FirstNet reauthorization deserves immediate congressional priority

FirstNet (First Responder Network Authority) faces a Feb. 22, 2027 sunset that threatens to disrupt the most successful emergency communications program in our nation’s history. With overwhelming evidence of policy success, fiscal responsibility, and bipartisan stakeholder support, Congress should prioritize early reauthorization to ensure continuity of this critical public safety infrastructure.

The program’s track record demonstrates that the government can deliver measurable results without taxpayer burden through a limited approach, making reauthorization both a public safety imperative and a model of effective governance that aligns with market-oriented policy principles.

A self-sustaining success story built on market principles

FirstNet represents a rare success. It is a government program that works exactly as designed and pays for itself. Since 2017, the innovative public-private partnership has grown from zero to 29,500+ public safety agencies with 6.7 million connections across 99 percent of U.S. geographic coverage while maintaining complete financial self-sufficiency.

The program’s financial model exemplifies market-oriented governance. Zero taxpayer dollars fund operations. Instead, FirstNet operates through a 25-year revenue-sharing agreement where AT&T invests $40 billion in network infrastructure while paying $18 billion to FirstNet over the contract life. This arrangement has created sustainable funding for continuous network improvements without relying on government appropriations, a structure that should appeal to fiscal conservatives seeking effective alternatives to traditional government spending.

FirstNet’s $881 million cash balance and 2024 commitment to $8+ billion in additional network investments over 10 years demonstrate the program’s long-term financial viability and growth trajectory. The model proves that well-structured public-private partnerships can deliver public goods while maintaining market discipline and innovation incentives.

Quantifiable performance validates the policy framework

Evidence overwhelmingly supports FirstNet’s operational success across key metrics that matter for policy evaluation. Agency adoption grew substantially from 2021-2023, rising from approximately 13,000 agencies with 1.5 million connections to over 19,500 agencies with 3 million connections—demonstrating continued demand and user satisfaction among the program’s primary constituency.

FirstNet’s disaster response capabilities have proven critical during major emergencies. The network supported first responders during Hurricane Ian and Hurricane Fiona in 2022, where the Response Operations Group deployed satellite units and compact rapid deployables to maintain connectivity despite major power outages. During the 2021 Marshall Fire in Colorado, FirstNet deployables provided network access when local infrastructure was damaged by hurricane-speed winds. These represent the kind of large-scale emergency responses that validate FirstNet’s core mission and demonstrate the program’s operational value beyond routine communications.

Network infrastructure expansion reached 100,000+ Band 14 transmission sites with 820+ FirstNet Ready devices available to public safety users. This sustained progress represents not just an increase in coverage but also an increase in capability.

Historical context reinforces FirstNet’s continued relevance

Through FirstNet, the federal government has created a public-private partnership that laid the technological foundation for interoperable communications that was tragically absent during 9/11. The 9/11 Commission Report documented catastrophic radio system failures, interoperability crises between agencies, and overwhelmed emergency communications that prevented coordinated response and evacuation orders from reaching first responders in the towers.

This origin story, solving the communication failures that cost 343 firefighter lives on 9/11, provided FirstNet with strong initial bipartisan support. Congress created FirstNet through the 2012 Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act and all 50 states opted into FirstNet instead of building their own alternative networks. This unanimous state participation reflects rare, broad, bipartisan agreement on both the policy problem and market-oriented solution: dedicated spectrum managed by the federal government but deployed through private enterprise to ensure technical innovation and cost efficiency.

Congressional inaction creates urgent timeline crisis

Despite the overall success of the program, FirstNet faces a hard termination date in February 2027 with no reauthorization legislation in the current Congress. This gives Congress just 16 months to act to avoid an immediate crisis for public safety communications.

The legislative calendar shows just how serious the situation is. Rep. Lizzie Fletcher (D-Texas) introduced H.R. 3366 in the previous Congress to provide permanent authorization, but that bill died without even receiving a subcommittee hearing and must be reintroduced. No member has yet filed new reauthorization in the 119th Congress despite urgent calls from the public safety community.

The Government Accountability Office’s 2022 analysis specifically recommended congressional reauthorization, warning that without action, “network operations and improvements would be at risk and could result in loss of service.” The report also identified four key statutory requirements needing congressional action and noted $18 billion in scheduled payments over the remaining contract period that require continued legal authority to collect.

The schedule for reauthorization is unforgiving. Congress typically requires months to move legislation from introduction through committee hearings, markups, floor votes in both chambers, and presidential signature. The lack of a bill combined with the 16-month timeline places FirstNet at genuine risk of lapsing in authorization. It would be shameful to allow legislative inertia, not political opposition, to be the cause of FirstNet’s demise.

Nineteen major public safety organizations—including the International Association of Chiefs of Police, International Association of Fire Chiefs, and National Association of Counties—wrote congressional leadership in March 2025 calling reauthorization an imperative. In evaluating FirstNet and seeking program continuity, the first responder community has done its part, but Congress has not.

Bipartisan fiscal and policy arguments for reauthorization

From a fiscal perspective, FirstNet reauthorization costs nothing while preserving billions in existing investments. The program’s self-sustaining model that eliminates appropriation requirements should make reauthorization an attractive prospect during budget constraint periods. Failure to reauthorize risks $18 billion in committed revenue and could require costly alternative arrangements or program unwinding.

There are significant market-oriented policy benefits that extend beyond public safety. FirstNet’s spectrum efficiency and infrastructure sharing reduce duplication. The public-private partnership model preserves innovation incentives through performance-based contract requirements while ensuring public accountability through FirstNet Authority oversight. This provides a model that could be applicable to other infrastructure challenges.

The implications of FirstNet to national security favor continuity as well. FirstNet provides secure, resilient communications during natural disasters and potential security threats. The network’s priority and preemption capabilities ensure first responders maintain connectivity when commercial networks fail. These capabilities took years to develop and would be costly to replicate.

Regulatory efficiency supports reauthorization over alternatives. Creating new programs or shifting responsibilities would require extensive rulemaking, stakeholder consultation, and transition costs. The existing framework already addresses lessons learned from initial deployment while maintaining operational effectiveness.

Conclusion: This limited-government success demands protection

FirstNet represents everything policymakers claim to want: effective government that works, costs taxpayers nothing, and delivers measurable results. The program addresses a genuine market failure (interoperable emergency communications) through market-oriented solutions (public-private partnership, user-driven adoption) while maintaining fiscal discipline (self-funding, performance-based payments).

Yet this successful, self-sustaining program faces termination in 16 months because Congress has failed to introduce reauthorization legislation. The alternative would represent precisely the kind of Washington dysfunction that undermines confidence in government capability while putting first responder lives at risk.

Immediate congressional action is essential. Every week of delay reduces the already compressed timeline for moving legislation through the committee process, floor votes, and presidential signature. With overwhelming stakeholder support, clear evidence of success, and zero fiscal cost, FirstNet reauthorization should be among the least controversial actions Congress takes this session.

Early introduction and swift passage would provide certainty for the agencies and first responders who rely on FirstNet daily while preserving a policy framework that demonstrates how limited government, properly structured, can deliver public value through market mechanisms. This is limited effective government done right—and it deserves immediate reauthorization before legislative calendars make timely action impossible.