Public Safety Spotlight: FirstNet Delivers for Agencies Responding to Hurricane Dorian

As Hurricane Dorian’s pathway continuously changed, our teams were vigilant in readying public safety for the storm’s potential impact. We coordinated across federal, state and local public safety agencies and staged network assets along the Southeast coast for quick deployment to help ensure FirstNet subscribers have access to the unthrottled connectivity they need to coordinate their storm response and aid in recovery.

Here are a few highlights of how we delivered for the agencies and individuals our communities count on most:

• Deployed a FirstNet SatCOLT to Columbia, South Carolina to provide primary communications support at the staging location of all active Urban Search and Rescue teams responding to the storm. These teams include first responders from federal, state and local agencies from across the nation.
• Supported Pennsylvania Task Force 1’s mutual-aid response, providing the team with FirstNet Ready™ tablets. Pennsylvania Task Force 1 shipped out this past weekend to help communities in Hurricane Dorian’s path respond to the storm. FirstNet will give PA-TF1 the interoperable communications they need as they coordinate with other agencies across states and jurisdictions.
• Installed network equipment at the Virginia Department of Emergency Management’s emergency operation center (EOC). Located in a basement, the EOC had limited service, so this provided quick and reliable access to FirstNet connectivity as they prepared for the storm.
• Provided portable generators to support public safety and the communities on Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket Island in preparation for Hurricane Dorian’s potential landfall along the New England shoreline.

With FirstNet, we make public safety’s mission the priority. We know how critical communications are to rescue and recovery efforts, so as storm season pushes on, we’ll continue to stand by the men and women who put their lives on the line, day in and day out, to protect and support our communities.

Go here for more on FirstNet and how it supports America’s first responders and the communities they serve – no matter the emergency.