House Counsel Expects FirstNet Reauthorization by End of Year

FirstNet reauthorization could reportedly take place by the end of the year. That would be great news for first responders who depend on the network to help keep the public safe.

Speaking recently at the Technology Policy Institute’s forum in Aspen, Colorado, House Communications and Technology Subcommittee senior Democratic counsel Johanna Thomas said the reauthorization of the First Responder Network Authority that oversees FirstNet is “one of the biggest priorities of getting accomplished before the end of the year.”

By law, the authority would sunset in February unless Congress reauthorizes it after the initial statute was passed in 2012.

The First Responder Network Authority Reauthorization Act of 2026 passed the House by voice vote in April and must now go through the Senate. It was referred to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation on April 21.

The legislation changes how the authority is governed by creating an associate administrator role within the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to provide oversight. The bill also expands the presence of public safety professionals on the FirstNet Board.

As the Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) previously reported, key public-safety personnel continue to hold discussions with federal officials on what they want to see in the reauthorization language. The Senate may take up the House bill, but there are rumblings the Senate would prefer to craft its own reauthorization bill.

FirstNet was created as a public/private partnership in the wake of 9/11 to improve communications among first responders. AT&T, who was contracted to build the network, reports that it has more than 8 million subscribers from more than 30,000 agencies.

Congress initially allocated $7 billion to pay for the network, those funds coming from Federal Communications Commission (FCC) spectrum auctions. AT&T agreed to invest $40 billion over the initial contract to build, operate, and maintain the network, making annual payments to the FirstNet Authority for usage of licensed spectrum in Band 14. Plans for individual first responders on the network start at about $40 per month.

The initial five-year buildout resulted in 1,200 cell towers in locations where public safety leaders identified a need for better coverage, usually in rural locations hard to serve via terrestrial broadband. The requirement by the 2012 law to work with small and rural telecom providers resulted in more broadband infrastructure in rural areas. For example, more than 100 FirstNet tower sites launched on Navajo Nation through a collaboration between AT&T and two regional carriers. 

There has been no meaningful opposition to the reauthorization, given the level of adoption and AT&T’s successful completion of the buildout of the network. The U.S. Government Accountability Office, in a May report, recommended that Congress reauthorize the network authority to “ensure the continuity of the public-safety broadband network and collection of potential revenues of $15 billion over 15 years.”

AT&T has also been adding its own commercial radios to further expand the coverage and capacity at these towers for public safety. The initial FirstNet infrastructure also encourages more development by other carriers. In defraying some upfront capital costs, FirstNet helps make the economic case for other providers to enter that market.

AST SpaceMobile is partnering with AT&T on a plan to use satellite services to enhance FirstNet coverage with direct-to-cellular satellite connectivity. Light Reading reported that AST and FirstNet both asked the FCC in July for permission to move forward with their partnership. In its filing, AST said it would be able to provide satellite broadband to first responders in unserved and underserved locations in the U.S. and abroad.

Thomas’ comments are a positive sign for the FirstNet authority reauthorization. With just six months to go before the program is set to end, lawmakers should act quickly to renew this vital network for first responders.