Gregg Riddle

At APCO International’s Annual Blue & White Gala on Aug. 9, the association will swear in the new Executive Committee of the Board of Directors, promoting current First Vice President Gregg Riddle to president.

Public Safety Communications caught up with Riddle prior to the conference for a quick look into what he hopes his term has in store.

Question: Now that you’re about to take office, what do you want to accomplish first?
I am hopeful that APCO, along with our partners in the Public Safety Alliance [PSA], will see our goal of having Congress allocate the 700 MHz spectrum known as the D Block and adequate funding to build out a nationwide broadband network to public safety, and define a governance model. The PSA and its partners are looking for this to occur prior to the 10th anniversary of Sept. 11, 2011.

Question: What do you see as the biggest challenge for public safety communications in the coming year? And how do you plan to tackle it?
The biggest challenge will be the implementation of a 700 MHz nationwide broadband network once the D Block has been allocated to public safety. This new network will be a very large undertaking, and I plan to work with the other PSA partners and federal agencies that will be needed to make public safety broadband a reality.

Question: Regarding the D Block, what progress do you hope for in the next few months? If public safety secures the spectrum, what will be its next steps in making a nationwide interoperable public safety broadband network a reality?
The very first thing that needs to happen is Congress passes legislation allocating the D Block to public safety along with adequate funding and a governance structure. The allocation and the governance need to be part of the legislation. The funding model is based on incentive auctions of spectrum primarily held by the broadcasters. So the funding flow will come later after spectrum has been identified and auctioned. A portion of the auction proceeds would then come to the new governing board for use in building out the network. While the funding is being secured, the governing board could work on the governance documents and the details of making sure the network will be completely interoperable.

APCO will continue to work closely with the PSA partners to make sure the public safety broadband network becomes a reality.

Question: Is there an initiative you are excited to tackle (or passionate about taking on) during your APCO presidency?
My passion is for the association and growing it, and not any single issue. In my October magazine column, I will detail many of the issues and activities that make up APCO. I have thought about this, and I do not see myself introducing anything new to our association.

There are numerous projects that will carry over into my presidency, but the one project that I am looking forward to concluding is the hiring of a new executive director.

Question: What do you see as APCO’s greatest accomplishment under President Bill Carrow?
Two things that have been moved very passionately by President Carrow have been our relationship with CALEA and ProCHRT [APCO’s Professional Communications Human Resource Taskforce]. CALEA will be an ongoing activity, and ProCHRT will be submitting a final report this fall.