Who will be allowed to access the network?
The FirstNet network is being built for public safety. The purpose of the network is to provide broadband wireless communications to police officers, firefighters, paramedics and other public safety and support personnel to meet their important mission every day. The First Responder Network Authority has broken users into three categories: primary users, extended primary, and primary subscriber paid users.
Primary Users are those Public Safety Entities that act as first responders, i.e., those entities whose primary mission and job function is to provide services to the public in the area of law enforcement, fire protection, or emergency medical services.
Extended Primary Users are those Public Safety Entities (which may be individuals, agencies, organizations, non-profit or for-profit companies) that are not Primary Users, but who may be called upon to support Primary Users with the mitigation, remediation, overhaul, clean up, restoration, or provision of other services that are required during the time of an emergency or its aftermath.
Primary subscriber paid users are individuals identified as a primary user who wish to procure services on a personal bill. An example of this would be a volunteer firefighter who chooses to purchase their own device, using it for both personal activities and emergency work. Under the subscriber-paid model, a public-safety agency identifies the personnel who should have access to the FirstNet system, and each potential end user is given an activation code that can be used to subscribe to FirstNet online or at an AT&T retail store.