Public Safety Served by Enterprise Communications Networks, Not Public Utility Regulation

On March 31, AT&T and the FirstNet Authority announced that total connections to the FirstNet nationwide public safety broadband network increased to 7.1 million across 30,000 law enforcement and first responder agencies during the first quarter of 2025. FirstNet was constructed and is operated by AT&T, and it is overseen by FirstNet Authority, an agency in the NTIA.

As explained in my February 2024 blog post, "FirstNet's Public Safety Communications Network Continues to Grow,"widespread adoption by law enforcement and first responder agencies of FirstNet – as well as competing enterprise networks, such as VerizonFrontline and T-Mobile's T-Priority – undermines the Biden FCC's public safety rationale for its now-vacated public utility regulation of broadband Internet access services. 

 

In the Securing and Safeguarding the Open Internet Order (2024), the Commission officially rebranded public utility regulation as a public safety measure. Public utility regulation has a long history. However, the idea that public utility regulation was vital to public safety and national security appears to have been entirely unknown until late 2023, when the Biden FCC launched its efforts to impose such regulation on high-speed broadband Internet services under Title II of the Communications Act. What a coincidence!

 

The Securing and Safeguarding the Open Internet Order was vacated by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit on January 2 of this year. In MCP No. 185 (2025), the court concluded that broadband Internet services are best understood as lightly regulated "information services" under Title I of the Act and not "telecommunications services" under Title II.

 

On April 28, the Free State Foundation filed reply comments in the FCC's Delete, Delete, Delete proceeding. In those reply comments, FSF President Randolph May and I recommended that the newly constituted FCC, under Chairman Brendan Carr's leadership, delete the now-vacated public utility rules from the Code of Federal Regulations. FSF's reply comments also recommend that the Commission delete many other outdated, harmful, and unnecessary regulations of communications services and close proceedings in which the agency previously had recommended additional regulations. FSF's initial comments in the Delete, Delete, Delete proceeding – focused on outdated, harmful, and unnecessary regulations of video services – were filed on April 11.

FirstNet's Public Safety Communications Network Continues to Grow

On January 24, AT&T released its report for the fourth quarter of 2023. AT&T announced that the FirstNet nationwide public safety broadband network it constructed has increased its total connections to more than 5.5 million across 27,500 law enforcement and first responder agencies. FirstNet is overseen by FirstNet Authority, an agency within the NTIA.

The widespread adoption by law enforcement and first responder agencies of FirstNet and other enterprise networks is significant because it undermines the FCC's attempted partial rebranding of public utility regulation of residential mass-market retail broadband Internet access services as a vital public safety measure. The Commission's Notice proposing to reclassify broadband Internet access services as a public utility under Title II of the Communications Act even acknowledges that "much of the communications between public safety entities and first responders take advantage of enterprise-level dedicated public safety broadband services." Indeed, enterprise-level dedicated networks with quality-of-service guarantees are more ideally suited for government agencies such as emergency first responders. 

 

On December 14, 2023, the Free State Foundation filed public comments opposing Title II reclassification and imposition of public utility regulation on broadband Internet access services. FSF's comments called attention to the glaring disconnect between imposing public utility regulation on commercial broadband Internet access services in the name of national security and public safety when the military, law enforcement, and emergency responders rely heavily on dedicated networks. 

 

Also, in the Free State Foundation's reply comments, filed on January 17, 2024, we observed that "it is a weighty matter to impose government controls over private services and property catering to civilians in the name of national security and public safety." And thus, "[i]t is unlikely that Congress intended to alter the balance between public power and private rights through such an expansive reading of Title II." Our reply comments voiced agreement with the proposition that national security and public safety have never before been relied upon by the Commission as a justification for common carrier regulation of broadband.

 

For more on the empty national security and public safety rationale for regulating residential commercial broadband Internet services as public utilities, see FSF’s comments and reply comments. See also my October 2023 Perspectives from FSF Scholars, "Net Neutrality Regulation Is Not a Public Safety Measure."

FirstNet's "Priority and Preemption" Secures Public Safety Communications

On April 26, FirstNet and the AT&T Policy Forum hosted an event titled "Looking Back – The Ultimate Stress Test for FirstNet." The event included a conversation with Congressman Bob Latta and a panel event discussing public safety communications and FirstNet's operations over the past year. The discussion highlighted the importance of FirstNet's "priority and preemption" feature that ensures public safety users have solid connections to communicate in emergencies or for other public safety purposes. 

Paragraph 24 of the FCC's October 2020 Restoring Internet Freedom Remand Order spotlighted FirstNet and its dedicated public safety service:

The record reflects that many public safety entities have access to and make use of dedicated public safety-specific and/or prioritized, specialized enterprise-level broadband services for data communications between public safety officials Perhaps the most important example of a dedicated network is the Congressionally-created First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet). In 2012, Congress passed the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act, which in part directed "the establishment of a nationwide, interoperable public safety network" to "ensure the deployment and operation of a nationwide, broadband network for public safety communications" —a resilient network capable of supporting both data and voice communications. The law granted 20 megahertz of spectrum to be used for the network and allocated $7 billion of funding. FirstNet offers service priority and preemption, which allow first responders to communicate over an "always-on" network… The record reflects that "[m]ore and more, public safety is relying on the FirstNet core and public safety’s own dedicated network for critical public safety communications – one that offers faster performance than commercial networks."  

In the next paragraph, the FCC's order offered additional insights into the public safety communications and dedicated or prioritized broadband Internet services: 

"[O]ther service providers have recently begun offering or enhanced their public safety services to compete with FirstNet." For example, Verizon offers services designed for first responders and public safety entities through its public safety private core that include the ability to prioritize public safety communications to ensure that they stay connected during emergencies. Such services also provide an extra layer of assurance that public safety communications will continue to operate during peak times. In addition, public safety users "have access to several … enhanced services" from Verizon, including Mobile Broadband Priority Service and data preemption. These services "provide public safety users priority service for data transmissions" by giving users priority over commercial users during periods of heavy network congestion and "reallocat[ing] network resources from commercial data/Internet users to first responders" if networks reach full capacity. 

The view expressed by the FCC's order are consistent with comments filed in the proceeding by Free State Foundation President Randolph May and I. As FSF's comments stated: "Paid prioritization arrangements offer a valuable option for government agencies responsible for public safety to use communications services that feature higher quality and improved reliability compared to traditional best-efforts broadband networks."

Maryland Joins FirstNet and AT&T for Public Safety Network

On September 18, 2017, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan announced that the state will partner with FirstNet and AT&T to deliver a wireless broadband network to Maryland's public safety community, creating faster, more informed and better coordinated responses.  During the announcement Governor Hogan said: 

Keeping Marylanders safe is our top priority, and our first responders need to be equipped with every tool possible to protect our citizens. By adopting this plan, our first responders will now have the ability to efficiently and effectively work together not just within the state, but across the region and at the national level. This innovative initiative will also spur investment into Maryland's economy, helping to create jobs and enhance mobile broadband coverage in rural parts of the state.

This partnership will transform the way Maryland's fire, police, emergency medical services, and other public safety personnel communicate and share information. The enhanced wireless broadband coverage will reduce response times, mitigate damage, and save lives.