Great discussions yesterday at the IWCE conference in Las Vegas. I was a panelist on the In-Building-Wireless and DAS fundamentals session. We reviewed public safety, commercial, and DAS systems that combined both of these elements. The panelists brought great perspectives from a carrier’s, a city planner’s, a fire chief and a radio equipment manufacturer’s points of views.

I was able to share my experience in working with the District of Columbia Government with the group. One result of my work was to identify areas where governments in general can provide leadership for systems that are installed in either government owned buildings, or public venues that touch a great number of its residents such as airports. Of these, perhaps the most important of these issues relate to public safety. Should systems that support commercial services also support public safety?  Certainly the common practice of excluding coverage in areas where people will flee to in the event of an emergency should be rethought. Another trend is the recognition that commercial coverage is itself a public safety concern in that people should be able to dial 911 in the event of emergencies.

Check out the conference online at www.iwceexpo.com.