APCO generates excitement – industry is back on the road 

APCO – Expo Hall buzzing, Sessions featured good engagement  

Arrived Saturday night so I could attend the Sunday sessions. The public safety radio sessions were stacked to Sunday – while the rest of the week seemed to focus on ECC operations and NG-911.   

The first panel of the day featured talk about the transition from LMR to LTE, featuring Steve Devine of FirstNet by AT&T, Don Griffis of L3 Harris, and moderator Neil Horden – formerly of Federal Engineering and now doing direct consulting work.  

The discussion was lively and featured many questions from the audience that had a good number of FCC License holder – radio system administrators.  

The next session featured a NPSTC update from Don Root. Don is also the co-chair of one of our No Noise Task Force Work Groups, and I was thrilled that Don’s presentation featured three slides and a 10-minute segment about the NNTF.  

Another session later that day featured a fascinating deep-dive into the role 5G and private networks might play in public safety communications and dispatch. This presentation featured Fabricio Velez of Nokia. We agreed to have a follow up session in the coming weeks.  

Dream Team Dinner  

On Sunday evening I was delighted to host a dinner featuring radio industry legends Don Root of NPSTC and Harlin McEwen The table was rounded out by industry analyst and First Responder Ken Rehbehn, and Neil Horden.  The stories were better than the meal, and the meal at Ostra, on the River Walk, was outstanding!  

L-R Don Root, Harlin McEwen, JF, Neil Horden, Ken Rehbehn