A few weeks ago, T-Mobile unveiled that it was rolling out a dedicated network for first responders that will include a 5G network slice. In response to this news, AT&T has criticized its rival for the misleading claims it made about T-Priority.
In an internal document obtained by The Mobile Report, AT&T called out the Un-carrier for its false claims of being the first to offer a network slice for emergency responders. It can be recalled that AT&T launched the first dedicated network for emergency responders in 2017 called FirstNet. When AT&T launched FirstNet, it was funded by Congress after realizing the need for a public safety network to have a separate and reliable network in times of network congestion. Users on FirstNet used Band 14 with always-on priority. In 2021, FirstNet was upgraded to support AT&T’s 5G networks.
As T-Mobile claimed, its first responder network, T-Priority, comes with the “most advanced connectivity solution in the world.” Since T-Priority was built using its 5G Standalone Core, T-Mobile promised that users would get the highest priority across all 5G bands. When T-Mo rolled out the network, it took a swab at FirstNet by saying that dedicated networks can still get slowed down when built using 4G LTE.
AT&T defended its stance and said that FirstNet is not “a commercial offering” but a dedicated platform for public safety. Unlike commercial networks, FirstNet users have a secure network core, always-on priority, and a dedicated spectrum. Although AT&T plans to deploy 5G slicing capabilities, it’s still an untested technology right now. And because of that, it cannot be relied upon especially in life-and-death situations that FirstNet users regularly face. Instead, it plans to use this technology as a subset of operations, like enhancing video streaming during an operation.
Aside from this, the FirstNet Authority Board approved the full 5G upgrade to the network in June. This means it will soon roll out network slicing technology, which T-Mobile uses for T-Priority.
Source: PhoneArena
