Regarding the infrastructure piece of it, I've been trying to understand the extent to which that's a competitive advantage for Motorola and Harris. They can offer a bundle and potentially make it more difficult for others to operate on their systems. How does that work? Walk me through that portion of it.

Unfortunately, things have changed a lot since I entered the industry. There are still many procurement officers who want to simplify their lives. I always say, "one throat to choke." They prefer to get everything from one vendor on one purchase order. This way, when there's a problem, they don't have to go to Zetron for the console, Motorola for the infrastructure, or Harris for the subscribers. Many customers operate this way.

Specifically talking about the interior market, I understand why they've historically had the advantage in wildland fire. What about the other federal agencies that use it but are not specifically tasked with wildland fire? Why didn't they historically have that advantage?

I would say it's a combination of reasons. Many agencies prefer a vendor, an OEM, that provides a full turnkey solution. They want to get everything they need from one vendor, which makes procurement much easier. The lack of accessories for the 9000 was a big issue, and not having a multi-band portable was another. Agencies would ask, "Why would I buy your all-band portable when you don't have a mobile? We need both from the same vendor." I know they're working on it, but it's likely a couple of years away. I'm just guessing based on the challenges they had getting the 9000 to market. That issue came up a lot. Agencies want to buy an all-band mobile and portable from the same vendor, not have a mixed fleet of mobiles and portables on the all-band side.

The question people often ask is about LTE and whether there will come a point when land mobile radio (LMR) is replaced by cellular or other technology. I've talked to many people about this, and I have my own view, but I'd prefer to hear your unbiased perspective first.

At some point, I think LMR might be phased out. I can't say when, but I believe it is still some time away. The possibility is greater now due to features like ruthless pre-emption on the cellular side. Some people argue that LMR will never go away because there will always be situations, like a shooting or an accident on the highway, that could tie up a cell tower, leaving you without coverage. So, while LMR will be around for a long time, the number of individuals needing a radio might decrease. For instance, with BK's push-to-talk app on a cell phone, a maintenance worker or facility guy who is always in the same coverage area might not need to carry a radio if they have sufficient cell coverage.