British APCO offers a fresh new event for 2012
The UK's only event for all professionals in emergency planning,
communications and public safety data management is undergoing a
transformation at its next outing in 2012, with "tents" of
knowledge exchange to match what the Association has developed as
an organisation.
The annual Exhibition and Development Sessions moves to
Manchester for 2012 with high level training sessions, debate and
new learning. It was formerly run at the Business Design Centre in
London under the BAPCO banner (British Association of Public Safety
Communications Officials).
British APCO has a fresh new agenda to drive knowledge exchange
and integration of new technology, spectrum allocation and
harmonisation. The annual event will offer a unique forum to
discover cost saving local and global technologies and
applications, and to explore the most pressing themes for the
industry, which will shape the future for front line operatives in
mobile data.
The exhibition will showcase new and interactive solutions from
well known names and new suppliers including: Capita, Airwave,
Mason Ltd, Cadcorp, ETPS, Fortek, Remsdaq, 3tc, Terma, Syntech,
Traka, APD Communications, Infoterra, Red Box and Codegate amongst
others, and will include a live and interactive demo from Motorola
Solutions of how RFID can assist in not just asset tracking but
also people tracking and incident management, to save not just
costs but also lives in critical incident situations.
RFID is just one of the subject "hubs" to be addressed at the
event. A series of Development Sessions and training presentations
throughout the two days at British APCO 2012 will address a number
of key areas, including the use of Long Term Evolution to meet
front line demand for information-rich data to inform decisions in
crisis management, and how to marry the potential offered here by
new broadband providers with existing voice solutions. This will be
the subject of a major Round Table debate hosted by Wireless
magazine in partnership with Motorola Solutions and the TETRA
Association on day one of the event. Senior representatives from
APCO, Fire Brigades, the MOD and the utilities will examine the
roadmap for TETRA in public safety, whether and how TETRA and LTE
networks can work together for combined voice and data solutions,
whether LTE with voice capability should indeed be used for public
safety and can dedicated spectrum be found?
Social media will be a key feature, having value not just to
law-breakers or in exonerating peaceful protesters, but in the
management of public safety in crisis situations including
transport incidents or natural disasters. On day two of the event
Greater Manchester Police Chief Constable Peter Fahy will speak on
the autumn riots, and GMP's ongoing use of social media as a means
of public facing communication.
999 Futures is another central Session, which will seek to
establish future requirements for emergency communications to form
the base of published recommendations on behalf of sector
professionals to maximise cost and front line efficiency in crisis
management.
Commenting on the new developments, Tony Antoniou, Executive
Director of British APCO said:
"The new model for the annual show is one of having villages of
interests and knowledge exchange. With the exhibition to bring it
all together, what sits in these specifically themed sub-events and
areas will be of great interest, and more closely match what we are
doing as an organisation. This is a very exciting time for us"
Not only is the content and agenda new for 2012, the event has
relocated to Manchester Central, a move designed not only to
completely refresh the presentation of British APCO 2012, but also
to significantly reduce the associated costs of attending for
visitors and exhibitors. Manchester also offers excellent transport
links and a range of hotels to suit all budgets. The full session
programme will be published shortly. For further information
in the meantime, exhibitors and visitors should contact Brintex on
+ 44 (0) 207 973 6635.
