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Advancing Public Safety: Emergency Management Community Symposium

June 6, 2025

Advancing Public Safety seminar poster

Opening Remarks:

  • Gina Antonacci, SVP Academic, Humber Polytechnic
  • Eric Everett, Interim Deputy Minister of Emergency Preparedness and Response

Presenters:

  • Orest Sushko, Director, Broadcast-Broadband B2C Lab, Humber Polytechnic
  • Erin Ruttan, Digital Equity Program Designer, City of Calgary
  • Tony Sammarco, Director, Product Technology Strategy, Device Solutions
  • Red Grasso, Director, First Responder, Emerging Technologies Program, NCDIT
  • Fred Engel, Broadcast Technology Consultant
  • Orren Johnson, Faculty Researcher, Humber Polytechnic
  • Tim Bagnall, Principal Analyst, Mosaic ATM
  • Mark Corl, SVP, Emergent Technology Development, Triveni Digital
  • Vlad Anishchenko, Chief Technology Officer, Avateq Corp.

PRESENTED BY HUMBER POLYTECHNIC and BROADCAST-BROADBAND CONVERGENCE B²C LAB

Humber Polytechnic Broadcast-Broadband Convergence B²C Lab hosted an Emergency Management Community Symposium presenting emerging emergency communications technologies using the ATSC 3.0 broadcast communications system. These are new solutions using broadcast that can bolster risk mitigation strategies for local and regional municipalities while offering enhanced capabilities and new services.

The agenda included presentations and demonstrations (links below) from leading industry experts on a Next Generation Broadcast Communications Network for First Responders, Broadcast Digital Signage, and an Aerial Incident Response System designed to provide situational awareness of Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (UAS) for crewed aircraft, allowing for safe and more efficient integration of UAS in operational airspace in wildland firefighting operations. We also featured a presentation and demonstration of a Complementary Position and Timing system known as Broadcast Positioning System. BPS is a ground-based time-transfer system designed to strengthen the resilience of the vulnerable Global Positioning System (GPS).

For the last 40 years, society has been restructured based on GPS technology in our daily lives and utilized across multiple critical infrastructure sectors including telecommunications, all forms of transportation (air, ground, rail, maritime), hydro and power grids and the banking system. Position, Navigation, Timing (PNT) signals and other data from GPS satellites allow our infrastructure to function reliably. Without these capabilities, our economy would come to a standstill.

The above solutions can utilize existing local, regional and national television broadcast infrastructure that operates independently from other communications systems (cellular, LMR, fiber, satellite). Broadcast solutions can support municipalities and wide area regions during catastrophic events and disasters including fires, floods, ice storms, tornadoes, earthquakes, extended loss/denial of GPS service, when current communications infrastructure are overwhelmed or rendered inoperable.

Watch the Presentations

Advancing public safety symposium: welcome and opening remarks video

Welcome & Opening Remarks

Welcome Remarks: Gina Antonacci, SVP Academic Humber Polytechnic
Opening Remarks: Eric Everett, Interim Deputy Minister Emergency Preparedness and Response.

Advancing public safety symposium: B2C lab introduction video

B2C Lab Introduction & City of Calgary Broadcast Municipal Use Case Project 

An overview of the importance of developing critical communications systems to serve first responders when Cellular and Land Mobile Radio (LMR) systems are not operable....
 An Introduction to City of Calgary's experimental approach in using ATSC 3.0 broadcast to bolster the resilience of municipal networks and develop enhanced capabilities. Presented by Orest Sushko-Humber Polytechnic, Erin Ruttan-City of Calgary.
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Advancing public safety symposium: broadcast emergency first responder network video

Broadcast Emergency First Responder Communications Network

Introduction to a novel emergency responder communications system developed in conjunction with PBS North Carolina, Device Solutions, NC-DIT, and Triveni Digital....
 This system dramatically reduces delivery time and offers enhanced data capabilities for first responders. ATSC 3.0 broadcast transmissions have extended range and offer a reliable, redundant data path when cellular and LMR systems are not operable. Presented by Tony Sammarco, Fred Engel-Device Solutions, Mark Corl-Triveni Digital, Red Grasso-NCDIT.

Broadcast Public Alerting
New IP-based broadcast technology can provide enhanced information platforms for the public in times of emergencies (i.e. evacuation routes, maps, live updates) as well as geo-targeting capabilities all within the local, regional and national television broadcast system. Presented by Fred Engel-Device Solutions, Red Grasso-NCDIT.
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Advancing public safety symposium: broadcast and digital signage video

Broadcast Digital Signage

Demonstration of a custom programmable public signage system that can be updated instantly via broadcast to support traffic emergencies, reduce congestion...
, support public safety and speed zones, offering continuous up to date information and emergency alerts at fixed public locations or on transit infrastructure. Presented by Erin Ruttan-City of Calgary, Orren Johnson-Humber Polytechnic.
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Advancing public safety symposium: NextGen Incident response communication system video

NextGen Incident Response Communication System (NIRCS)

NIRCS represents a significant step in advancing wildfire management and disaster response technology. Despite significant advancements, one of the remaining challenges...
 is the lack of reliable, resilient, and secure data communications systems to support quick decision-making during wildfire events. NIRCS aims to address this challenge by providing a mobile, long-range broadcast communications system to enhance critical information flow during wildland firefighting operations.

Leveraging ATSC 3.0 technology, NIRCS enables the one-way communication of various data types, including: vehicle position and operational volume data, temporary flight restrictions, notices to air missions, airspace procedures, structure, and adaptation, weather information, high-fidelity audio and ultra-high-definition video, mission-critical operational data such as Uncrewed Aircraft surveillance and aircraft position information. Presented by Tim Bagnall-Mosaic ATM.
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Advancing public safety symposium: broadcast positioning system video

Protecting GPS with Resilient PNT Solutions – Introduction to Broadcast Positioning System (BPS) ground-based time-transfer 

Introduction to ATSC 3.0 Broadcast Positioning System (BPS) – A ground-based time transfer system offering a resilient and complementary timing solution in the event...
 of loss/denial of GPS satellite service. Today’s society has been restructured in the last 40 years based on GPS technology in our daily lives and across multiple industry and critical infrastructure sectors. PNT signals and other data from GPS satellites allow our infrastructure to function reliably. Without these capabilities, the Canadian economy would come to a standstill.

GPS is ubiquitous but is also a single point of failure. As noted by the Resilient Navigation and Timing Foundation, GPS/GNSS jamming, spoofing, and other forms of interference appear to be growing in frequency and severity. Neither are space systems immune to severe space weather or cyberattack. This has the potential for devastating effects on our lives and economic activity. Presented by Vlad Anishchenko-Avateq Corp, Mark Corl-Triveni Digital.
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Protecting GPS with Resilient PNT Solutions

November 17, 2023

Protecting GPS with Resilient PNT Solutions event flyer

Humber's B²C Lab hosted a compelling seminar November 17th with the National Association of Broadcasters entitled "Protecting GPS with Resilient PNT Solutions" introducing the ATSC 3.0 Broadcast Positioning System (BPS). We are very grateful for the participation of a world-class team of experts who shared unique and novel insights with our audience. Our sincere thank you to our esteemed presenters and panelists.

Our B²C lab is pleased to be able to offer R&D support of the ATSC 3.0 BPS Solution. Special thanks to Rebecca Hanson and NABA for their sponsorship of the event, and to Ginger Grant, PhD, Tania Massa, PhD, Georgios Eftychiou, Tyler Charlebois and the Humber Office of Research & Innovation for their unwavering support.

Presenters and Panelists

Presenters:

Panel Moderator:

  • Dana A. Goward – President, Resilient Navigation & Timing Foundation and U.S. National Space-Based PNT Advisory Board member

Panelists:

Watch the Presentations

Person speaking at podium

Overview of risks with loss of GPS service and how current systems are (or are not) able to address the issue — Presented by Dr. Patrick Diamond.

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Panel of four people speaking in front of audience

Panel Q&A: Discussion on risk factors that Canada faces with loss of GPS service — Moderated by Dana Goward, featuring Jennifer Wharram, Dr. Sunil Bisnath, Adrian Stimpson, and Dr. Andrew Hansen.

Person at podium presenting slide show

Introduction of the ATSC 3.0 Broadcast Positioning System (BPS) as a complimentary, resilient PNT solution — Presented by Sam Matheny.

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Person speaking at podium

In-Depth technical presentation/demonstration of the ATSC 3.0 Broadcast Positioning System (BPS) as a complimentary, resilient PNT solution — Presented by Tariq Mondal, Mark Corl, and Vlad Anishchenko.

Broadcast-Broadband Convergence B²C Lab Open House

May 11 & 12, 2023

We would like to thank all the speakers and guests who attended our formal B²C Lab Open House on May 11 and 12.

The Humber College Broadcast-Broadband Convergence B²C Lab is North America's first Industry research lab exploring multi-sectoral applications of the new ATSC 3.0 terrestrial television broadcast standard and convergence with 5G networks!

Our 2-day Open House featured:

  • Informative presentations and demonstrations!
  • Updates and progress on our research
  • Networking with industry stakeholders from a wide range of industries across North America

Watch the Presentations

B2C Lab Introduction video

B2C Lab Introduction (Orest Sushko, Director B2C Lab, Humber College)

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ATSC 3.0 Broadcast App Presentation/Demo video

ATSC 3.0 Broadcast App Presentation/Demo (Mark Corl, Triveni Digital; Himanshu Sharma, Humber Research Team)

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Direct-to-Mobile (D2M) Demo / India Implementation Update video

Direct-to-Mobile (D2M) Demo / India Implementation Update (Mark Aitken, Sinclair Broadcasting Group/ONE Media; Liam Power, ONE Media)

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Inter Tower Communications Network (ITCN) Overview video

Inter Tower Communications Network (ITCN) Overview (Yiyan Wu, Communications Research Centre)

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Comparison of ATSC 3.0 and 5G broadcasting Evaluation Results video

Comparison of ATSC 3.0 and 5G broadcasting Evaluation Results (Sung-Ik Park, ETRI South Korea)

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“New Technology = New Career Opportunities" – Student Skill Building Workshops video

“New Technology = New Career Opportunities" – Student Skill Building Workshops (Madeleine Noland, President ATSC)

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ATSC 3.0 Direct-to-Vehicle (D2V) Field Evaluation Results

ATSC 3.0 Direct-to-Vehicle (D2V) Field Evaluation Results (Sunhyoung Kwon, ETRI South Korea)

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Avateq Industry Update/ATSC 3.0 Ultra Long-Range Wireless Backhaul (ULRWB) Solution video

Avateq Industry Update/ATSC 3.0 Ultra Long-Range Wireless Backhaul (ULRWB) Solution (Alex Babakhanov, Vladimir Anishchenko; Avateq Corp.)

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ATSC 3.0 First Responder Demo video

ATSC 3.0 First Responder Demo (Fred Engel, PBS North Carolina, Red Grasso; Chris Lamb; Tony Sammarco, Device Solutions)

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ATSC 3.0 Remote Learning/Education video

ATSC 3.0 Remote Learning/Education Demo (Mark Corl, Triveni Digital)

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