AT&T extended its First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) platform to run on the carrier’s 5G standalone (SA) network, bolstering the performance of the FirstNet service and allowing for more services to be offered to the public safety community.
The updated FirstNet service uses “dedicated” infrastructure running on the AT&T 5G SA core that can support enhanced public safety features. AT&T will offer those services through its Adaptive Mission Performance platform that can “optimize network performance for different public safety applications and use cases.”
– AT&T
A 5G SA core differs from a non-standalone (NSA) core in that it is not tied to a legacy 4G LTE core infrastructure. This allows for a dedicated services underpinning with more network efficiencies to support potentially higher network speeds and can tap into more 5G-specific services like network slicing, automation, orchestration, and mobile Edge computing (MEC).
“With this approach, public safety isn’t just getting access to a single slice of a commercial network; the whole network core will be customized for their connectivity needs,” the carrier noted.
