The City of Falfurrias Joins FirstNet – America’s Public Safety Network

New Technologies Expand Our Capabilities to Better Serve Falfurrias

FALFURRIAS, Texas, December 13, 2022 — The City of Falfurrias is connecting firefighters, officers, and first responders to FirstNet® – the only network built with and for America’s first responders and the extended public safety community. With this tech advancement, we can equip our first responders with new capabilities and reliable access to critical information while in the field, allowing us to better serve those who live, work and visit Falfurrias, Texas.

Built with AT&T, FirstNet is designed to improve interoperable communications across public safety entities nationwide, allowing first responders to communicate with one another easily and quickly during everyday situations, big events or emergencies. This is integral to solving the communications challenges public safety has experienced in the past.

The City of Falfurrias is using FirstNet on their FirstNet Ready® devices to maintain reliable, interoperable communications. The city is taking full advantage of the Netgear Nighthawk M6 in their patrol vehicles to help ensure connectivity.

“We are thankful to connect our city’s first responders to FirstNet,” said City Administrator Andy Garcia. “It’s reassuring to know in times of crisis, FirstNet will give us reliable communication capabilities even in our rural areas. Having these advanced communication abilities provides an extra level of safety and security for our citizens.”

Falfurrias joined FirstNet to provide our first responders unthrottled access to an entire public safety ecosystem of mission-ready tools and capabilities, including:

·      Always-on priority and, for first responders, preemption to give us reliable access to the connection we need – and protect us from network congestion.

·      A separate, dedicated and highly secure network core purpose-built for public safety’s sensitive communications.

·      Innovative tools – like public safety-centric applications, mission-critical solutions and connected devices – to give us more actionable information for heightened situational awareness.

·      A dedicated fleet of 150+ deployable network assets public safety agencies can call upon for additional connectivity at no extra charge during remote situations, planned events or urgent crises—a unique benefit to the industry.  

·      Access to holistic public safety health and wellness tools and resources, like ROG the Dog, that go beyond network connectivity—all powered by the FirstNet Health & Wellness Coalition, which represents more than 5.1 million first responders.

“It’s important to us that our firefighters and volunteers have the best tools available to them” said Chief Ruben Ramirez, Falfurrias Fire. “We recognize the importance of FirstNet and how it gives us the connectivity we need to keep the community and ourselves safe.”

“Having reliable communications available especially in our rural areas has completely changed the game for us” said Chief John Garcia, Falfurrias Police. “With FirstNet, we’re able to have internet accessibility off the main roads allowing us to respond to public safety concerns, quicker than we’ve ever been able to before.”

“We’re honored Falfurrias chose FirstNet to elevate its communications capabilities,” said Mario Barragan, Director, ATT External Affairs. “It’s our mission to give first responders the cutting-edge tools they need to safely and effectively achieve their mission. FirstNet will help first responders in Falfurrias and across the country perform at the highest levels to keep themselves and those they serve out of harm’s way.”

“FirstNet, Built with AT&T is the exclusive communications platform, built with and for public safety, inspired by public safety. There is no substitution for this purpose-built network,” said Lisa Casias, Acting CEO FirstNet Authority. “We look forward to supporting Falfurrias and all of Texas’s public safety community with FirstNet, making sure it delivers what they need, when they need it.”

To learn more about the city of Falfurrias, visit https://falfurrias.us/

To learn more about subscribing to FirstNet, contact Liana Cano at 956-559-8380 or liana.cano@att.com. Individual first responders can also subscribe to FirstNet at a local AT&T store.

About FirstNet, Built with AT&T

FirstNet is the only nationwide, high-speed broadband communications platform dedicated to and purpose-built for America’s first responders and the extended public safety community. Shaped by the vision of Congress and the first responder community following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, FirstNet stands above commercial offerings. It is built with AT&T, in a public-private partnership with the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet Authority) – an independent agency within the federal government. The FirstNet network is providing public safety with truly dedicated coverage and capacity when they need it. These advanced capabilities help fire, EMS, law enforcement save lives and protect their communities. Learn more at FirstNet.com.

© 2022 AT&T Intellectual Property. All rights reserved. FirstNet and the FirstNet logo are registered trademarks of the First Responder Network Authority.  All other marks are the property of their respective owners.

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