Tait Talks: An Advocate for the U.S. Private LMR and Broadband Industry

Earlier this month I had the pleasure of attending the Wireless Leadership Summit hosted by the Enterprise Wireless Alliance (EWA). I had not attended this annual conference since before the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. During the 2024 event, held in Fort Worth, Texas, I had the chance to reconnect with industry professionals who I had not seen in years. The Wireless Leadership Summit is expertly organized by Elaine Baugh & the EWA team. They are highly knowledgeable, friendly, and available for questions and feedback.  

If you are not familiar with EWA, it is a private wireless advocacy organization based in the Washington, D.C. area. EWA’s members include leaders from mobile communications businesses across the U.S., critical communications enterprises such as Chevron and UPS, and LMR and wireless equipment manufacturers. The staff of EWA are well connected at the FCC and hold video conference calls under the leadership of EWA counsel Liz Sachs, a legal legend in the industry, every other Tuesday, providing updates on where various FCC initiatives stand and how they affect critical communications. 

The private wireless industry has struggled to acquire and maintain spectrum over the years, especially as 5G and unlicensed spectrum has come on the scene. EWA champions LMR and broadband users who are not public safety agencies but still require licensed, interference-free spectrum to operate critical communications networks in the U.S.  

Frequency coordination is an FCC requirement for licensees, and EWA is a certified FCC frequency advisor, helping LMR users find and access the best available spectrum in the VHF, UHF (including T-band), 800 MHz, 900 MHz, and some 1.4 GHz bands, all while adhering to FCC rules. EWA’s Spectrum Intel service allows a mobile communications dealer or communications manager to identify FCC licenses or spectrum that might be available in their market areas of choice.  

Similar to past years, the annual conference kicked off with an opening session that highlights EWA’s insights and advocacy efforts with speakers Sachs and Robin Cohen, EWA’s knowledgeable and well-connected president and CEO. Also in attendance was Mark Crosby, former EWA president and CEO and current Chief Strategy Officer, another industry legend who can and does express his views however and whenever he likes because he really has seen it all in the U.S. LMR arena. He is also funny and extremely likable. 

This year’s conference included a keynote by Walt Magnussen, PhD, director of the Internet2 Technology Evaluation Center (ITEC) at Texas A&M University. He oversees several interoperability projects for public safety, transportation, energy, and critical infrastructure and provided an informative update on emerging technologies.  

This year’s annual panel of LMR vendor representatives highlighted AI and cybersecurity. I had the opportunity to join colleagues from Icom America, JVCKENWOOD, L3Harris, Leonardo, and Motorola Solutions to discuss the threat and opportunities around cybersecurity and AI technology. My main takeaways from this session included the following: 

• Every critical communications network is vulnerable to a cyber attack.
• The standards processes are doing everything they can to make standards more secure.
• Most vendors, including Tait Communications, have cybersecurity services available to their customers.
• AI is permeating everything from product development to testing, to manufacturing.

We all know our industry is aging, and finding reliable RF technical staff is difficult. EWA also leads several efforts to help connect wireless companies with qualified technical staff. The group continues to advise the FCC that private LMR and emerging private broadband networks are a critical component of the U.S. economy.  

The Wireless Leadership Summit also included an exhibition of more than 40 product and service providers to the mobile communications industry. Tait Communications was a proud exhibitor. Tait Communications’ Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Maria Rowe was recently appointed to EWA’s board of directors, a group of industry experts who help EWA’s leadership determine priorities. Tait is honored to be a part of this organization that helps so many of Tait’s customers find critical spectrum and equipment and services. We look forward to next year’s summit and continuing to work with EWA throughout 2024 and the coming year. 

 Blog authored by: Sandra Wendelken – Strategy and Insights Manager, Tait Communications

Read the previous Tait Talks: A New Tait Communications Service to Help Secure Law Enforcement Funding