Edward Parkinson, who's led the FirstNet leadership as interim CEO and director since 2018, has been promoted to serve in the role full-time.

Panelists at the Consumer Electronics Show suggested cities hire people — which they referred to as "lookers" — to manage civic-tech pilot projects.

An original list of 17 devices has grown nearly tenfold as of 2020 and includes many popular devices, including iPhone and Samsung Galaxy smartphones.

The budget also includes $82 million in reserve funding and $145 million in network reinvestment.

Expanding the network's "deployables fleet" and improving in-building coverage fall under six priorities outlined in FirstNet's latest planning document.

The contract will allow Verizon and AT&T to provide dedicated service to public safety agencies in Massachusetts.

San Jose, California, will equip 10 agencies — including police, fire and environmental services — with devices that run on the new network for public-safety communications.

More than 7,250 public safety agencies have signed onto FirstNet, according to AT&T, the contractor building the network. Officials say mission-critical capabilities will be rolled out throughout the year.

The FirstNet board established a set of principles for investments into the network, signaling an intention to build a roadmap to guide future improvements.