Lana Sansur Posts

Last week, the CompTIA State & Local Government and Education (SLED) Council hosted its first SLED Summit of the year at the Verizon Tech & Policy Center in Washington DC. We heard from government and public sector leaders, the federal government and other local leaders who dove into issues relevant to our SLED Council membership. One of our speakers was Charles Cooper, executive vice president of the Signal Group who provided a federal tech policy government outlook with a deep dive into the current administration and how federal policies will affect policy and tech spending at the state/local level.

On the morning February 14, we held the Capitol Hill Speaker Series at the 2018 CompTIA DC Fly-In. It featured high-ranking officials from the Federal Communications Commission and the Department of Homeland Security and provided Fly-In attendees with an informative overview of government priorities for the coming year around the tech agenda. It also gave attendees added knowledge of tech issues before hitting the halls of Congress for Fly-In meetings.

Blockchains have emerged as possibly one of the next big transformational technologies for government use in an effort to provide citizens with easy, online access to services and transactions. Blockchain technology is also at the forefront of many private industry sectors, including banking, real estate, and health care.

Earlier this year, the FCC concluded its broadcast incentive auction, which repurposed 84 MHz of low-band broadcast spectrum for (primarily) licensed wireless use. While this spectrum will go a long way towards boosting wireless connectivity and capacity, it represents what is likely the last time such a large swath of low-band spectrum (below 3 Ghz) will ever be available at auction.

Our nation relies on a modern, highly-skilled workforce to remain competitive and innovative in today’s global economy. Yet current policies are inhibiting our ability to find and retain top-talent as well as cultivate a sustainable long-term talent pipeline that is required to achieve a strong 21st century workforce. At the 2018 CompTIA DC Fly-In, our Tech Policy Summit kicked off with a panel titled “Taking a Holistic Approach to Achieve a Skilled America” which examined high skilled immigration reform, improvement to STEM education curriculums, and job training.

The annual 2018 CompTIA DC Fly-In kicked off with a working lunch on Tuesday, February 13 to bring attendees up to speed on the CHANCE in Tech Act, (H.R. 3174 and S. 1518). The legislation was built from meetings and feedback from last year’s DC Fly-In and presents an important opportunity to create a stronger pathway for apprenticeships within the technology sector.

The keynote speaker for the 2017 State Tech Summit was Dr. Sethuraman "Panch" Panchanathan, Executive Vice President, ASU Knowledge Enterprise, and Chief Research and Innovation Officer, Arizona State University, discussed the ingredients needed to build a talent pipeline for the 21st century economy.

At the 2017 State Tech Summit, autonomous vehicles took center stage. The panel looked at why Arizona is leading the way in the race to attract the self-driving car industry, and how industry and policymakers can work together at the state and federal levels on autonomous vehicle legislation.

Our third panel at the 2017 CompTIA State Tech Summit examined the 2017-2018 gubernatorial races. Currently, 34 states have Republican Governors at the helm while there are 15 Democratic Governors, and one Independent. However, over the next 13 months, 38 states are scheduled to hold elections for their chief executive, and the stakes are certainly high for we as citizens as well as representatives of the technology industry.

The 2017 CompTIA State Tech Summit featured an engaged second panel conversation on Internet of Things (IoT) data collection, storage, usage and most importantly consumer trust.