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Euclid committee briefed on switching public‑safety mobile data to AT&T FirstNet; presenters cite network priority and deployable assets
Summary
Presenters from AT&T/FirstNet described differences between standard commercial cellular service and FirstNet, including a separate public‑safety network core, priority/preemption, and deployable assets. The committee discussed potential savings and coverage; no decision was made.
Euclid’s Executive Finance Committee on Jan. 27 heard a technical briefing from AT&T FirstNet representatives on the differences between standard commercial cellular plans and the FirstNet public‑safety broadband network and how that network could support the city’s next‑generation policing equipment.
Brett Cudachieff, with the AT&T Public Sector Mobility Team, explained that FirstNet uses a physically separate network core dedicated to first responders, provides priority and preemption across AT&T spectrum (including band 14), and makes deployable communications assets (satellite/palletized towers, mobile cell‑on‑wheels, drones and other equipment) available under the national FirstNet authority program.
Presenters said FirstNet’s architecture and federally backed program were designed after 9/11 to prevent congestion‑related failures during major events and to provide rapid deployable backup in outages; AT&T representatives said many FirstNet deployable assets are available at no additional charge and cited national examples of fast deployment.
Cost estimates discussed a 10‑year savings range of roughly $240,000 to $406,000 compared with the city’s current Verizon arrangements, depending on device usage assumptions; presenters said actual costs depend on the number of data devices and their usage levels and described a billing platform that re‑rates data lines monthly so the city pays closer to actual usage. Councilman Cosgrove asked about whether the “most/least” figures represented unlimited billing vs. per‑line usage; presenters said the likely outcome would be somewhere in the middle and that certain data devices (tablets, MDTs) would be the highest‑usage lines.
Committee members asked operational questions, including whether FirstNet connections would be restricted to police or could be extended to other city departments during emergencies. AT&T said the city could provision primary public‑safety users and a lower‑priority “extended primary” tier for other municipal staff that could be uplifted in an emergency.
Council members also asked for clarifications about services and protections; one council member asked whether the network is EMP‑protected, and AT&T staff said they would research that technical question and follow up.
No procurement decision was made at the Jan. 27 meeting; presenters and council members discussed next steps, including detailed billing scenarios, device counts and whether the city would pursue FirstNet migration as part of any approval of the broader Axon package.
