wildfires, hurricanes and other natural disasters.
New as well are emergency response kits that are applicable both for post-disaster use and for daily implementation by public safety officials.
Another feature FirstNet is now offering is an integration of AT&T ESInet with 9-1-1 services so that public safety answering points can route and track calls with efficiency and cut down on emergency response periods. To do so, they will utilize the combined efforts of satellite GPS, wi-fi and a wireless network.
Finally, AT&T FirstNet has released an arsenal of push-to-talk services. FirstNet Rapid Response, one of these tools, is a voice, video and data service that increases situational awareness for public safety agencies and is a standards-based mission-critical offering. It is intended to enable those seeking help to stream their surroundings and share images or documents immediately with first responders.
“Public safety has identified these capabilities and solutions as critical to advancing the FirstNet network… users can continue to count on their network to provide them with mission-ready solutions for emergencies of all types and sizes,” commented FirstNet Authority CEO Edward Parkinson.
The new technological additions follow AT&T FirstNet’s expansion of its 5G coverage to 10 new cities in February.
