Lifetime Citizen Portal Access — AI Briefings, Alerts & Unlimited Follows
Sheriffs, emergency managers urge Congress to extend FirstNet authority, prioritize resilience and cybersecurity
Loading...
Summary
County and state emergency officials told a House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee that reauthorizing and funding FirstNet is essential to keep public‑safety broadband resilient and secure, and recommended extending FirstNet's statutory authority beyond its 2027 sunset.
Local law‑enforcement and emergency managers urged Congress to reauthorize the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) and strengthen requirements for coverage, redundancy and cybersecurity to protect public‑safety communications.
Sheriff Shannon Dicus of San Bernardino County told the subcommittee that FirstNet has delivered tangible benefits to her jurisdiction and that ‘‘the build out of FirstNet is critical’’ for providing dedicated priority broadband to first responders. She testified that California’s decision to opt in to FirstNet ‘‘brought five new FirstNet towers to our county’’ and described FirstNet’s dedicated core and Band 14 capacity as valuable public‑safety features.
Why it matters: Witnesses said FirstNet’s priority and preemption features help keep public‑safety data and voice calls flowing in crowded or degraded networks, and that physical and cybersecurity protections for tower sites and core networks are needed to defend against vandalism, sabotage and cyberattacks.
Key points: Steve Newton, emergency management director for Chatham County, said FirstNet and other carrier deployables helped restore connectivity after Hurricane Helene and stressed the value of diverse carrier options and planning at the state level. Newton described using FirstNet services during storm response to operate alerting systems when other infrastructure failed.
Sheriff Dicus urged lifting FirstNet’s sunset and noted a FirstNet commitment to reinvest program revenues: ‘‘To maintain that progress, Congress must extend FirstNet’s authorization beyond 2027,’’ she said. Several members and witnesses recommended that reauthorization include clearer metrics for recovery time objectives, oversight of the authority’s reinvestment of funds, and federal support for cybersecurity audits and physical protection of critical sites.
Cybersecurity and governance: Witnesses described ransomware incidents and other cyber threats that disrupted dispatch and records systems, arguing federal assistance on audits, standards and rapid technical assistance would reduce recovery times for counties. Dicus said stronger federal‑local coordination on cybersecurity best practices and insurance/response support is needed.
Ending: Members signaled bipartisan interest in FirstNet reauthorization but pressed for specific reforms to ensure rural coverage, interoperable operations across multiple carriers, and protections for towers and backhaul infrastructure.
