https://urgentcomm.com/wp-content/themes/ucm_child/assets/images/logo/footer-new-logo.png
  • Home
  • News
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Multimedia
    • Video
    • Podcasts
    • Galleries
    • IWCE’s Video Showcase
    • IWCE 2022 Winter Showcase
    • IWCE 2023 Pre-event Guide
  • Commentary
    • Back
    • Commentary
    • Urgent Matters
    • View From The Top
    • All Things IWCE
    • Legal Matters
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Resources
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • Reprints & Reuse
  • IWCE
    • Back
    • IWCE
    • Conference
    • Special Events
    • Exhibitor Listings
    • Premier Partners
    • Floor Plan
    • Exhibiting Information
    • Register for IWCE
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Terms of Service
    • Privacy Statement
    • Cookie Policy
  • Related Sites
    • Back
    • American City & County
    • IWCE
    • Light Reading
    • IOT World Today
    • Mission Critical Technologies
    • TU-Auto
  • In the field
    • Back
    • In the field
    • Broadband Push-to-X
    • Internet of Things
    • Project 25
    • Public-Safety Broadband/FirstNet
    • Virtual/Augmented Reality
    • Land Mobile Radio
    • Long Term Evolution (LTE)
    • Applications
    • Drones/Robots
    • IoT/Smart X
    • Software
    • Subscriber Devices
    • Video
  • Call Center/Command
    • Back
    • Call Center/Command
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • NG911
    • Alerting Systems
    • Analytics
    • Dispatch/Call-taking
    • Incident Command/Situational Awareness
    • Tracking, Monitoring & Control
  • Network Tech
    • Back
    • Network Tech
    • Interoperability
    • LMR 100
    • LMR 200
    • Backhaul
    • Deployables
    • Power
    • Tower & Site
    • Wireless Networks
    • Coverage/Interference
    • Security
    • System Design
    • System Installation
    • System Operation
    • Test & Measurement
  • Operations
    • Back
    • Operations
    • Critical Infrastructure
    • Enterprise
    • Federal Government/Military
    • Public Safety
    • State & Local Government
    • Training
  • Regulations
    • Back
    • Regulations
    • Narrowbanding
    • T-Band
    • Rebanding
    • TV White Spaces
    • None
    • Funding
    • Policy
    • Regional Coordination
    • Standards
  • Organizations
    • Back
    • Organizations
    • AASHTO
    • APCO
    • DHS
    • DMR Association
    • ETA
    • EWA
    • FCC
    • IWCE
    • NASEMSO
    • NATE
    • NXDN Forum
    • NENA
    • NIST/PSCR
    • NPSTC
    • NTIA/FirstNet
    • P25 TIG
    • TETRA + CCA
    • UTC
Urgent Communications
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Home
  • News
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Video
    • Podcasts
    • Omdia Crit Comms Circle Podcast
    • Galleries
    • IWCE’s Video Showcase
    • IWCE 2023 Pre-event Guide
    • IWCE 2022 Winter Showcase
  • Commentary
    • Back
    • All Things IWCE
    • Urgent Matters
    • View From The Top
    • Legal Matters
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • Reprints & Reuse
    • UC eZines
    • Sponsored content
  • IWCE
    • Back
    • Conference
    • Why Attend
    • Exhibitor Listing
    • Floor Plan
    • Exhibiting Information
    • Join the Event Mailing List
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Cookie Policy
    • Terms of Service
    • Privacy Statement
  • Related Sites
    • Back
    • American City & County
    • IWCE
    • Light Reading
    • IOT World Today
    • TU-Auto
  • newsletter
  • In the field
    • Back
    • Internet of Things
    • Broadband Push-to-X
    • Project 25
    • Public-Safety Broadband/FirstNet
    • Virtual/Augmented Reality
    • Land Mobile Radio
    • Long Term Evolution (LTE)
    • Applications
    • Drones/Robots
    • IoT/Smart X
    • Software
    • Subscriber Devices
    • Video
  • Call Center/Command
    • Back
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • NG911
    • Alerting Systems
    • Analytics
    • Dispatch/Call-taking
    • Incident Command/Situational Awareness
    • Tracking, Monitoring & Control
  • Network Tech
    • Back
    • Cybersecurity
    • Interoperability
    • LMR 100
    • LMR 200
    • Backhaul
    • Deployables
    • Power
    • Tower & Site
    • Wireless Networks
    • Coverage/Interference
    • Security
    • System Design
    • System Installation
    • System Operation
    • Test & Measurement
  • Operations
    • Back
    • Critical Infrastructure
    • Enterprise
    • Federal Government/Military
    • Public Safety
    • State & Local Government
    • Training
  • Regulations
    • Back
    • Narrowbanding
    • T-Band
    • Rebanding
    • TV White Spaces
    • None
    • Funding
    • Policy
    • Regional Coordination
    • Standards
  • Organizations
    • Back
    • AASHTO
    • APCO
    • DHS
    • DMR Association
    • ETA
    • EWA
    • FCC
    • IWCE
    • NASEMSO
    • NATE
    • NXDN Forum
    • NENA
    • NIST/PSCR
    • NPSTC
    • NTIA/FirstNet
    • P25 TIG
    • TETRA + CCA
    • UTC
acc.com

Commentary Newsletters


An FCC decision no one can argue with

An FCC decision no one can argue with

We don't often write columns about people. Today, however, I'm going to share a few thoughts about Patrick Halley, the National Emergency Number Association's government affairs director.
  • Written by Urgent Communications Administrator
  • 17th June 2010

We don’t often write columns about people. In fact, I am hard-pressed at the moment to think of the last one we might have done; it’s possible we’ve never done one. There’s really no hard-and-fast rule on this — it’s really a function of having too many other things to write about. Today, however, I’m going to share a few thoughts about Patrick Halley, the National Emergency Number Association’s government affairs director.

The seed for this column was planted last week at NENA’s annual conference in Indianapolis. I had just finished an interview with Steve O’Conor, the association’s new president, and Craig Whittington, who was completing his term. It was announced during the conference that Halley would be leaving NENA to take a job with the FCC’s wireline competition bureau. Whittington suggested that I write something about that. So here we are.

I decided to do so because Halley happens to be one of my favorite people. There are numerous reasons for this. First, he’s what we call a go-to source — the best kind. These are the sources who not only answer the phone when a reporter calls; they also know what they’re talking about and generally speak frankly.

Here’s an example of what I’m talking about: A month or so ago, I was writing something and called Halley for a comment. Normally he calls back within an hour or two, but this time he didn’t. Early the next morning, with my deadline fast approaching, I called him again. I didn’t want to wake him up — but I really needed that quote. When he answered I could tell that he was groggy. He said it was because he had been up very late studying for a law-school exam — he recently graduated, second in his class, from Catholic University in Washington. Despite the early hour and his fatigue — plus the fact he was trying to feed his young son breakfast — he gave me a cogent perspective that was exactly what I needed. I sort of felt bad — at least as bad as a reporter on deadline can feel — and said so. Halley’s response was, “Why? You’re just doing your job.” How do you not love a guy like that?

Halley became one of my favorites early on, because he’s also the kind of source who stands by what he says. Believe me, that’s unusual. Whenever a source says something that backfires, the usual response is to allege that the reporter misquoted or quoted out of context. But that’s not Halley’s style. I can still remember an episode that occurred shortly after he joined NENA. I quoted him on something or other — I can’t remember exactly what. But I do remember that the quote wasn’t particularly inflammatory. Apparently, a few people on Capitol Hill had a different viewpoint. I saw him the next day, and he told me about the pain he had experienced over that quote — but he stood by it.

I spoke yesterday at some length with Whittington, O’Conor and Brian Fontes, NENA’s CEO, yesterday about Halley. They all used similar adjectives to describe him: passionate, dedicated, enthusiastic, tireless, determined — I could go on and on. “I knew the FCC was after him,” Fontes said. “They’re fortunate to be getting him. He’ll be missed.”

Each shared a story or two about Halley. My favorite concerns the time Halley picked up Whittington at the Baltimore airport to drive the two of them to a meeting. They were running late. Whittington, who lives in Greensboro, N.C., found the traffic to be intimidating. I couldn’t blame him for that. I live in Chicago — which experiences traffic that I am certain Dante identified as one of the nine levels of hell — and I’m intimidated by Washington’s traffic. Being from the South, NASCAR is something with which Whittington is familiar, and he told me that Jimmie Johnson has nothing on Halley, who delivered them to the meeting on time. “He simply wasn’t going to let us be late,” Whittington said. Recall that determination is one of the adjectives used to describe Halley. One might as well add resourceful to the list.

Whittington also spoke of the work Halley has done over his five-year tenure on the “911 Goes to Washington” program, which involves bringing officials from public-safety answering points across the country to Washington to discuss the 911 sector’s most pressing issues with members of Congress and their staffs. (See “New legislation includes next-gen 911 language” for a recent take on the “911 Goes to Washington” program.) For the most part, those who descend on the nation’s capital are completely unfamiliar with the ways of Capitol Hill — or the language spoken there. According to Whittington, that can be very intimidating, but Halley was able to make it far less so.

“He took the scary out of it,” Whittington said. “He opened doors. He taught us how to understand the system.”

Whittington further described Halley as “a powerful young man,” a notion with which O’Conor wholeheartedly agreed.

“The greatest honor that can be bestowed on anyone is to use what they have written in proposed legislation, orders or regulations,” he said. “Much of what Patrick has written on our behalf, we see very similar language that appears as the product of the FCC and congressional committees.”

Fontes described Halley as his “soul mate.” I immediately understood what he meant, because I feel the same way about UC senior writer Donny Jackson, whom I’ve worked alongside for nearly a decade now. I’ve often said that Jackson and I have a “Batman-and-Robin” relationship, and I think Fontes would describe his relationship with Halley in the same manner. It is easy for me to see in my mind’s eye the dynamic duo of Fontes and Halley scurrying about Capitol Hill, working on behalf of the 911 sector, fighting for justice. It’s a nice image.

Halley had succeeded Steve Seitz in the role of government relations director and de facto spokesperson for NENA. Seitz was prime cut in his own regard. Whittington recalled his reaction when the transition occurred: “How will this kid fill Steve’s shoes?” But the kid not only filled them, he greatly enlarged the footprint. Now Whittington says, “I wish we had a thousand just like him.”

NENA would be quite fortunate to find just one.

What do you think? Tell us in the comment box below.

Related Stories

  • New legislation includes next-gen 911 language
Tags: Commentary Newsletters Policy & Law Commentary

Most Recent


  • Updated: How 'sidelink' peer-to-peer communications can enhance public-safety operations
    Editor’s note: A previous version of this column was posted that included only the first portion of the article—a mistake by the editor. IWCE’s Urgent Communications regrets the error and apologizes for any inconvenience. When first responders are called to action, they need reliable communications to coordinate an effective public-safety response. Public-safety personnel understand this […]
  • NG911 needed to secure our communities and nation
    As the new Congress begins its work in earnest, we look forward to continued progress in funding the transition to IP-based next-generation 911 (NG911) technology. Our nation’s 911 systems are critical to ensuring the safety and security of our communities, and nationwide implementation of NG911 will ensure these systems can leverage the most advanced communications […]
  • How 5G is making cities safer, smarter, and more efficient
    It’s a scenario we’ve all experienced: an ambulance with a blaring siren racing against time to get a person in medical distress to a hospital through traffic. What we don’t see is 5G connectivity enabling paramedics to communicate with hospital staff via video conference and coordinate care in real-time before arriving at the emergency room. […]
  • 3GPP moves Release 18 freeze date to March 2024
    The latest set of 3GPP Plenary electronic meetings (e-meetings) concluded on Dec. 19, 2022. The meetings focused on the Release 18 (R18) feature progress and schedule. It was decided to extend the R18 freeze date (specifications complete for all R18 features) by three months to March 2024 to ensure the quality of the R18 3GPP […]

Leave a comment Cancel reply

To leave a comment login with your Urgent Comms account:

Log in with your Urgent Comms account

Or alternatively provide your name, email address below:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Content

  • Unlocking the power of ESInets: Different NG911 provisioning approaches exist; level of control is key differentiator
  • Redefining communications for today’s mobile workforces
  • Bridging digital divide by fostering digital inclusion and economic recovery
  • Public safety needs a better way to triage emergency calls

Commentary


Updated: How ‘sidelink’ peer-to-peer communications can enhance public-safety operations

  • 1
27th February 2023

NG911 needed to secure our communities and nation

24th February 2023

How 5G is making cities safer, smarter, and more efficient

26th January 2023
view all

Events


UC Ezines


IWCE 2019 Wrap Up

13th May 2019
view all

Twitter


UrgentComm

Zipline delivery drone docks, charges by itself dlvr.it/SlBNWy

20th March 2023
UrgentComm

State and local leaders can alleviate the burden on public-safety personnel by tackling three workforce trends dlvr.it/SlBH89

20th March 2023
UrgentComm

6G is shaping up to disappoint, and the industry can blame itself dlvr.it/Sl918J

20th March 2023
UrgentComm

Change is coming to the network detection and response (NDR) market dlvr.it/Sl4cts

18th March 2023

Newsletter

Sign up for UrgentComm’s newsletters to receive regular news and information updates about Communications and Technology.

Expert Commentary

Learn from experts about the latest technology in automation, machine-learning, big data and cybersecurity.

Business Media

Find the latest videos and media from the market leaders.

Media Kit and Advertising

Want to reach our digital and print audiences? Learn more here.

DISCOVER MORE FROM INFORMA TECH

  • American City & County
  • IWCE
  • Light Reading
  • IOT World Today
  • Mission Critical Technologies
  • TU-Auto

WORKING WITH US

  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Events
  • Careers

FOLLOW Urgent Comms ON SOCIAL

  • Privacy
  • CCPA: “Do Not Sell My Data”
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms
Copyright © 2023 Informa PLC. Informa PLC is registered in England and Wales with company number 8860726 whose registered and Head office is 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.