What's the Difference Between FirstNet and Verizon’s Public Safety Service

It's important first responders understand the various types of systems cellular carriers offer and how they compare. Today we depend on smartphones for many types of communications so the service you choose is important.

I love Verizon they have the best coverage in many places, but other carriers are catching up. Today many first responders use Verizon so I wanted to compare Verizon’s Public Safety Service with AT&T's FirstNet built for first responders.

An article in AllThingsFirstnet.com Is Your FirstNet Expert Really an Expert? Points out some marketing people may not have the expertise and full understanding of FirstNet capabilities. 

Some articles written by "experts" are telling people there's nothing special about the FirstNet Band 14. That since Verizon has Band 13 and they're both in the 700 MHz band they're the same, they're not. 

Public Safety owns Band 14 by Congressional action assigning it for public safety use which is managed by the FirstNet Authority on behalf of public safety. Verizon owns Band 13 which is nothing more than commercial spectrum. 

FirstNet is being deployed with public safety needs in mind. In rural areas like Dolan Springs and Meadview band 14 is authorized for High Power User Equipment known as HPUE that has six times the power of other cellular equipment, band 13 isn't licensed for HPUE.

The other point this “expert” tried to make is that Verizon’s “private core” for public safety is the same as the FirstNet core. This is categorically incorrect. It may have similar functions, but they are not the same and the differences are critical to public safety.

The FirstNet core is dedicated to public safety and built for public safety.  Only primary public safety users and extended primary are allowed on this core. This FirstNet dedicated core is not shared with commercial users.

We all know cellular systems are quickly overloaded during any major emergency simply because the system is designed for average daily traffic. Now first responders have their own cellular system dedicated to their needs.

Article Is Your FirstNet Expert Really an Expert?




/