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ATLANTA, April 25, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Penton's 39th annual International Wireless Communications Expo (IWCE) announced the successful conclusion of the premier annual event for communications technology professionals. The event, which took place March 21-25, 2016 at the Las Vegas Convention Center brought together 7,000 attendees from 66 countries and over 380 exhibitors showcasing the latest products and technology in the industry.

"This is an exciting time for our industry. As it continues to evolve, so does IWCE with an updated exhibit hall and conference content to reflect the ever-shifting landscape of the wireless-communications community," said Stephanie McCall, Show Director, IWCE. "We look forward to continuing to make IWCE a place for attendees to learn about the latest technological advances and share quality time with key business contacts."

"The underlying theme of IWCE was convergence," said Donny Jackson, Editor, IWCE's Urgent Communications. "The intersection between traditional critical communications and the commercial telecom arena that was on display took the trend to a new level, with convergence being manifested in ways that seemed unimaginable even a few years ago. It's going to be fun to watch as the evolution continues and we'll be sure to cover that and more at IWCE 2017."

Three events co-located with IWCE:

• IWCE's Network Infrastructure Forum helped bring together the industry's wired and wireless players to examine communications technology infrastructure.
• The Dynamic Spectrum Sharing Summit confronted the issue of spectrum scarcity, including discussing innovative uses of spectrum for mobile communications, services and applications.
• ETA International's Education Forum offered training in popular technology areas related to ETA certification such as interference hunting, fiber optics, distributed antenna systems and line and antenna sweeping.

DARPA used IWCE as the platform to unveil its newest Grand Challenges, one designed to ensure that the exponentially growing number of military and civilian wireless devices will have full access to the increasingly crowded electromagnetic spectrum. The agency's Spectrum Collaboration Challenge (SC2) will reward teams for developing smart systems that collaboratively, rather than competitively, adapt in real time to today's fast-changing, congested spectrum environment—redefining the conventional spectrum management roles of humans and machines in order to maximize the flow of radio frequency (RF) signals. For more information, visit http://spectrumcollaborationchallenge.com.

IWCE tapped industry luminaries to deliver keynote presentations and offer their thoughts on the industry.

• Curtis Levinson, Cybersecurity Advisor to NATO presented "Cybersecurity is a Global Issue" and discussed threats to the critical infrastructure, including power grids and communications systems across the globe and the U.S. adversaries that are targeting with cyber attacks.
• Michael Poth, CEO, FirstNet, presented "FirstNet Leadership" and provided an update on the state of FirstNet and the nationwide public safety broadband network.
• Donny Jackson of IWCE's Urgent Communications moderated the General Session, "Operating Parallel Networks – Managing LMR and LTE Simultaneously. The panel examined what features broadband provides for non-critical and mission-critical voice usage, as well as for data usage and enabling interoperability between the two types of communications systems.

The conference program offers five days of unparalleled professional development opportunities through more than 140 power sessions, workshops, short courses and training. Tracks included FirstNet, Spectrum & Signal Optimization, Next-Generation Communications, Cybersecurity, System Planning & Preparation and specialized topics for Public Safety, Critical Infrastructure and Enterprise.  IWCE's College of Technology offered full- and half-day workshops as well as new 45-minute Power Sessions, which focused on specific case studies and overviews.  

Back for a second year, the IWCE's Town Hall Meetings allowed attendees to learn what government and association partners have been up to as they present their latest initiatives. Participating organizations included DHS's Science and Technology Directorate, DHS's Office of Emergency Communications, NIST, NTIA, NPSTC and ETA. 

In addition, IWCE's Party in the Park offered exceptional networking opportunity bringing together over 1,500 IWCE participants. 

IWCE 2017 will return to the Las Vegas Convention Center with conference sessions taking place March 27-31, 2017 and exhibits on March 29-30, 2017.

For additional information on IWCE and to sign up for email updates, visit iwceexpo.com. Stay connected with us on Twitter, Facebook @iwceexpo and follow our IWCE company page on LinkedIn.

ABOUT THE INTERNATIONAL WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS EXPO (IWCE)
Since 1977, the International Wireless Communications Expo (IWCE) has been the premier annual event for communications technology professionals. IWCE features over 380 exhibitors showcasing the latest products and trends in the industry. Over 7,000 individuals attend from a diverse group of industry professionals including government/military, public safety, utility, transportation and business enterprise. IWCE 2016 will be held March 21-25, 2016 at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, NV. For more information, visit www.iwceexpo.com.  

ABOUT PENTON
Penton is an innovative information services company that empowers nearly 20 million business decision makers in markets that drive more than 12 trillion dollars in purchases each year. Our products inform with rich industry insights and workflow tools; engage through dynamic events, education and networking; and advance business with powerful marketing services programs. Penton is the way smart businesses buy, sell and grow.

Headquartered in New York, Penton is privately owned by MidOcean Partners and Wasserstein & Co., LP. For more information, visit http://www.penton.com or follow us on Twitter @PentonNow.

MEDIA CONTACT
Nadira Ramatally
Marketing Manager
Penton Public Infrastructure
(770) 618-0121
Nadira.Ramatally@penton.com

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SOURCE Penton