Welcome to APCO International's 5th Annual Winter Summit

Monday

7:30am - 8:30am
Registration/ Continental Breakfast

8:45am - 10:45am
What Communications Centers can learn from Corporate America
Laura Lozano, Senior Director of Customer Advocacy & Quality , Motorola, Inc., Mark Killick, Director of Customer Satisfaction, Government & public Safety, Motorola, Inc.

Best practices from corporate America applied to public safety communications centers (Applications of the Digital Six-Sigma Culture to Public Safety Communications). Focus on customer-centered business practices that drive organizational performance and how these practices can be applied to public safety communications centers. Applications of Digital Six-Sigma Topics will include utilization of a balanced scorecard, customer-centered strategic planning, benchmarking, and the connection between performance and employee development and information best practices. This session will identify best practices of corporate performance and how to apply these practices to public safety communications centers.

11:00am - 12:00pm
Are IP technologies really ready for mission critical communications systems?

John Facella, PE, Director, Public Safety Markets, Tyco Electronics' M/A-COM

Many public safety agencies are reluctant to utilize Internet Protocol (IP) technology for public safety radio communications. However, IP-based technologies have already demonstrated their usefulness and value in business and industry, and more and more critical communications networks are moving to IP because of these advantages. What are some of the benefits of IP technologies, and why are those technologies well-suited to public safety radio communications? Are all IP systems created equal?

12:00pm - 1:00pm
Lunch /Sponsor Demo

1:00pm - 2:15pm
Sorting Through the Confusion: 150 & 450 MHZ Mandatory Narrowbanding
Alan Tilles, Shulman Rogers Gandal Pordy & Ecker, P.A.;
Rodney Grim, Business Development Manager, Icom America Inc.

Narrowbanding in the 150 and 450 MHz band has met with confusion, changed rules and misleading information. During this session, attendees will be guided through the morass, enabling reasonable decision based upon accurate and current information.

2:30pm - 3:45pm
Funding Interoperable Communications
Thomas Miller, Director – Public Safety Programs, Motorola, Inc.

This presentation is designed to assist participants develop a comprehensive strategy to fund interoperable communications projects. The session will cover topics such as: funding trends, grant development, political strategies, alternative funding options, and grant updates.

4:00pm - 5:00pm
Vendor Time

5:30 - 7:00
Welcome networking reception

Tuesday

8:00am - 8:30am
Registration/ Continental Breakfast

8:45am - 10:45am
Leveraging Broadband to Improve Public Safety and Emergency Crisis Response – Lessons learned from the Minneapolis Bridge Collapse 
James Farstad, President of rClient, LLC and nationally recognized advisor to Local Governments

One of the core value propositions offered by Local Government Wireless Broadband infrastructures is the ability to transform delivery of Local Government services through low cost, on demand access to information and systems from remote locations and mobile environments.  Real change is possible in the ways governments enable public safety and respond to emergencies.  Effective business transformation processes and value-added application integration are cornerstones to success in realizing the promise of Digital City initiatives.  The roles of  Local Government CIOs, Public Safety Officers and Broadband Network Services Providers continue to evolve at a rapid pace.  The tools available to make our streets safer are changing as well.  James Farstad, President of rClient, LLC and nationally recognized advisor to Local Governments will talk about how Broadband technology is enabling local governments improve Public Safety and how these tools were used in Minneapolis during the 35W Bridge Collapse Emergency Crisis Response.

11:00am - 12:00pm
FMC: Where is my caller?

Mary Boyd, Vice President, Intrado Inc.

As wireless and VoIP converge, the service area is no longer defined by local coverage areas but by the network on which the call is made.  The service provider and access provider are not always the same.  Public safety policy discussions are ongoing to help the industry keep pace, particularly from the perspective of making sure calls are correctly routed (based on the caller’s location) and automatic location information is provided directly into the native 9-1-1 network. As convergence creates a new world of technical challenges in 9-1-1 delivery, how do we ensure that the public can access an emergency response agency when needed, and how can we ensure that the public safety communications professionals have the necessary information to process the call quickly and accurately?

12:00pm - 1:00pm
Lunch /Sponsor Demo

1:00pm - 2:15pm
800 MHz Rebanding:  Getting to the Home Stretch
Bob Gurss, APCO International Legal and Government Affairs Director and Fletcher, Heald & Hildreth attorney; David Furth, Associate Bureau Chief of the Public Safety & Homeland Security Bureau; Bret Haan, 800 MHz Transition Administrator l; Chuck Jackson, Motorola; Daniella Marcella, Tyco Electronics M/A-Com; Sprint representative TBA

The 800 MHz rebanding process is supposed to end in June 2008, but much still needs to be finished, and for many it will undoubtedly require significantly more time.   This session will provide the latest information from the FCC staff regarding the commission’s efforts to expedite the process, a briefing from the Transition Administrator on current status and procedures, and presentations from, Sprint Nextel,  Motorola and M/A-COM regarding remaining impediments.   Many 800 MHz licensees are now in or will soon be in the implementation stages.  The focus of this session will be to provide licensees with the information they need to get over remaining “bumps in the road” and reach the finish line for rebanding. .

2:30pm - 3:45pm
Public & Private Partnerships - Nevada Shared Radio System
Mark Pallans, Radio System Administrator, Nevada Shared Radio System

The ideal communication system is one that is inherently interoperable not only between governmental agencies but also with the critical infrastructure industries that support communities. The NSRS does all of this. The system allows state, local and federal agencies, Native American tribes and energy companies to communicate internally on a daily basis and as a totally interoperable system when the need arises. This presentation describes the development and administration of this award winning system.

4:00pm - 5:00pm

NG9-1-1 101: What is the Next Generation of 9-1-1?

Bob Smith, Moderator, Director of Comm Center & 9-1-1 Services, APCO International; Michael Pedigo, Chair APCO Project 41; Deb Caruthers, 9-1-1 Coordinator, Orange County, Florida; Stephen J. Wisely, Technical Services Manager, APCO International; Ric Atkins, Assistant Director, Tarrant County 9-1-1 District, TX

What exactly is the Next Generation of 9-1-1?  When will it be here?  What benefits will it bring and do we know how much it might cost my agency?  Hear answers to some of these questions and more during this “Town Hall Meeting” with the group tasked with spearheading APCO International’s activities in the NG9-1-1 arena – the Steering Committee of APCO Project (41) LOCATE-VoIP and Emerging Technology Location Delivery Challenges. This panel session will include an extensive question and answer period that will allow attendees to ask questions of the Steering Committee and present their concerns, issues and recommendations for moving forward as our industry begins the transition into the Next Generation of 9-1-1.

 

Wednesday

8:00am - 8:30am
Registration/ Continental Breakfast

8:45am - 10:45am
What Can the 700 MHz Nationwide Network Project Learn from the 800 MHz Rebanding Experience?
Arthur Katz,  Principal, Katz Law Office, P.C.

As rebanding enters it last stages, the FCC's ambitious plan for a nationwide 700 MHz network will generate a new shared adventure for public safety communication. To be built through a public-private partnering process, the network project, like rebanding, offers enhanced safety for millions of people once billions of dollars make their way from and to the necessary parties. With the same FCC creativity that gave birth to the 800 MHz Transition Administrator, a new special-purpose entity called the Public Safety Broadband Licensee is to be charged with representing the public safety community and negotiating (within FCC mandates) terms of service with the auction-winning company whose 700 MHz license will oblige it to build the new public safety network. Can we draw on the rebanding experience and the associated conflicts, frustrations and revelations to ease the road to 700 MHZ national interoperability and achieve practical, efficient outcomes that are responsive to needs at the local agency level? A public-private panel including veterans of rebanding and key players in the 700 MHz challenge will offer their perspective.

11:00am - 12:00pm
The Rising Tide of Multi-Media
Dan Robinson, Area Sales Manager, NICE Systems

Investigations often hinge on multimedia - voice recordings, surveillance video, GPS data and even cell phone photos. The problem is -- today, most of this information is stored in different formats and systems that weren't designed for interoperability. With Next Gen 9-1-1, a rising tide of multimedia will make its way into the digital information stream. Learn what your PSAP needs to do today to plan ahead.

12:00pm - 1:00pm
Lunch/ Sponsor Demo

1:00pm - 3:00pm
Is 700 MHz Broadband in your Future?
Migration of Public Safety Radio - Evolution vs Revolution?
Ron Haraseth, Manager, Public Services, BearingPoint, Management & Technology Consultants; Stephen T. Devine Manager, Public Services BearingPoint; David L. Funk Manager, Public Services BearingPoint

If Broadband is in your future, learn how your agency can profit from knowing what to keep, what to throw, and how to identify both. Learn how your agency can meet its specific application needs in a new broadband environment.
Understand why your communications system operates the way it does, how it developed the way it has, and how your system's technical limitations affect your every day operations and ability to interoperate with others.
Develop a migration strategy by understanding how your radio system works, why it has developed into the beast it is - good and bad, and how to integrate the best of what you have when you migrate into the next generation of wireless communications products and services.
Learn what you will give up and what you will gain from broadband, what are the pros and cons recognizing and acknowledging the shift between managing an agencies own system and accessing a national network and still meet your agencies needs. Learn to identify the true cost of legacy systems, new technology systems/services and how to make a fair and accurate comparison.
This session will provide a brief review of land mobile radio history - operationally and technically - and why 700 MHz Broadband is such a significant technical shift. An explanation of the underlying technical concepts for legacy systems and systems of the future and how they affect the operational requirements of agency daily, and interoperability, requirements. Exactly what are the components of radio/wireless system - some of which you may not have realized - that affect the true and accurate cost, efficiency, and usability of your system.

3:15pm - 4:30pm
FEATURED PRESENTATION!

National Public Safety Broadband Network: A New Paradigm

Chief Derek Poarch of the FCC’s Public Safety & Homeland Security Bureau

In July 2007, FCC adopted an unprecedented order establishing a single national license for a block of public safety spectrum in the 700 MHz band, and requiring that that the winner of a commercial spectrum auction enter in a public/private partnership with the national public safety licensee to construct a nationwide, interoperable broadband communications network that serves both commercial and public safety users.   The highlight of the session will be presentation by Chief Derek Poarch of the FCC’s Public Safety & Homeland Security Bureau, who will be followed by presentations from leaders and representatives of the national public safety broadband licensee (the “Public Safety Spectrum Trust” or “PSST”).

 

Derek K. Poarch is the Chief of the Commission’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau.  In this position, he will oversee the bureau responsible for FCC activities pertaining to public safety, homeland security, emergency management and disaster preparedness, and will represent the Commission on these issues before federal, state, and industry organizations.
Poarch was previously Director of Public Safety and Chief of Police at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, one of only 30 college and university public safety agencies in the country accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies Inc.  He commanded a department of approximately 300 full and part-time employees providing police, security, and emergency communications services to a university community of 45,000 persons that has more than a million visitors each year.

Poarch is a native of Lenoir, North Carolina and, prior to becoming police chief at UNC, worked 21 years at the Lenoir North Carolina Police Department.   He began his career as a telecommunicator and ascended through the department ranks to become second in command of the department finally holding the rank of Major over department operations.

He was also a commissioner with the North Carolina Criminal Justice Education and Training Standards Commission where he served as Chair of the Education and Training Committee.  In July 2003 he was elected President of the North Carolina Police Executives Association and also previously served on the United States Department of Justice National Community Oriented Policing Resource Board.

Poarch is a 1979 graduate of Western Piedmont Community College in Morganton, North Carolina with an associates degree in Police Science, a 1981 graduate of Gardner-Webb University with a bachelors degree in Social Science with a concentration in criminal justice, and a 1988 graduate of the University of South Carolina with a masters degree in criminal justice.  He also graduated as a dean’s scholar from the Southern Police Institute at the University of Louisville in 1992, and completed the Police Executive Research Forum’s Senior Management Institute for Police in 2006.

*Program is subject to change without notice and/or obligation