The First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet Authority) announced it is adding 220 new cell sites for FirstNet, the nationwide public safety broadband network. The FirstNet Authority Board said the investments would support public safety’s main priority for the network — coverage — and allow new sites to be set up in rural and remote areas.

The FirstNet Authority also said it has approved new investments in essential services on FirstNet. These investments will add new features and abilities to the network’s push-to-talk and situational awareness services, like FirstNet Central.

“The FirstNet Authority is moving forward on network investments with momentum and purpose as we continue to deliver for public safety,” said Sheriff Michael A. Adkinson, chairman of the FirstNet Authority Board. “We are putting our investment dollars to work where it matters most to public safety — expanding coverage, evolving the network, and enhancing the services they rely on every day.”

The FirstNet Authority works with the U.S. Department of Commerce and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to make sure their network investments have the biggest benefit for public safety operations. The FirstNet Authority’s investment funds were increased by a deal from U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick that added $2 billion in extra value to the FirstNet network contract with AT&T earlier this year.

“Building on Secretary Lutnick’s efforts earlier this year to strengthen the FirstNet contract, these important new investments will expand coverage and strengthen capabilities for public safety at lower cost—preserving more public safety dollars for future investments,” said Arielle Roth, assistant secretary of commerce for communications and information and administrator of NTIA. “The Trump Administration is committed to effective oversight and ensuring our nation’s first responders have access to the resilient communications they need to carry out their critical missions.”

This coverage expansion builds on earlier investments in specially designed sites, with more than 350 FirstNet sites now being developed. The FirstNet Authority finds possible new site locations using a data-based process that includes feedback from public safety users, coverage improvement workshops, network coverage reviews and other important data. The FirstNet Authority works with AT&T to decide where new sites can best meet public safety’s coverage needs. The FirstNet Authority’s network investments pay for the new sites, which AT&T then sets up.

“We have a proven approach for turning public safety input into targeted network improvements,” said Michael Cannon, executive director and chief executive officer of the FirstNet Authority. “We are working with public safety across the states and territories, along with the Department of Commerce, NTIA, and the Public Safety Advisory Committee, to prioritize where our investments can have the greatest impact on public safety operations. This will be critical as we look to ramp up the breadth and depth of our investments in the coming year.”

Last month, the Board approved a $1.2 billion budget to support FirstNet Authority operations, savings, and network investments in Fiscal Year 2027. Of that, the Board approved nearly $1.1 billion to improve the network in the coming fiscal year. The FirstNet Authority has made several investments in the network so far, including better in-building coverage and expanding the FirstNet fleet of deployable equipment to help FirstNet users at no cost to them.