On February 29, APCO International’s Government Relations team hosted a free webinar on Title VI of H.R. 3630; Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012, covering the public safety spectrum section of the legislation. The webinar is now available for viewing at http://apcointl.org/images/webinar/2012-29-29-20mhz_npsbn.wmv. Presentation materials from the event can be downloaded at http://apcointl.org/images/webinar/hr3630webinar2012feb29.pdf.

Joining APCO’s Government Relations team as presenters were Richard Mirgon, Past President of APCO International and Andy Seybold, Vice-Chair of APCO’s Broadband Committee. The group gave an overview of key components of the landmark bill and provided valuable details about what the legislation means for the future of public-safety communications. Topics included: a description of the governing authority for the Nationwide Public Safety Broadband Network (PSBN) – the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet), information on the many programs funded through the legislation, the advancement of Next Generation 9-1-1 technologies and a discussion on the T-Band spectrum give back.