AT&T agrees $1bn deal to upgrade FirstNet emergency network

AT&T, one of the leading telecoms companies in the US, hopes to deliver $1 billion in cost savings and system upgrades in exchange for faster government approvals.

As reported by The Wall Street Journal, company chief executive John Stankey agreed to the new terms for the FirstNet programme last week, after months of talks with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. The talks first started after a 2025 executive order by US President Donald Trump called for federal agencies to scrutinise all contracts.

“This agreement-in-principle … reflects AT&T’s ongoing dedication to our ⁠public-private partnership,” said AT&T’s president of public sector, Wes Anderson, as reported by Reuters.

AT&T was awarded the 25-year contract to build FirstNet in 2017, years after a federal commission recommended the setup of a first-response system in the wake of the 9/11 attacks.

FirstNet helps first responders, including medical personnel, firefighters and police officers, communicate vital information on a single network. It is currently used by roughly 31,000 US agencies.

The telco is responsible for maintaining FirstNet nationwide, even in areas where service isn’t commercially viable, to ensure first responders are able to respond to emergencies faster. It gives priority to emergencies when networks can become overloaded and deploys temporary infrastructure when cell towers and telecom cables can be destroyed.

Officials in the commerce department have requested greater oversight into how the programme is run and its partnership with AT&T, according to The Wall Street Journal report, suggesting that internal watchdog reports have criticised its management.

This news comes shortly after AT&T launched OneConnect, which it described as the first-ever single subscription for unlimited connectivity. It said this is the first and only connectivity provider to combine fast, reliable home internet and wireless together across as many devices as needed, under one subscription and one price.

The company said: “AT&T OneConnect runs on America’s largest wireless and fibre networks and America’s best and fastest home internet. Combined, it delivers the simple experience customers deserve and defines connectivity of the future.”

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