The wireless industry takes its latest technologies to the International Wireless Communications Expo (IWCE), and this year was no exception as Motorola Solutions and Icom America both arrived in Las Vegas with new products. Motorola Solutions used IWCE, the wireless industry's largest annual gathering, to announce the introduction of its APX1000 and APX4000XE portable radios, as well as the mobile APX Dual radio.

A key element of school campus security is the ability to quickly summon first responders in an emergency. And while calling 9-1-1 works, a direct wireless connection with police, fire, and medical personnel is even faster. That’s the advantage behind the donation by Motorola Solutions of 250 two-way radios to the Chardon Area Schools in Ohio.

The big news from BearCom this month is our designation by Motorola Solutions as a Motorola Service Elite Specialist. This is a reflection of our ability to sell, design, deploy, support, and service the highest tiers of Motorola products and solutions as a direct representative. "Even though we sell only the highest-quality wireless communications equipment, we recognize that it sometimes needs service and repair," Jerry Denham, BearCom's President & CEO, said in announcing the designation.

The construction industry is on a roll, according to experts who project construction starts will be up 9% this year, on top of last year's 5% gain. The biggest increases in activity will be in single-family housing, commercial building, and multifamily housing.

Some companies publish catalogs filled with little more than pretty pictures and glowing product descriptions. Not BearCom.

This first day of the new year seems like the perfect time to look back at all that happened at BearCom during 2013, a year that brought new products and solutions, an award for our BC130 two-way radio, a revamped online magazine, and a potential game changer from Motorola Solutions. It was just last month that we announced the opening of the BearCom Network

Even superheroes need helpers, and today I want to congratulate one who responded beautifully to a communications emergency in downtown Fairbanks, Alaska. His name is John Benevento, and thanks to "Benny," the clock tower carillon in Golden Heart Plaza plays Christmas music instead of two-way radio traffic from the city's public safety agencies. According to the Fairbanks News-Miner, the carillon designed to fill the downtown square with music was beset by problems almost since the local Rotary Club put it up in 1990.

With help from our partner Motorola Solutions, wireless LAN is going down under. In this case, I don't mean Australia, but underground into the subway system in Toronto, Canada.

Hiring happens on a mind-boggling scale at this time of year. Retailers will add up to 780,000 seasonal workers to handle the crush of holiday consumers. Many will have little experience, limited product knowledge, and no familiarity with store operations. How will they get answers? Through a two-way radio. Radios are being used in an increasing number of retail settings because they provide the one-to-many communications that result in quick responses to queries.