IWCE is part of the Informa Tech Division of Informa PLC

This site is operated by a business or businesses owned by Informa PLC and all copyright resides with them. Informa PLC's registered office is 5 Howick Place, London SW1P 1WG. Registered in England and Wales. Number 8860726.

Save the Date for IWCE 2024 in Orlando, FL: March 25-28, 2024. Join our Mailing List for Updates!


Words Matter: Voice is Still the 'Killer App'

Donny Jackson  (Editor, IWCE's Urgent Communications)

Chief Harlin McEwen  (Former FirstNet PSAC Chair, Public Safety Communications Consultant)

Justin St. Arnauld  (Associate Director - 5G and Enterprise Solution Architecture, Verizon)

Michael Hodge  (VP of Government Programs, Lynk Global, Inc.)

Location: N255

Date: Monday, March 27

Time: 1:30 pm - 2:30 pm

Pass Type: All Access, Quick Pass Monday

Track: Broadband, Interoperability

Format: Panel Session

Vault Recording: TBD

In the most crucial moments of an emergency response, voice remains the primary method of communication. Land-mobile-radio (LMR) devices and systems continue to be the most-used push-to-talk (PTT) solutions by frontline personnel in the field, but PTT increasingly is being delivered to and from responders via broadband services.

Panelists will discuss various PTT technologies—from over-the-top apps to carrier-integrated mission-critical push-to-talk (MCPTT) offerings—and the different ways to deliver them, including carrier networks, private terrestrial networks, and the possibility of leveraging satellite-direct-to-phone capabilities in the near future.

With so many PTT choices available today and more expected in the future, a key question is whether these myriad PTT offerings and delivery methods will enable interoperable communications, regardless of the service used.