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IWCE/MRT Wireless Summit 2007 Conference Information
Tuesday, November 13
10:00 am – 11:00 am
Registration Opens and Coffee with Sponsors
11:00 am – 11:15 am
Welcoming Comments
11:15 am – 12:00 pm
Keynote Address by Derek Poarch, Chief, Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau, US Federal Communications Commission
Derek Poarch, Chief of the FCC's Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau, will discuss the Commission and the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau -- its mission and outreach efforts --in the area of public safety communications. His remarks will also highlight key FCC proceedings and initiatives impacting wireless communications in America.
12:00 pm – 1:30 pm
Lunch with Sponsors
BREAKOUTS
1:30 pm – 2:30 pm
Migrating to a Radio over IP Environment - Challenges, Solutions, Benefits
Doug Hall, Technical Leader, Safety and Security Business Unit, Cisco Systems
With the increasing acceptance of digital two-way radio technology and a growing desire on the part of land mobile radio users to enjoy the interoperability benefits and cost savings associated with IP, public agencies and private network operators are investing time and money to understand how to incorporate these new technologies into their infrastructure. However, moving from analog to digital in one leap can introduce unacceptably high financial costs and operational risks.
This session discusses high level challenges, strategies and solutions for migrating to cost effective, spectrum efficient, radio over IP environment and enables advanced applications.
Understand the process of moving to a mixed analog and digital system, minimizing up front costs and operational risks, while enjoying the benefits associated with implementing an IP backbone. In addition, discover how to assess your current infrastructure to scope what changes and upgrades would be required to move to an IP or hybrid network, and how common LMR applications such as linking, remoting, backhauling and voting operate in a hybrid network.
Examine IP in an interoperable environment, through Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology. VoIP - specifically packet switching - has been heralded as holding great promise for solving many of the problems posed by dissimilar systems. Examine the state of packet-switched VoIP interoperability solutions from an industry perspective and discusses the future of these solutions.
Learn about new resources for helping organizations and radio communications technicians moving toward an IP environment.
What the 700 MHz Plan Means to Public Safety
Moderator: Donny Jackson, Senior Writer, MRT Magazine
Morgan O'Brien, Co-Founder and Chairman, Cyren Call Communications
Review the ruling that establishes a framework for a 700 MHz public safety/private partnership. Receive an update on the status of the 700 MHz spectrum auction and the impact on public safety.
BREAKOUTS
2:40 pm – 3:40 pm
The Promise of WiMAX and Wireless Mesh
Robin Grier, President, Catalyst Communications Technologies
Nanda Ramachandran, Manager, Strategy & Business Intelligence, Motorola Inc.
Paul May, Business Development Manager, M/A-COM, Inc.
Wireless Broadband has already transformed law enforcement and public safety efficiency and effectiveness nationwide, enabling public safety agencies to control traffic locations, connect to cameras throughout their jurisdiction and use broadband connectivity to vehicles. Examine the potential for both WiMAX and Mesh networks - technology benefits and roadmap, spectrum choices for deployment and case studies of industry updates.
Interference - Preventing It, Finding It, Curing It
Steve Thomas, Product Manager, Anritsu
Proper frequency planning has become the most critical piece of system design. Proper frequency planning can minimize the risk of interference once operations have been deployed. However, no matter how carefully the system is planned, interference occurs more and more often as our radio spectrum becomes increasingly crowded. Discover how to use the TIA TSB-88 protocols to effectively design systems in a mixed bandwidth environment, and discuss how to locate the various types of interference that can occur.
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3:40 pm – 4:15 pm
Refreshment break with Sponsors
4:15 pm – 5:30 pm
General Session: Emergency Operation Center Demonstration
Conference Supporter: Public Safety Broadband Consortium
Michael Doble, CEO, Public Safety Broadband Consortium
Get a real-time, real-world demonstration of what broadband wireless can do for public safety. Using the ballroom as the command center, police cars equipped with video cameras and routers will simulate a crisis situation in the parking lot of the resort. Attendees can view the demonstration on the screen in the hotel ballroom, viewing exactly what the officers see as well as the interactivity between the command center and the cars. In addition, the command center can send the officers updated displays in real time directly to the screens in the cars – all over a 4.9 GHz mesh network. After the demonstration, attendees can sign up to ride along in the police cars as they showcase the equipment and its interactivity.
5:30 pm – 7:30 pm
Networking Reception with Sponsors
Wednesday, November 14
7:30 am – 8:15 am
Continental Breakfast with Sponsors
8:15 am – 9:15 am
General Session: The Reality of 800 MHz Rebanding
Moderator: Donny Jackson, Senior Writer, MRT Magazine
Chuck Jackson, Motorola Communications and Electronics, Inc. (MCEI) Vice President and Director of System Operations, Motorola, Inc.
Alan Tilles, Attorney, Shulman, Rogers, Gandal, Pordy & Ecker, P.A.
Andy Maxymillian, Consultant, Blue Wing Services
John Bush, Program Manager, 800MHz Transition Administrator
William Jenkins, Vice President, Spectrum Management, Sprint Nextel Corporation
Delays, extensions and mediations. What are the holdups, and when will they be resolved? Examine problems that have been encountered, solutions which have been developed, and issues that still must be addressed.
BREAKOUTS:
9:20 am – 10:20 am
An Overview of P25 and Where It is Leading
Conference Supporter: Project 25 Technology Interest Group
Neil Horden, Program Manager, Project 25 Technology Interest Group (PTIG)
Larry Nyberg, Public Safety Standards Development, Motorola, Inc.
Mark Snyder, Senior Principal MTS, General Dynamics Wireless Services
Project 25 is growing and will impact almost every aspect of land mobile radio. This year has been pivotal for Project 25 with several significant additions to the standard and many new companies entering the market. Review the latest Project 25 initiatives as well as discuss where this is all leading.
The Tower Conflict: Service vs. Siting
Connie Durscak, Senior Director of Industry & Government Relations, PCIA
Edward Donohue, Donohue & Blue
Everyone wants unlimited wireless service, but no one wants towers in their neighborhood. How do you rectify the need for service with the considerations for siting? Listen to this debate between PCIA and a county representative who’s been through the fight.
10:20 am – 10:45 am
Coffee Break with Sponsors
BREAKOUTS
10:45 am – 11:45 am
Current Developments in Broadband Wireless Data for Public Safety
Moderator: Stephen T. Devine, Manager, Public Services, BearingPoint Management & Technology Consultants
Panelists: Jill Rohret, Regional Radio Services Coordinator, Metropolitan Emergency Services Board
Kenneth C. Budka, Technical Manager - Bell Labs Research, Alcatel-Lucent
Dr. Stagg Newman, Chief Technologist, Frontline Wireless
Mark Adams, Chief Architect Networks & Communications, Northrop Grumman Information Technology
Regulatory changes occurring in the 700 MHz public safety band will enable use of more bandwidth-intensive applications by public safety such as streaming video, Internet access, records management systems (RMS) and access to remote databases in near real time. The introduction of new broadband wireless technologies capable of being implemented in public safety spectrum have seen the emergence of new hardware and software providers that will bring more competition to the public safety marketplace as broadband services are introduced. The governance of such broadband capabilities in public safety spectrum with a single licensee nationwide is a concept introduced by the FCC which will change forever the landscape of public safety data and establish a new public safety IP based data services model to be implemented. Topics in this panel will center on how this new governance model and new commercial technologies will effect public safety broadband
implementation, where the true definition of public safety data interoperability lies and how it can be achieved.
Alternative Power Sources for Public Safety Wireless
Mike Lee, President and CEO, Elevated Security
Severe weather can disrupt and debilitate wireless communications. When the commercial power grid isn't available, alternative power sources such as wind power, solar power and hydrogen fuel cells may be the ideal solution when continuous power is an absolute requirement.
11:45 am – 12:45 pm
Lunch with Sponsors
BREAKOUTS
12:45 pm – 1:45 pm
Future of Wireless Communications
Moderator: Glenn Bischoff. Editor, MRT Magazine
Lee Lupton, Business Development Manager, Locus Location Systems, LLC
Austin Comerton, Manager Business Development, Mobile Satellite Ventures
Victor Lee, Senior Consultant, International Biometric Group, LLC
A forward-looking view that identifies emerging wireless services and technologies for public safety and other end users. Understand the capabilities and benefits of the latest advances in wireless technologies such as biometrics, RFID, satellite and personnel tracking and asset management tools and what future devices will be able to provide.
Leveraging Metro Area Networks for Public Safety and Enterprise
Craig Settles, President, Successful.com
As more and more cities launch their own citywide networks, discuss the impact on the public safety community. Examine technology issues such as spectrum, digital technology, Wi-Fi and WiMAX, as well as acceptance, economic development, access problems and funding and the influence on existing wireless systems.
1:50 pm – 2:50 pm
General Session/Panel: Point/Counterpoint: Public Safety’s Wish List and Technology’s Reality
Moderator: Glenn Bischoff. Editor, MRT Magazine
PS Panelists:
Stephen T. Devine, Manager, Public Services, BearingPoint Management & Technology Consultants
Robert LeGrande, Former Deputy CTO, Office of the Chief Technology Officer (OCTO), Government of the District of Columbia and Founder, LeGrande Technical and Social Services, LLC
Ben D. Holycross, Radio Systems Manager, Division of Emergency Management Radio Services, Polk County Department of Public Safety
Vendor Panelists:
John Facella, Director & Market Manager, Public Safety, M/A-COM Wireless Systems Business Unit
Robert T. Rouleau, Co-founder and CEO (now retired), Dataradio
Roman W. Kaluta, Director, Interoperability Solutions - Public Safety Liaison, JPS Communications Network Centric Systems, Raytheon
Join a panel of public safety representatives and key vendors as they debate the future of wireless communications. First responders and other end users present issues that affect the everyday needs of the average officer, firefighter, paramedic, etc. with real world examples. The vendors have an opportunity to respond to their needs, and to discuss what wireless communications technology can do to make the user's work and life safer and better.
2:50 pm – 3:00 pm
Closing Remarks
Glenn Bischoff, Editor, MRT Magazine