PD Background Report (PL-USE-2023-000008)

Home

ATTACHMENT 1—Project Narrative AT&T's Application—HIL03306 Volcano Village East Page 13 of 17 deployment of the network which began in March of 2018. His decision also directed the FirstNet Authority to take on all the risks, costs, and responsibilities associated with deploying the network in Hawaii for 25 years and take immediate steps to make prioritized services and features available to public safety in the state. 4.3. FirstNet Coverage FirstNet, built by AT&T, will span all 50 states, five U.S. territories, and the District of Columbia, including rural communities and tribal lands in those states and territories. As an all-band solution, FirstNet is built on AT&T's commercial LTE bands in addition to Band 14. This gives FirstNet users access to even more coverage and capacity. 4.4. FirstNet Core FirstNet is a separate communications platform operating on a physically separate, dedicated core that is purpose-built for public safety based on their specifications and requirements. The FirstNet core is built on physically separate hardware, which effectively separate public safety's traffic from commercial traffic. The FirstNet core is also monitored 24/7/365 by a dedicated Security Operations Center with a dedicated team of experts. 4.5. Priority and Preemption A key differentiator of FirstNet is always-on priority and preemption with multiple priority levels that primary users can allocate as needed. This technology is available to FirstNet users over the AT&T LTE commercial bands and Band 14. Priority means first responders connect first. Priority moves first responders to the front of the "communications line," prioritizing their network needs—they don't have to compete with non- emergency users for a connection. Preemption goes a step further to make sure first responders can access FirstNet when they need to, 24/7/365. Preemption helps ensure first responders have the bandwidth they need, when they need it most—when the communications line becomes crowded, preemption shifts non- emergency traffic, freeing up space for FirstNet users to easily get through. Calls or texts to 911 will never be preempted or shifted from the network. S. SEARCH RING AT&T's radio frequency ("RF") engineers performed an RF engineering study, considering multiple objectives, to determine the approximate site location and antenna height required to fulfill the noted network objectives for the Targeted Service Area. From this study, AT&T's RF engineers identified a "search ring" area where a wireless facility may be located to provide effective service in the target coverage area. This includes vital coverage under the FirstNet program for First Responders. The search ring established for this proposal, and a description of the methodology used to identify the search ring, is provided in Attachment 3—RF Justification.