The Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) International hosted a town hall meeting on the FCC Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau Notice Seeking Comment on Petitions for Waivers to Deploy 700-MHz Public Safety Broadband Networks during its 75th Annual Conference and Exposition in Las Vegas. During the meeting, representatives of petitioners who filed waiver requests with the FCC to deploy the 700-MHz public safety broadband network discussed the issue.

APCO International's leadership called on all members, colleagues and the industry to fully engage with APCO International, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and others in the development of standards and consensus building to ensure the long-term success of our nation's effort to build a public safety broadband network in the 700-MHz spectrum.

APCO International kicked off the meeting by reiterating the association's commitment to 700-MHz broadband deployment, and the need for coordinated testing and development.

"APCO International's position is that deployments should utilize Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology as a common platform to capitalize on the current nationwide infrastructure," APCO International Spectrum Committee Chair Mark Pallans said. "APCO International leadership has charged our committee to lead and inform this discussion, ensure honest, fact-based and open debate, and secure progress. Public safety can neither wait, nor be too hasty in this process. We must have progress in the immediate, short, and long term."

Many who rose to speak during the two-hour town hall meeting that included more than 300 attendees echoed the call for standards development to come out of the Public Safety Spectrum Trust's (PSST) current Scope of Requirements initiative, in which APCO International is participating as part of a national ad hoc public safety coalition.

"We, in public safety, are at a significant crossroads," President-Elect Richard Mirgon said. "Broadband deployment must happen now. The decisions APCO International makes in the next few months could well define our nation's ability to ensure success for the next generation of public safety communications."

For more information on the FCC Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau Notice Seeking Comment on Petitions for Waivers to Deploy 700-MHz Public Safety Broadband Networks visit http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-09-1819A1.pdf.

For more information on APCO International's 75th Annual Conference and Exposition, visit www.apco2009.org. For more information on APCO, visit www.apcointl.org.