With over 235 attendees, representing 35 states as well as the District of Columbia and Canada, APCO’s 6th Annual Broadband Summit has come to a close. The Summit kicked off with a welcome address from APCO President Brent Lee greeting a packed room at the Renaissance Hotel in Washington, DC, on May 16.

APCO’s Jeff Cohen and Congressman Frank Pallone discuss the SANDy Act

Following his welcome, President Lee introduced Fred Scalera, Captain David Brady, and Michael Rohrbacher, public safety officials from New Jersey and New Mexico, who presented on theFirstNet early network builds in their respective states. The day continued with presentations on 9-1-1 location accuracy, cutting edge technology demonstrations, and updates on recent federal, state, and regulatory policy affecting the public safety communications field. APCO was also pleased that Congressman Frank Pallone and Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel were able to attend the Summit and offer remarks on their efforts to advance the interests of public safety communications professionals on Capitol Hill and at the FCC.

On Tuesday, Mike Poth, CEO of FirstNet, delivered an update on FirstNet’s progress toward implementing the nationwide, interoperable, public safety broadband network. The Director of the DHS Office of Emergency Communications, Ron Hewitt, addressed the audience before lunch on the issue of data interoperability and gave an overview of services available to stakeholders through his agency. The final portion of the Summit included sessions on a variety of broadband developments, including LTE, 5G, local control, mobile apps, and quality of service for public safety.

Thank you to everyone who attended the 2016 Broadband Summit. Presentations are being posted online here, and be sure to check out the photos. For a list of upcoming APCO events, visit www.apcointl.org/events.