Must-read technology

Apr 1, 2005 12:00 PM, By Mark Hickey

When I stepped in as publisher of MRT in late fall of 2003, we inherited an ongoing marketing campaign for the magazine: MRT stood for “Must-Read Technology.” It was a clever play on our “call letters” and defined the direction we wanted to take MRT and, on a grander scale, also described the quickening pace of technology transformation in the land mobile radio industry.

The expanding and central role our industry plays in the safety, security and commerce issues of our day requires a new generation of technology and, more important, new skills and expertise to make it a reality. It is both an exciting and daunting time with a whole host of challenges and opportunities that will dramatically change the networks and the mission capabilities of those who use them. Rebanding, IP networks, mesh networks, network survivability, data and video services, network security, training — it's an endless parade of new technologies to master and choices to be made.

That's where MRT comes in. We're here to help you manage the complexity of your decision-making processes by providing you with expert insight and knowledge both in our print publications and our Web site — www.mrtmag.com — as well our weekly e-newsletter, MRT Bulletin, which now reaches more than 20,000 readers. We are all in this together, and we count on your feedback as to how we can improve our value to you, so keep the e-mails coming. We appreciate each and every one.

This is our IWCE issue, and MRT is proud to be the official magazine of IWCE — our industry's leading event. We look forward to seeing you on the exhibit floor and the many conference sessions that make IWCE an important knowledge venue for our industry. Donny Jackson, MRT's senior writer, will be moderating two rebanding panels, and Glenn Bischoff, editor, will moderate a panel on the Future of the FCC, which has just undergone an important leadership change (see news, page 10). This issue also has an exclusive interview with Greg Brown, president of Motorola's government and enterprises mobility solutions segment, and it is this kind of access to industry movers and shakers that makes MRT a must-read publication.

Last, but not least, we have made an important change in our sales operation by promoting Dennis Hegg to national advertising sales director. With more than 16 years experience in the LMR industry (and MRT), Dennis is a terrific asset for our advertisers. He is joined by Diane Mason, sales associate, who will work with advertisers and support Dennis in his new role. All of us will be making the rounds at IWCE, and we look forward to seeing you in Las Vegas … and hearing your thoughts and opinions concerning MRT.