BOISE, IDAHO – June 29, 2021 – Cradlepoint, the global leader in cloud-delivered LTE and 5G wireless network edge solutions, today announced the launch of its revised FirstConnect program for public safety agencies. Connected technology is a critical enabler for first responders and public safety agencies to do their jobs, often while making lifesaving decisions. But funding is often a barrier to replacing legacy systems and obtaining technology needed to do their jobs. Over 5,000 public safety agencies around the world rely on Cradlepoint wireless network solutions. To better support existing and new customers, the revised Cradlepoint FirstConnect program provides grant resources, equipment recycling, and other expanded elements to help public safety agencies with the challenges of funding, deploying, and supporting in-vehicle and other networks needed for enabling cutting-edge connected technology.
The Cradlepoint FirstConnect 2.0 program consists of three elements:
More than $600 billion in nationwide grant money is available to public safety agencies and local governments each year. The FirstConnect Program helps agencies find and apply for grants that can fund the wealth of new technologies and applications that aid frontline responders in their life-saving work. This grant assistance program is for law enforcement, fire rescue, EMS, and healthcare agencies, and is powered by PoliceOne, FireRescueOne, EMSGrantsHelp, and GovGrantsHelp, the largest network of grant resources for responders. The Cradlepoint FirstConnect program is available to both existing and prospective Cradlepoint customers and helps agencies obtain reliable and secure network solutions so they can act faster, be more productive, stay safer and better protect their communities.
New this year is the FirstConnect Recycling Program that is designed to collect, repurpose, and recycle Cradlepoint products that have reached their end of useful life. The program is open to all Cradlepoint public safety customers enrolled in the Cradlepoint FirstConnect Program or those who are in the process of becoming a customer. This program reduces the burden on IT teams and the impact of used electronics in landfills.
Cradlepoint’s FirstConnect first responder charity contribution is administered under its CradlepointCares community involvement initiative. For 2021, Cradlepoint is committing $50,000 to vetted charitable foundations that support our first responder community. This year’s recipients are: The First Responders Children’s Foundation (https://1strcf.org/), an organization committed to ensuring that the children of first responders receive the resources necessary to help them thrive and become the heroes of tomorrow; and Leary Firefighters Foundation (LFF) (www.learyfirefighters.org), founded by actor Denis Leary after the loss of his cousin and a childhood friend in an abandoned warehouse fire. LFF’s mission is to provide funding and resources for fire departments to obtain the best available equipment, technology, and training.
As a company, our commitment to the men and women on the frontlines of public safety runs deeper than revenue,” says Todd Krautkremer, CMO at Cradlepoint. “This was the genesis of our FirstConnect program. Help public safety agencies acquire, deploy and support the vital network technology they need to keep their first responders safe and productive in these changing times.”
Since Cradlepoint’s FirstConnect program inception in 2019, more than 350 agencies have leveraged the program and this year is already seeing renewed and increasing interest.
The Cradlepoint FirstConnect program helps public safety agencies obtain reliable network solutions for the most up-to-date technology and applications to help them act faster, improve communication, stay safer, and better protect their communities. These challenges include finding and applying for grant monies to help fund purchases and referrals to logistical and technical resources for installation of in-vehicle routers, training of IT and operational staff, and priority access to knowledgeable support resources around the clock at a moment’s notice.
Cradlepoint is a global leader in cloud-delivered 4G and 5G wireless network edge solutions. Cradlepoint’s NetCloud™ platform and cellular routers deliver a pervasive, secure, and software-defined Wireless WAN edge to connect people, places, and things – anywhere. More than 25,000 businesses and government agencies around the world, including many Global 2000 organizations and top public sector agencies, rely on Cradlepoint to keep mission-critical sites, points of commerce, field forces, vehicles, and IoT devices always connected. Cradlepoint was founded in 2006, acquired by Ericsson in 2020, and operates today as a standalone subsidiary within Ericsson’s Business Area Technologies and New Businesses. Cradlepoint is headquartered in Boise, Idaho, with development centers in Silicon Valley and India and international offices in the UK and Australia. www.cradlepoint.com
