Alan Davidson, administrator of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, said Congress should pass a bill that reauthorizes the FirstNet Authority as the entity in charge of a nationwide public safety broadband network before the 2027 end date of its initial authorization, Urgent Communications reported Tuesday.
Davidson said FirstNet has been a “success story” and has made strides since it was created in 2012 as an independent authority under NTIA.
“The network is working incredibly well, so it’s really an example of a success story of how we can build a public-private partnership to serve a real need for our first responders.”
Rep. Lizzie Fletcher, R-Texas, recently reintroduced legislation to make the FirstNet Authority’s authorization permanent.
On Friday, the authority secured reauthorization from the Federal Communications Commission for its Band 14 spectrum dedicated to first responders and public safety users.
Congress is also considering the reauthorization of NTIA for the first time in 30 years through a bill introduced by Rep. Bob Latta, R-Ohio, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Communications and Technology Subcommittee, according to Federal News Network report.
