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    All 50 states opt in to AT&T’s FirstNet public safety network

    by 
    Mallory Locklear
    Mallory Locklear
    12.29.2017

    FirstNet, the nationwide broadband network for first responders, will be the official public safety network for all 50 US states. The network has been a very long time coming. Having been initially proposed following the 9/11 attacks, the FCC approved LTE to be the standard on which it would function back in 2011. In March, AT&T was selected by the First Responder Network Authority to build and run the network and in June, the company began sending its plans to state governments for review. States had until yesterday to decide whether they would opt in or out of the program and all 50 decided to approve it. Washington DC, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands also opted in while American Samoa, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands have until March 12th to make their decisions.