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Kansas to Transform Communications for Public Safety; Governor Brownback Approves Buildout Plan for First Responder NetworkRESTON, Va., Aug. 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Kansas is transforming public safety communications by opting in to FirstNet. Today, Governor Sam Brownback announced his decision to accept the FirstNet and AT&T* plan to deliver a wireless broadband network to the state's public safety community. This will make Kansas the 14th state or territory to bring advanced technologies that will help first responders save lives and protect communities. "This initiative positions Kansas to provide state-of-the-art emergency communication services to the benefit of our residents, businesses and visitors," said Gov. Brownback. "Our first responders need to quickly and securely coordinate efforts during an emergency, and FirstNet will help ensure that they have the tools they need to safeguard our state. This effort will also bring welcome broadband service enhancements to many rural parts of our state, including tribal lands and those areas most recently affected by wildfires this spring." AT&T, in a public-private partnership with FirstNet, will build, operate and maintain a highly secure wireless broadband communications network for Kansas' public safety community at no cost to the state. The FirstNet network will drive innovation and create an entire system of modernized devices, apps and tools for first responders. "Governor Brownback's decision to opt-in to FirstNet is great for Kansas and will help ensure that our state's first responders continue to stay on the cutting-edge of public safety," said Dick Heitschmidt, chairman of the Kansas 9-1-1 Coordinating Council and Hutchinson chief of police. This is one of the most economical and technologically advanced decisions Governor Brownback could have made for the state's first responders and the residents they serve. The FirstNet network will transform the way Kansas' fire, police, EMS and other public safety personnel communicate and share information. Specifically, FirstNet and AT&T will:
"Keeping Kansans safe and supporting our public safety community is a top priority," said Maj. Gen. Lee Tafanelli, Kansas Adjutant General. "By selecing the FirstNet and AT&T plan for Kansas, our emergency responders will have access to innovative new technologies supported by a first-rate network that is dedicated to public safety – helping them protect communities and save lives." FirstNet and AT&T designed Kansas' network solution with direct input from the state's public safety community. FirstNet has been meeting with Kansas officials and public safety personnel for several years to address their unique communication needs. This includes:
"Today is a great day for the more than 1,400 public safety entities in Kansas. By opting in to FirstNet, Kansas' first responders will have access to communications tools and resources they need," said FirstNet CEO Mike Poth. "FirstNet will not only offer innovative technology to public safety subscribers, but interoperability across state and jurisdictional boundaries – an important issue for many Kansas communities." The decision enables FirstNet and AT&T to begin creating an entirely new wireless ecosystem for public safety communications. Kansas' first responder subscribers will have immediate access to quality of service and priority to voice and data across the existing nationwide AT&T LTE network. Preemption for primary users over the AT&T LTE network is expected by year-end. This means fire, police, EMS and other public safety workers will have dedicated access to the network when and where they need it – 24/7/365, like their mission. "It's an honor to continue our nearly 140-year history of supporting Kansas and its public safety community," said Chris Sambar, senior vice president, AT&T – FirstNet. "By opting in to FirstNet, Governor Brownback is giving his first responders the tools and technologies they need to operate faster, safer and more effectively when lives are on the line." "FirstNet is a game-changer for Kansas' public safety community," Mike Scott, president, AT&T Kansas, added. "With AT&T ESInet™ Service and Kansas' NextGen 9-1-1 network, Kansas will have the 'triple crown' of public safety communications systems all in one state." Earlier this year, Kansas selected AT&T to upgrade the state's 9-1-1 infrastructure with AT&T ESInet™ Service. The solution will help Kansas create a more reliable and improved experience for those calling 9-1-1. With AT&T ESInet™ Service and FirstNet, Kansas' public safety community will be able to enjoy an enhanced emergency response, creating an efficient flow of communications, from:
For more information on FirstNet, please visit FirstNet.gov/mediakit and att.com/FirstResponderNews. For more about the value FirstNet will bring to public safety, please visit FirstNet.com. About FirstNet *About AT&T AT&T products and services are provided or offered by subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T brand and not by AT&T Inc. Additional information about AT&T products and services is available at about.att.com. Follow our news on Twitter at @ATT, on Facebook at facebook.com/att and on YouTube at youtube.com/att. © 2017 AT&T Intellectual Property. All rights reserved. AT&T, the Globe logo and other marks are trademarks and service marks of AT&T Intellectual Property and/or AT&T affiliated companies. All other marks contained herein are the property of their respective owners. **Claim based on the Nielsen Certified Data Network Score. Score includes data reported by wireless consumers in the Nielsen Mobile Insights survey, network measurements from Nielsen Mobile Performance and Nielsen Drive Test Benchmarks for Q4 2016 + Q1 2017 across 121 markets.
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