Mr. Bratcher is the Assistant Executive Director and Chief Network and Technology Officer at the FirstNet Authority and also serves as the Chief Network and Technology Officer. His career spans over 30 years in advanced wireless communications within the federal government and private sector. In his current role, he is responsible for the Operations Mission Units leading the Innovation, Network Management, and Procurement activities of the public-private arrangement executing the operation, deployment, and evolution of the Nationwide Public Safety Broadband Network (FirstNet Network). Mr. Bratcher was selected for the Senior Executive Service in December of 2015, and his office is located at the FirstNet Authority’s technical headquarters in Boulder, Colorado.
Prior to joining the FirstNet Authority in 2013, Mr. Bratcher served 10 years at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) Institute for Telecommunication Sciences (ITS) as a Division Chief where he jointly led the creation of the Public Safety Communications Research (PSCR) program with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). He directed the technical programs at PSCR focused on advancing public safety communications for Land Mobile Radio (LMR) and broadband technologies.
Prior to Federal service, Mr. Bratcher spent more than ten years in the private sector wireless industry where he deployed several of the first 2nd and 3rd Generation wireless cellular systems across the United States as well as numerous international markets. Mr. Bratcher received his BS in Electrical Engineering from Texas Tech University and his MS in Telecommunications from Southern Methodist University. During his tenure at the Department of Commerce he has been recognized with multiple Gold, Silver, and Bronze awards for advancing public safety wireless communications. In 2020, he received the APCO Leadership in Advocacy award and in 2023 he was elevated to Fellow of the Radio of Club of America.
