The future of public safety communications

The ninth annual APCO Australasia conference was held on the Gold Coast, Queensland from 12-14 March.

Police, fire, ambulance and critical communication services met with radio product and software providers at the Gold Coast Conference Centre to talk about ‘The future of public safety communications and what does it look like?’

Exhibitors included ComGroup, Auria Wireless, Zetron, Motorola Solutions, Icom and Harris.

The major topics talked about at the event included LTE and where it is heading; social media and how this will help public safety agencies in the future; phase II of the P25 standard and how this will affect the user; and why dedicated spectrum is needed for public safety communications in Australia.

The 37 presentations were held in two streams with topics covering international communications and disaster relief; the role of spatial information and how it can be managed; using cloud computing to improve public safety outcomes; tapping into social media to build awareness; P25 phase II interoperable communications for public safety; the future of mobility and mobile computing; harmonising government radio networks and the 400 MHz LMR band plan; 4G/LTE technology in public safety; P25 and TETRA standards current status and future directions; and allocation of broadband spectrum for Australia’s public safety services.

The 2013 conference will be held in Adelaide, South Australia, at the Adelaide Convention Centre. For more information, please visit the APCO website.