PENTAGON: The Army showed off an impressive array of battlefield wi-fi gadgetry today in the Pentagon courtyard, exhibiting new-found realism about what gadgets it might not need.
Consider the hardware to connect the individual foot soldier to the brigade-wide command network, which has been stripped down from a 14-pound prototype to a militarized smartphone plugged into a handheld radio. Keep reading →
A popular Web-based collaboration application developed for the Defense Department is now being made available for mobile devices, according to a report from Government Computer News.
Defense Connect Online, an application developed by the Defense Information Systems Agency, currently allows users to host and attend Web meetings, and provides unified communications tools that lets individuals know who among their peers is available on the network. It also supports online chats. Keep reading →
Verizon is teaming up with a Vienna, Va., provider of government-grade encrypted voice-calling software to deliver secure mobile calling capabilities to the U.S. government.
In what Verizon described as a collaborative strategic agreement with Cellcrypt, the two companies expect to release a jointly marketed mobile voice-encryption solution this fall designed to meet the needs of military, intelligence and civilian agencies. Keep reading →
The rapid embrace of computer tablets in and outside of government has escalated the debate among federal agencies over the merits of designing native applications for tablets.
But if the Government Printing Office offers any indication, the prevailing approach is expected to be for agencies to channel development resources into applications that recognize and adapt to a variety of mobile devices, rather than concentrating on specific products, according to Lisa LaPlant, GPO’s lead program planner for programs strategy and technology (pictured above center). Keep reading →
One of the nation’s top government chief information officers predicted within the next five years, federal agencies will be able to begin procuring enterprise level back office information systems as a service rather than having to develop or maintain their own systems.
Richard Spires, CIO for the Department of Homeland Security, and vice chairman of the Federal CIO Council, said federal agencies–including DHS–are actively trying to reduce and standardize the number of commonly used information systems. Keep reading →
A new, first-of-its-kind, national alert system in the U.S. that allows the public to receive major emergency alert notifications on their mobile phones without having to sign up or pay for them went live this past weekend, according to a report from Government Technology.
The new Commercial Mobile Alert System (CMAS) was developed through a partnership between the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Federal Communications Commission and wireless phone carriers in what is seen as an important step forward to increase public safety nationwide, according to FEMA officials. Keep reading →
This story was updated March 23 to reflect additional reporting.
The White House may finally get what the rest of the nation has grown accustomed to at any Starbucks: Access to WiFi. Keep reading →
“The unthinkable has become thinkable,” a senior federal procurement official declared today as agencies consider new technology solutions in the face of increasingly stark budget choices.
“Five years ago, decisions we would not touch,” such as giving up control over agency IT systems,” today are on the plate and (we are) seriously considering,”said Mark Day (pictured at left above), director for Strategic Solutions the General Service Administration‘s Integrated Technology Services, a part of the GSA’s Federal Acquisition Service. Keep reading →
It sounds like a headline from The Onion, but it’s true: A project called “Homeless Hotspots” is turning homeless Austin residents into mobile wireless hotspots outside the South by Southwest convention center.
It’s part marketing stunt, part genuine charitable initiative — and it’s generating lots of double-takes and chatter from those who pass by. Keep reading →
Just as consumers are wrapping their heads around 4G, the wireless industry is thinking ahead to 5G. Soaring smartphone and tablet sales mean networks are growing clogged with cellular data traffic. For the time being, 4G technology can help relieve the congestion. Modern networks are able to cram more data into their airwaves than older technologies can. But soon, even 4G’s efficiencies won’t be enough.