INCOMPAS-Fall-2020-Daily-1

« 4 » THE INCOMPAS SHOW I SEPTEMBER 14 – 16, 2020 www.bekabusinessmedia.com S E P T E M B E R 1 4 - 16 THE 2020 “Technology has made us more agile and resilient in response to this virus,” said Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), during the opening keynote address, “so we owe a debt of gratitude to the enter- prising men and women who pushed the industry forward, like some of the people that are on this call today.” Sen. Wicker spoke about the “government’s unprecedented response to the pandemic,” including the tough decision to shut down a roaring economy in the interest of public health and the various stages of stimulus relief. Moving forward, Sen. Wicker stressed the importance of passing and funding the Broadband DATA (Deploy- ment Accuracy and Technological Avail- ability) Act, which would require the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to change the way broadband data is collected, verified and reported. In hopes of addressing the remaining digital divides, the bill would require the FCC to collect and disseminate more granular and local broadband service availability data (broadband maps) from wired, fixed-wireless, satellite and mobile broadband providers. Wicker also mentioned his work along with Sen. Brian Schatz, (D-Hawaii) to pass the CONNECT for Health Act, which seeks to create an opening for more healthcare providers to incorporate telemedicine into their practices. “Telehealth will revolutionize healthcare delivery to this country,” said Sen. Wicker, “and there is no better time than now, when millions of patients have to stay home for their own safety and health concerns.” 5G networks, in particular, will play an important role in both closing digital divides and enabling technologies, such as telehealth, noted Michael Dell, chairman and CEO of Dell Technologies and fellow morning keynote speaker. “5G represents the most transforma- tive change in our generation,” said Dell. “It’s not about making phone calls faster. It’s about connecting things and making an intelligent world through enormous amounts of data. It’s not just an evolution of 4G.” Achieving the potential of 5G, however, will require new distributed architectures using software-defined networks and a widespread embracing of open and interoperable hardware versus propri- etary systems, said Dell. He pointed to the work around the OpenRAN initia- tive, which seeks to design and build Radio Access Network (RAN) solutions based on general-purpose, vendor- neutral hardware and software-defined technology. Dell referenced VMWare’s ongoing efforts to help DISH build the nation’s first cloud-native 5G network on OpenRAN technology. “This is really a game-changer for U.S. 5G leadership and shows that open, interoperable, software-defined 5G is not pie in the sky,” said Dell. “It is actually here now.” These important discussions continue today, with Day 2 morning keynote presentations from Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.), Rep. Mike Doyle (D-Pa.), FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, FCC Commissioners Brendan Carr and Geoffrey Starks, and Ligado CEO Doug Smith. Head to the ConnectIN portal for details and times. p DHS Selects MetTel for Managed Security, Primary Internet Access Provider M etTel, a digital transforma- tion and communications company, today announced that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the federal agency charged with securing the nation, has selected the company for managed security services nationwide and as its primary internet access provider. MetTel’s selection for the DHS IP service – Primary Network EIS task order – is MetTel’s third significant award from a cabinet-level agency under the General Service Administration’s (GSA) Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions (EIS) contract. This newest task order follows an award for the Social Security Admin- istration earlier this year. MetTel will provide Mission Essential Functions to DHS, helping to safeguard DHS internal networks and systems against ever- evolving security threats. The MetTel awarded DHS-IPS- Primary Network will provide real-time information technology and communi- cations operations and support to the DHS throughout the 50 states and U.S. territories of Puerto Rico, Guam and the Virgin Islands. “The U.S. Department of Homeland Security had stringent requirements for this internet requirement contractually managed by the Defense Information Technology Contracting Organization,” said Robert Dapkiewicz, general manager and senior vice president of MetTel Federal. “MetTel was the lowest cost to the government with a fully compliant technical proposal, which is especially important because the government has an ever-growing need to secure high- performing communications technology at the best price. This, and all of our wins, past and future, are built on the founda- tion put in place by our federal practice’s founder, the late Diana Gowen.”   As part of the contract with the UDHS, MetTel specifically will provide IP service at multiple locations at bandwidth capacity of up to 10 giga- bits per second; a managed security service solution; and access to the MetTel EIS Federal Portal, which delivers to DHS real-time visibility to the latest technology to monitor and access reporting and performance details on the IP services delivered via the MetTel network. During the last 18 months, MetTel has announced IT communications projects with a range of govern- ment clients, including the City of Phoenix, The United States Marine Corps, The Pentagon and the Federal Emergency Management Association (FEMA).  p (Continued from page 1)