When Ed Parkinson was named the acting CEO of the First Responder Network Authority in October of 2018, his assignment related to public safety broadband that has represented a full cycle from a committee policy staffer to overseeing the program he helped legislatively create.
During the fifteen months after the new post, he manages a program with a federal budget of $81 million as monitor of a contract with AT&T. Ed gained the trust of first responders and his colleagues across the industry as FirstNet partners with AT&T to deliver dependable communications solutions to police, fire, and EMS officers around the country.
Ed has been part of FirstNet since its inception. As a staff member of the House Homeland Security Committee prior to the passage of the legislation, Ed was instrumental in writing draft legislation and bringing attention to the need of public safety broadband.