Interview with outgoing APCO President Bill Carrow

U.S. senators today voted 55-43 to confirm Anna Gomez as the fifth commissioner at the FCC, providing Democrats with its first majority at the agency since President Joe Biden was inaugurated in January 2021. “Thank you to President Biden for nominating me to the Federal Communications Commission and to the Senate for confirming me,” Gomez […]

Public-safety microwave systems—considered by many to be the “backbone” of mission-critical LMR networks—already are being harmed by the introduction of unlicensed uses in the 6 GHz band, and the problems could worsen in the future, according to a member of APCO’s governmental-affairs team. Mark Reddish, senior counsel for the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO), […]

NASHVILLE—After years of work, Real-time text (RTT) solutions are being used in 911 centers today, and the technology’s flexibility could portend a future in which RTT is used to support emergency calling beyond the deaf and hard-of-hearing communities, APCO panelist said. For decade, the deaf and hard-of-hearing community relied on Teletypewriter (TTY) technology—subsequently also referenced […]

The Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) recently announced the appointment of APCO CTO and public-safety veteran Mel Maier as its new executive director, succeeding current executive director and CEO Derek Poarch, according to the organization. Maier and Poarch will work together “over the next several months to ensure a smooth transition” in APCO’s executive-director […]