Omdia Crit Comms Circle

In this episode we share a live audio recording from the recent IWCE 2023 from a panel session chaired by Paul Bremner on the topic of Artificial Intelligence: Just Because We Can, Should We?.

On this panel we were joined by 4 passionate, knowledgable speakers, each bringing a unique point of view into this emerging area.
We were joined by:

• Christy Williams - 911 Director, NCT 911
• Bryan Schromsky - Managing Partner, 5G Public Sector, Verizon
• Alan Tilles - Counsel, Law Offices of Alan Tilles
• Bart Stump - Senior Systems Engineer, NetWitness

In the hour that we had, we discuss what some of the benefits of AI are for this industry, from promising applications, where it can help public safety organisations, and we hear examples of successful implementations, including by Verizon to create better performing networks. We talk about the risks and challenges associated with AI in mission critical settings, and we take a look at what the future outlook for AI in public safety is, including what steps we can take today to prepare for this future.

IWCE 2023 Digital Pass - Session Recordings
IWCE 2023 welcomed 4200+ members of the mission-critical and business critical community from around the world. While the official show days have come to an end, there is still time to purchase a Digital Pass and access 100+ hours of content from the conference panels, power sessions, keynote speakers and presentations from the Emerging Tech & Innovations Theater. Recordings will be available for full access until June 30, 2023.

If you joined us in Las Vegas (thank you!) but couldn't attend all of the compelling sessions you were interested in, no worries - your pass includes access to the recorded conference content included in your registration. Visit the Event App to view session recordings. Available through June 30, 2023.

For those who weren't able to attend - you can register for the IWCE 2023 Digital pass here: https://iwce.informatech.com/2023/registrations

Finally, a big thank you to the Informa Tech team for allowing us here at Omdia to provide you with a sneak peek into the excellent conference program that IWCE 2023 featured this year.

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In this episode we are talking about critical changes coming for critical communication spectrum at the upcoming World Radiocommunication Conference 2023 (WRC-23).

Please read the TCCA Spectrum Position on World Radiocommunications Conference Agenda Item 1.5 whitepaper here: TCCA Spectrum Position Paper

We talk about why spectrum is important for our industry, what the key spectrum requirements are for the critical communications community, and what spectrum options exists today.

Then we get to key World Radiocommunication Conference agenda items and ask what the critical communications industry wants to see from WRC-23 and what the spectrum needs are here.

WRC-23 Agenda Item 1.5 reviews the spectrum, use and spectrum needs of existing services in the UHF frequency band 470-694MHz in Region 1 (comprising Europe, Africa, the Middle East west of the Persian Gulf, including Iraq and Mongolia).
Some administrations have expressed interest in using a portion of the band 470-694MHz for Public Protection and Disaster Relief (PPDR) applications, with an expressed requirement of 2x10MHz.
This band under discussion meets all requirements in terms of propagation characteristics, available bandwidth, timely availability and potential synergies with narrowband infrastructure.

We believe that we are still very much at a position where advocacy from individuals, individual agencies and national regulators is still really important. Your voice can, and should, be heard!

In this episode we are joined by 2 expert speakers: Luz Fernández del Rosal from BDBOS and Noel Kirkaldy from Nokia.

Luz is responsible for the coordination of the international activities and partnerships at the German Federal Agency for Public Safety Digital Radio (BDBOS) and is vice-chair of the Critical Communications Broadband Group (CCBG) of the TCCA.

Noel has over 30 years in the telecoms industry and has been instrumental in the development of Mission Critical solutions in several markets in the MEA region and globally. He has worked closely with Governments and Regulators and associated Industry organisations, including TCCA, to enable the allocation of additional spectrum that is required to develop these markets.

A massive thank you to both of our guests today and to TCCA for their ongoing efforts leading the global development and promotion of standardised critical communication solutions.

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In this episode, we look at the top 5 challenges we see that AI systems will have to overcome before being implemented into mission critical operations. We talk directly with ChatGPT before moving on to discuss these top 5 challenges.

We ask ChatGPT directly:

• Can you give us an overview of what ChatGPT is and how it works?
• Can you give an example of a specific industry where ChatGPT has been implemented and the impact it has had?
• How does ChatGPT's ability to generate human-like responses make it a valuable tool for control room operators?
• What potential applications for ChatGPT can we expects to see in the near future?
• Can you discuss any challenges or limitations that operators may face when incorporating ChatGPT into their workflow?

We talk about the top 5 challenges AI will face before implementation into mission critical environments. These are:

1. Reliability
2. Trust
3. Regulation
4. Integraiton with existing systems
5. Robustness

There is a great amount of potential for AI to radically shape mission critical environments of the future, but it is important to carefully consider these challenges to ensure that AI systems being deployed are reliable, trustworthy, and robust.

OMDIA is working on a comprehensive assessment of the IoT hardware, services and software market ecosystem that will shape the mission critical communicaitons industry.
Your collaboration in this study is invaluable.
Connect with Ildefonso de la Cruz or Paul Bremner on LinkedIn to participate i this study and receive an insight summary document. This document should be a valuable tool in aiding future product planning and marketing efforts.

• Ildefonso de la Cruz: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ildefonsodelacruz/
• Paul Bremner: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-bremner/

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In this episode, Alfonso and I talk about the two latest Omdia reports covering the body worn camera and broadband critical communication markets.

We also talk about the trade shows we'll be attending in the first half of 2023, including: ISE, MWC, BAPCO, IWCE, EENA and CCW.

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In this episode we take a look at the year ahead and what we're expecting, or wanting, to see for the critical communicaitons industry through 2023.

We're joined by:

• Ildefonso de la Cruz, Principal Analyst at Omdia
• Donny Jackson, Editor at IWCE's Urgent Communications
• Erin LeMoine, Event Lead for IWCE

Check out Omdia's "2023 Trends to Watch: Critical communication" document here:
https://omdia.tradepub.com/free/w_omdi112/prgm.cgi?cccpodcast

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In this episode we take a look back at what's occurred in 2022 that's impacted the critical communications industry. We start with looking at macro econocmic trends and the effect they've had on the industry, and then talk about some of the important developments within the critical communications industry that we've seen impact this market.

2022 has been a busy year! To help cover everything that's happened we're joined by Ildefonso de la Cruz, Principal Analyst at Omdia; Donny Jackson, Editor at IWCE's Urgent Communications; and Erin LeMoine, Event Lead for IWCE.

Jump to topics here:
01:54 - Macro trends outside the industry that have impacted, including inflation, COVID, suply chain and semiconductors
12:33 - Return of trade shows regular schedules
15:54 - LMR market growth and funding environment
21:44 - Broadband activity including 3GPP Release 17 and Sidelink
27:19 - Nationwide mission critical network activity
34:36 - NG911 funding
36:45 - AI/ML integration in control rooms and body worn cameras with PTT
38:45 - Cloud migration

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In this episode we talk with iBwave about the ins and outs of designing and surveying public safety networks, specifically the need for designing accurate public safety networks, and the importance of testing that public safety network to ensure that it performs as required.

We are joined by Kelly Burroughs and Tony Singh from iBwave. Kelly is the Solutions DIrector at iBwave where her focus lies in innovation, technology and impact, with a particular focus on the enterprise segment. Tony is a sales engineer at iBwave and has been involved with the RF industry for more than 15 years with broad RF industry experience.

Our key takeaways from this conversation:
- The critical need for a public safety system in each building
- Accuracy is the key to designing public safety networks that function as they need to for first responders
- Continuous testing and having the right tools to do so is key to keeping a public safety network reliable

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In this episode we talk with Bedfordshire FRS about the spate of heat related incidents seen through summer of 2022 and how their new mobilising system supported their operational response to these incidents.

We are joined by Alison Kibblewhite and Jason Tai from Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service. Alison serves as the Assistant Chief Fire Officer at Bedfordshire FRS, with more than 27 years experience working in the fire sector. Jason serves as an Area Commander at Bedfordshire FRS, also with more than 27 years experiences working in the fire sector.

We hear first hand how deploying and implementing technology has allowed greater situational awareness of an incident before anyone has even arrived on scene, allowing control room operators to dispatch the appropriate resources, increasing the public and firefighter's safety.

We wrap up with 5 key recommendations for vendors:
1) Partnerships are key
Your end-users are not just your customers. Your end-users should be your partners. Collaborate and work together.

2) KISS principle
"Keep it simple stupid!" Don't over complicate. Don't fall into the trap that complexity is always better. Simple solutions, that do the job that's needed, are often the preferred approach.

3) Do what you say you do
Build products and solutions that do what they're designed to do. Additional features are great, and may be useful, but it always comes back to core functionality.

4) Empower your users
Look for ways where a collaborative approach can bring benefits to multiple parties. Empowering users by enabling cooperation between people and systems enhances organisational response.

5) Affordability at the front-end
Public safety organisations are budget limited. They are also keenly aware that procurements must show value.

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In this episode we are talking with TCCA to hear the latest updates and priorities for the organisation, and how TCCA's core missions help drive these priorities forward.

I'm joined by Kevin Graham, CEO of The Critical Communications Association (TCCA), and the former founding Chairman and Director of the Australasian Critical Communications Forum (ACCF).

We touch on how TCCA helps to provide a platform for meaningful exchange between members, TCCA's focus on standards developments, and TCCA's mission to drive global growth of the critical communications ecosystem and creating scale around the world for this market.

Find out more about TCCA by checking out their website: tcca.info

CCW 2023 Call for Content is open now. Check it out and submit your proposals by November 14th: https://www.critical-communications-world.com/submission-topics

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In this episode we are talking about Omdia's recently released whitepaper: "National Mission Critical Networks: A guideline for professional, reliable, and secure multi-agency mission-critical communications".

This whitepaper serves as a NCCN planning guideline, while outlining the importance and evolution of critical communications within this sector. The whitepaper also provides a development overview of national critical communication networks around the globe.

I'm joined by my colleague, and the whitepaper's author, Ildefonso de la Cruz. Ildefonso is a Principal Analyst here at Omdia's Public Safety and Critical Communications group, leading the LMR and broadband technologies research areas.

The whitepaper we discuss can be found here:
https://tinyurl.com/jp4ewvkn

We'd love to hear your thoughts on the whitepaper!
Connect with us on LinkedIn here:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-bremner/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ildefonsodelacruz/

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