FOP and Firefighters Union Dispute T-Mobile’s Criticism of FirstNet

The National Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) and International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) have issued a joint statement saying they reject an assertion by T-Mobile that the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) has become “stagnant” and is no longer able to meet the needs of public safety.

The statement reads:

For the brave men and women that our organizations represent, effective and reliable communication is absolutely vital to their safety and that of the public they serve. Our organizations helped shape the legislation that established FirstNet within the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) in the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Our members serve on FirstNet’s Public Safety Advisory Committee (PSAC), which ensures that the needs of public safety are being met. We have a long history of partnership and collaboration to provide our officers and fire fighters in the field with what they need to do their jobs. Both our organizations have confidence in FirstNet, which is why we are pushing Congress to reauthorize the program. More importantly, our members who depend on FirstNet have confidence in their communication systems—and it is their lives that are at stake.

Our concern is that for-profit companies are seeking to enrich their shareholders by hindering or blocking our reauthorization efforts. They are not proposing a “fix.” They are making a “sales pitch” for their product and service. They seem to believe that they know better than our members about their needs in the field. They do not.

Here is our sales pitch—FirstNet has a decades-long record of success. They have a high-functioning and established relationship with the field and our organizations that has resulted in an ongoing legacy of trust and collaboration. When we need to talk, they listen. When we have a concern, it is addressed. When we have a problem, it is solved. You cannot put that into a package along with a free subscription.

We need Congress to reauthorize FirstNet because the lives of our members depend on the reliability of these communications systems. We urge the Congress and the public to tune out this commercial and listen to the voices of the men and women in our police stations and fire stations.