Top 5 stories: Week of June 22-26

By Stephanie Toone-Martin

Here’s a look at the most popular stories on IWCE’s Urgent Communications from last week:

1. “The skills gap in America and the nature of work in the wireless industry”– Trade-press articles regularly cite a shortage of trained professionals in several industries, including wireless communications. While this appears to be the case, technology continues to automate many tasks once done by humans. This article examines the changing landscape for wireless professionals and various approaches to giving them relevant training.
2. “Cybersecurity: Believe it or not, the buck should stop at the U.S. Coast Guard” – Former Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security James Norton applauds the U.S. Coast Guard for its leadership in developing a complex cyber strategy outlining the framework for combating cyber threats in the wake of the recent cyber attack on the Office of Personnel Management.
3. “Could federal-procurement rules result in FirstNet getting ‘snookered’ in deal with partners?” – IWCE’s Urgent Communications Editor Donny Jackson covers some of the challenges faced by FirstNet with Congress’ stipulating that its board include telecom professionals. The stipulation could create a conflict-of-interest issue during the RFP decision-making process. “There may be some limitations on what some of us can actually participate in,” FirstNet Chairman Sue Swenson said. “What Congress expected—and their intention for our involvement—is different than the federal laws permit.”
4. “IBM leverages Big Data analytics in new solutions for law enforcement, emergency management” – IBM recently announced a series of Big Data solutions designed to help entities prepare for myriad potential threats, including pending storms and criminal activity. IBM’s Intelligent Operations Center (IOC) uses weather data and sophisticated analytics to let customers prepare for natural catastrophes.
5. “pdvWireless launches its narrowband DispatchPlus solution in Houston” – Houston enterprises seeking narrowband communications have a new option, as pdvWireless announces that its DispatchPlus offering is commercially available in the market and will be available in three other cities—Dallas, Atlanta and Philadelphia—by the end of the month. “We are excited to be bringing DispatchPlus to the Houston market and are pleased to report that testing of the network has exceeded our expectations in terms of performance and coverage,” pdvWireless CEO John Pescatore said in a prepared statement.