Program acc
G.B. Jones, Chief Safety and Security Officer for the FIFA World Cup 2026™
Leveraging experience from the FBI, NFL international security and FIFA, Jones’ session will offer insights into how complex security programs are designed, managed and implemented for globally significant events watched by billions.
Driving Future FirstNet Investment: Where Operations Meet Opportunity
* LOCATION PLAZA F
Michael Varney, FirstNet Authority
The FirstNet Authority has always collaborated with public safety to incorporate their unique communication needs into FirstNet. Join this session to help us understand the operational challenges that should drive FirstNet Authority investments into the network.
In 2026, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration announced an agreement led by Secretary Howard Lutnick that will position the FirstNet Authority to deliver more capabilities and benefits for the public safety community. Through this agreement, the Commerce Department has secured $2 billion in additional value for public safety through reduced costs and new investments in FirstNet.
We invite you to participate to ensure future enhancements made through this funding are aligned with the real-world, mission-critical needs of the public safety community.
The New Public Safety User Experience: Providing Enhanced Connectivity Options to First Responders
* LOCATION PLAZA E
This panel discussion presents a technology overview, along with the operational impact, of how modern public safety broadband devices can improve first responder communication availability and resiliency by coordinating the use of multiple connectivity options rather than relying on a single network path. The panel will focus on each of those connectivity solutions and how today’s devices can gracefully navigate across those solutions, thereby enhancing the user experience. First responders should be able to move through buildings, rural areas, tunnels, parking garages, schools and other challenging environments while their devices automatically select the best available communications path to meet their needs.
Advancing XR for Public Safety: Findings from a Hazardous Materials Training Study and Community Workshop
* LOCATION PLAZA D
Scott Ledgerwood, NIST PSCR
Matt Whitlock, NIST PSCR
In scenarios where traditional display technologies may not be optimal or even sufficient for the needs of public safety, virtual and augmented reality provide first responders with unique opportunities to enhance training modules and better support their operations. In this session, we will discuss two recent NIST PSCR efforts to advance the use of XR for public safety. First, we will discuss the outcomes of a study that the PSCR team ran to quantify the benefits of using VR in training first responders for hazardous gas detection with an air monitor. In collaboration with academia and public safety professionals, NIST PSCR hosted the first workshop on XR for public safety at the IEEE World Forum on Public Safety Technology. The second part of this session will focus on this workshop, discussing the structure of the workshop and outcomes from the research community with an eye toward similar efforts in the future.
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