Trending
From Mirror staff reports
HYNDMAN -- AT&T announced plans Friday to build a new cell site in Bedford County as part of its FirstNet construction. The new site will better serve first responders in Hyndman and surrounding areas.
FirstNet is the nationwide public safety communications platform dedicated to America's first responders. Being built with AT&T, in public-private partnership with the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet Authority), FirstNet is bringing public safety a much-needed technology upgrade to help them connect to the critical information they need.
"After experiencing two major emergencies last year, the residents and first responders of Bedford County know better than anyone the need for reliable communications services in a crisis," Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., said in a statement. "Bringing a cell site to this area is exactly what the community and public officials have asked for, and I'm pleased that the FirstNet Authority and AT&T are upholding their promise to fill in rural coverage gaps and give first responders the network resources they need to effectively and efficiently address emergency situations."
"As many of us learned firsthand during the train derailment in Hyndman last year, the ability for first responders to share information as events unfold during an emergency is vital," Gov. Tom Wolf said in a statement.
"I'm pleased that we are able to announce the first new cell site in Pennsylvania as a part of the public-private partnership between the FirstNet Authority and AT&T," Wolf said. "This new coverage will provide much-needed access to Pennsylvania's first responders when called upon to handle emergency situations."
The new site will be built in Londonderry Township, and it will serve the surrounding communities. AT&T has applied for a building permit with the township, which is an initial step in the application and approval process for any new cell site. The new site is expected to be operational in 2019.
"Working with the FirstNet Authority and AT&T on behalf of Pennsylvania's first responder community demonstrated to me their level of commitment to public safety," Pennsylvania State Police Maj. Diane M. Stackhouse said in a statement. The governor appointed Stackhouse as the FirstNet single point of contact for the Nationwide Public Safety Broadband Network.
"My team was tasked to ensure mobile broadband coverage was available to first responders in rural Pennsylvania where there is a clear and demonstrated need," Stackhouse said. "AT&T swiftly acted on our recommendations to add the necessary infrastructure to meet the governor's goal."
The FirstNet Authority and AT&T designed Pennsylvania's network solution with direct input from the state's public safety community. This included coverage for Bedford County, among other rural areas across the state. The FirstNet Authority has met with Pennsylvania's officials and public safety personnel for several years to address their unique communication needs.
"FirstNet is a dedicated broadband network for public safety, by public safety," FirstNet Authority CEO Mike Poth said in a statement. "We worked hand-in-hand with Pennsylvania's public safety community to understand their needs for the network. And this planned cell site is a prime example of how that input and feedback is becoming reality. We look forward to supporting Bedford County's first responders' use of FirstNet to help them save lives and protect communities."
The site will be constructed with AT&T's entire spectrum portfolio, including the FirstNet Band 14 spectrum. Band 14 is public safety's spectrum available to FirstNet subscribers. When there is surplus capacity available, that additional capacity can be used to improve service for all AT&T wireless customers in the area.
"Pennsylvania's first responders deserve reliable coverage across the state. And with FirstNet, that's exactly what they'll get," J. Michael Schweder, president of AT&T Mid-Atlantic, said in a statement. "This is an exciting start to the additional coverage and capacity we'll be bringing to our state's public safety community. And we look forward to giving Hyndman-area first responders and residents greater access to the connectivity they need."