2027 Agenda

Public-safety communications are rapidly evolving from reliance on individual radio or broadband networks toward an ecosystem of LMR, LTE/5G, Wi-Fi, deployable networks, satellite connectivity and emerging direct device-to-device technologies.

But during a major incident, the most important question is not which network is best. The question is "What happens when one of those networks is no longer available?"

Using a fast-moving wildfire in mountainous terrain as the operational scenario, this session examines how communications can be maintained as coverage, infrastructure and network conditions change throughout an incident.

The presentation will follow responders as cellular networks become congested or unavailable, LMR coverage is affected by terrain, terrestrial backhaul is lost, deployable communications systems arrive, satellite connectivity is introduced, and responders move into areas with little or no infrastructure. The session will examine the complementary roles of LMR, broadband push-to-talk, Wi-Fi, deployable cellular systems, satellite and non-terrestrial networks, direct-mode communications, and emerging technologies such as 5G sidelink and Proximity Services.

Rather than advocating for one technology over another, the session will explore a broader concept: communications continuity—designing public-safety communications so that responders can maintain the voice, data and situational awareness necessary to accomplish the mission even when individual communications paths fail.