This is an article on how to order FIRSTNET DEPLOYABLES and DEVICES.
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If you are an ATT customer, you can get a First Net acct for your personal phone/device and get all the benefits. Much less expensive than standard acct. Better coverage, no throttling. From what I’ve read they are struggling to obtain customers and make First Net a viable program.
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I tried the First Net service but they couldn’t switch my existing number to the account so I ended up getting a separate phone. It didn’t have the same service as my existing phone contract and luckily I kept my old phone and number in service. I ended up canceling it because I never used it. Just my experience, hopefully it works better for others.
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I’ve been using Firstnet since it first started and have been very happy with it. They did transfer my phone number, the price is very good, no real issues with service and discount on additional lines/products/accessories.
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Was ATT your provider originally? I don’t have it yet, but from what the ATT guy told me, it’s backboned onto ATT network plus a few additional frequencies. He also told me nothing would really change, I’d still log into my ATT account, pay ATT the monthly charge, etc…
Yes, I’m an ATT customer. I even went into one of the official stores and they couldn’t get it switched over but it was at the infancy of the program, so it is probably better now. I also don’t get out as often as most so never really got a chance to see what the true functions were.
I’ve had Firstnet since it came out and have been very happy with the service. On the Dixie fire at the Westwood camp I was getting almost 80 mbps download speed! It was more than enough to stream the remote briefing from Chico. The rest of the family is on ATT. Firstnet has a completely different log in site which is a little challenging to navigate through. Firstnet’s customer service is much better than the regular ATT customer service.
I was Verizon prior to Firstnet. It is a little clunky between the overlap with ATT and Firstnet with the websites and such but not enough for me to discourage anyone from signing up.
I’m not discouraging anyone from signing up, it just didn’t work for me.
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I apologize as that does not read the way I intended. I was not in any way meaning you were discouraging anyone.
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All good here, didn’t take it that way. Just pointing out the issue I had. Have a Merry Christmas.
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I’ve been a firstnet customer since it was launched in California. It has been very good for me. I was on the Glass last year and the only one on my engine that had consistent service. Similarly on the Silverado in SoCal. My crew had iPhones and androids on the Dixie west and the coverage on firstnet worked better than the 1 ATT phone and the 2 other Verizon phones. All used my phone for a hotspot for all 3 phones at the same time with no issues. Coverage has improved consistently over the years and continues. Verizon has had better coverage in remote areas in years past, but I believe that is diminishing.
Important side note, if you have a personal firstnet account and you go on an deployment, you need to contact firstnet and let them know what incident you’re assigned so they can add your number to the fire’s area network. Agency phones don’t have to do this step. It’s just calling 611 when in route or once you get your deployment papers.
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The worst experience ever! I had first net for over a year and a half. The worst customer service! My bill was never the same it would go up and down every month. I would have to call to get it fixed every month. When you call it’s a different number then the regular AT&T .The cell service was worse then ATT. The only positive thing was at large sporting events or concerts you would get priority service. I switched back to AT&T and just get the first responder discount. Maybe it’s changed but this was when AT&T took over the contract from Verizon a few years ago.
Just to clarify from current customers, you don’t deal with ATT as a firstnet user? The sales person conveyed to me that nothing changes for the end user. You log into your ATT account and everything is done via ATT. Not that that is any big benefit as ATT customer service sucks, but whateva…I’m more interested in still using the ATT website for my account.
The benefit monetarily is unlimited data at $55 w/hotspot, $45 unlimited but no hotspot.
Just using the ATT first responder discount, it look like $20 more than the above for the same plan, which is 25% off the off the street plans.
tumbleweed- It is still run by ATT, but there is a different site to log into. https://www.firstnet.com/
I wasn’t aware that Verizon had Firstnet. I thought ATT was Firstnet and Verizon launched their own first responder platform shortly after… I’ve been on Firstnet since the end of 2018 and it’s been really good for the most part. I would say that their customer service is better than the regular ATT.
It is ATT and not Verizon. ATT eventually came back to wireless after the Government required them to divest due to the “monopoly” clause in the laws. ATT became PacBell in California then Cingular. Once the ATT conversion from cingular took place, ATT and one other European company bid on the federal governments request for a nationwide emergency services network be deployed. Verizon chose not to bid… lots of reasons. Firstnet is ATT but a completely different organization under the ATT umbrella. It has a directive from the FCC to provide 95-99% coverage with in a certain time frame and a comprehensive support network for emergency services.
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Is it a private company or governmental (involved)?
A separate division of ATT. It’s a government contract/ joint venture. It gives them access to eminent domain to place their towers and infrastructure to achieve the governmental coverage requirements. I don’t believe they have had to utilize that option yet.
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Trying to understand the main differences (besides plan rates)
ATT First Net vs Virizon Frontline
They both seem to offer discounts for first responders along with Priority voice and data
What else am I missing ?