Editor's Corner: Mobile government would benefit from data-literate leadership Also Noted: Spotlight On... Wheeler to head FCC
Leveraging open data, building apps for public safety; Officials, industry preparing for more mobile government; and much more...  Follow @fiercegovit on Twitter
More News From the FierceMobileGovernment Network:
1. Federal workers get little encouragement to innovate, report says
2. Q&A: NIST's Ron Ross on the fourth revision of SP 800-53
3. VA senior officials denied bonuses due to claims backlog
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Mobile government would benefit from data-literate leadership
 The Obama administration has been a major proponent of open data--establishing data.gov and requiring agencies to publicly release machine-readable information. Open data and mobile technology are complementary concepts, as evidenced by the many challenges that encourage developers to harness government data into mobile applications.
Just last week, the White House announced yet another open data/app initiative, this one around public safety. Still, one has to wonder about the missed opportunities at the nexus of open data and mobile government. A press call this week served as a reminder that agency leadership and policy experts don't always understand the utility of these emerging areas of technology. During the announcement of the Agriculture Department's new developer community, USDA's Chief Scientist Catherine Woteki admitted that she couldn't make much sense of the 350 agricultural data sets on data.gov, but she was hoping developers could. She also said USDA hopes to make its data and that of international partners more "interoperable"--slowly saying the word as if it weren't part of the English language. Woteki also failed to mention a fascinating tidbit about USDA research data, shared recently by USDA CIO Cheryl Cook. The department's Agriculture Research Service is working on mobile applications to channel their research data directly to farmers in developing regions. While I can't fault Woteki for not being able to spin out a data visualization or a mobile application from an agricultural data set, I was somewhat surprised that the department's expert on this open data project didn't appear to be a technologist. The General Services Administration's Office of Citizen Services and Innovative Technologies and NASA, of course, are chock-full of open data and mobility experts. But at other, less traditionally technical departments, it may be that those with limited IT knowledge are leading open data projects. Given that open data is naturally suited to mobile, departments would benefit from data-literate leadership who may more-readily recognize opportunities where open government and mobile applications can unite. - Molly |
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Today's Top News 1. VA using portion of MDM for iOS, Android pilots, not BYOD
 The Veterans Affairs Department has turned on portions of its mobile device management solution to provide security for several smartphone and tablet pilot programs underway.
"The focus was to protect the devices that were out there," said VA's Acting Chief Information Officer Stephen Warren during an April 25 press call. "We've got lots of pilots in terms of bringing capability," he later added. Still, the department maintains it has less than 1,000 iOS and Android devices on the network for pilots. "The MDM out there is being used for a lot," said Warren. "We're working through configuration settings on it to make sure that it's right." One thing the MDM isn't being used for yet is allowing employees to bring their own devices to connect to the network. There are several questions around BYOD the department is still working through. "How do you deal with the legal issues when somebody in the department asks you for device, you're personal device, that you're using under a BYOD process? What legal rights and legal obligations does the department have and what are the individual rights?" asked Warren. "We are still working through that with our folks in the general counsel. We've also reached out to other departments who are doing it in one form or another," he said. For more:
- listen to the press call Related Articles:
Acting VA CIO: No BYOD until legal issue resolved
VA awards MDM, mobile app store contract
VA pilots iPads for caregivers of homebound veterans Read more about: Department of Veterans Affairs, BYOD
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2. NLM suggests digital 'go-bag' with apps for emergencies
 Digital "go-bags" consisting of mobile applications are just as important as traditional go-bags packed in advance of emergencies and disasters, said National Library of Medicine officials during a webinar April 25.
The typical, nondigital go-bag includes navigation, safety and communication tools, as well as medical supplies and toiletries. But, as the NLM's webinar presenters pointed out, access to information is noticeably absent from that list. A digital go-bag could provide maps, alerts, health information, access to social media and more. It would take up little space, all encompassed on a mobile device. Some mobile apps--especially web apps but also those downloaded from an app store--require Internet connectivity, while others can store information on devices. It's important to know whether information in a digital go-bag will depend on Internet access or not, the presenters said. Mobile apps offer many capabilities that can be useful during emergencies. Users can find out about shelter locations or how to administer first aid. Other apps help locate missing people or reunite families. Emergency responders can use apps to learn how to deal with hazardous materials or which areas to evacuate if air is contaminated. The webinar presenters also reminded users to keep their apps updated and their app-store passwords remembered. For more:
- download the slides from the presentation, "Packing your 'Digital Go-Bag': Essential Disaster Health Information on your Mobile Device" (.pdf) Related Articles:
FirstNet issues RFI for first-responder devices, apps, MDM, security and more
FCC issues tips for disaster communications
NYC uses PLAN alerts to reach mobile users in Hurricane Sandy-affected areas Read more about: National Library of Medicine, mobile medical apps
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3. Army tests CS 13 network for better mobile communication
The Army will use a new, integrated tactical network called Capability Set 13 in Afghanistan later this year to help with mobile calls and data transmission, according to an Army press release. CS 13 allows users to send and receive reports from individuals on the ground within seconds, according to the Army. During the recent Mountain Peak training event, soldiers said the new capabilities would support their mission as a Security Forces Advise and Assist Team, a formation that will be charged with working closely with Afghan National Security Forces to improve host nation capabilities and help the Afghans take on increasing responsibility for the security of their country, according to the Army. The network will be used for calls for air support, artillery support, medical evacuation, or medevac, and other reach-back communications, says the release. CS 13 will allow units to utilize advanced satellite-based systems to transmit voice and chat communications and situational awareness data, it adds. At the command level, CS 13 equips brigade, battalion and company leaders with vehicles linked in to Warfighter Information Network-Tactical Increment 2, the Army's tactical communications network. Those vehicles allow commanders to leave their command posts and continue to issue orders, receive briefings and monitor the latest intelligence, the press release says. The network also allows commanders to pinpoint soldiers and connect to lightweight radios to transmit data such as text messages, medevac requests and photos, the release says. For more:
- read the press release Related Articles:
DoD seeks MDM, app store
DoD releases comprehensive mobile strategy Read more about: DoD
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4. FCC final rule aims to modernize experimental radio
 The Federal Communications Commission April 29, issued a final rule it hopes will help the experimental radio service framework more quickly move innovative technologies to market.
The rule finalizes a February notice of proposed rulemaking that laid out how the FCC will change experimentation and development rules for new radio equipment and techniques. The NPRM proposed three new types of ERS licenses--the program license, medical testing license and compliance testing license--which allow the FCC to more clearly articulate market trial rules, and marketing and certification policies applying to each license type. The updated rules will "remove regulatory barriers to experimentation, thereby permitting institutions to move from concept to experimentation to finished product more rapidly," says the rule. The final rule incorporates several changes based on comments on the NPRM. The commission modified the rule to permit a manufacturer to operate unauthorized equipment in a residential area, as long as it operates under a service provider's license. When it comes to testing experimental networks, service providers are naturally risk averse as they have an incentive to minimize interference with their own customers, says the rule. In response to comments the FCC also added a provision allowing general operation of radio frequency devices that have not yet been certified without the need for an experimental license, if they're operated for a trade show or exhibition demonstration, at or below power level rules for unlicensed devices. This also means device users no longer need to obtain an experimental license or special temporary authorization for demonstrations. "This expansion will increase opportunities for manufacturers to demonstrate their products, with little potential for increasing interference," says the rule. The rule also expands the NPRM definition of a product development trial to explicitly include medical devices. "In a product development trial, licensees must own all of the equipment, must inform all participants of the nature of the trial, and must not market devices or offer services for hire," says the rule. Market trials, however, come later in the development process and have much stricter requirements and necessitate a conventional license. The NPRM also placed limits on the quantity of devices that can be used for testing and evaluation to determine compliance with the rules or suitability for marketing--capping radio frequency devices at 2000 units and 1200 units for devices that do not require an individual station license. The updates in the final rule changes these caps to better reflect the sophistication of new smartphones and tablets, and the proliferation of licensed and unlicensed devices, says the FCC. "The current importation limits are no longer adequate to meet the industry's needs. The need for increased device testing, in turn, has put additional pressure on the commission to issue timely waivers of the existing limits, so that manufacturers and telecommunications providers can meet their deadlines," says the rule. The rule increases the importation limit for all devices, both licensed and un licensed, to 4000 units. "Adopting a single limit for all devices will decrease the administrative burden on both manufacturers and the commission," says the rule. For more:
- read the final rule, "Radio Experimentation and Market Trials-Streamlining Rules," in the Federal Register Related Articles:
Genachowski: White spaces 'open for business'
FCC unveils mHealth initiatives
Spectrum debate turns again to receivers Read more about: FCC
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5. FirstNet board member calls process 'a fraud'
The First Responder Network Authority's April 23 meeting turned contentious when Story County, Iowa Sheriff and Board Member Paul Fitzgerald was asked to provide a routine update on the public safety advisory committee and instead presented a list of concerns around FirstNet's operations thus far. "The plans presented to the board for the development of a public safety broadband network is a fraud. I am not saying it's necessarily a bad plan. But I do say that the process by which it was developed undermine its ability to be supported by public safety," said Fitzgerald. FirstNet, an independent authority within the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, was established to develop a nationwide interoperable broadband network for first responders. The board is composed of federal officials, first responders and many former telcom execs. Members of the PSAC, said Fitzgerald, are being prevented from FirstNet involvement in any meaningful way. The plan is being "developed largely or entirely from a commercial wireless point of view and not by board members of the public safety point of view," said Fitzgerald. Consultants are also working with board members in smaller meeting and "not engaged in a greater transparent objective manner as required by the law," he said. This closed process could alter the direction and details of the plan for a first responder network, said Fitzgerald. He then proposed the creation of a review committee--free of all conflict of interest--to review and analyze from a public safety standpoint an alternative to the plan presented to the board. Fitzgerald's motion to create an independent board was tabled until the next FirstNet board meeting, at which time it will go to vote. For more:
- read the FirstNet board meeting transcript Related Articles:
FirstNet issues RFI for first-responder devices, apps, MDM, security and more
NTIA announces FirstNet state planning grant requirements
FirstNet chairman: It doesn't matter who builds and operates the public safety broadband network Read more about: NTIA, first responders
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Also Noted SPOTLIGHT ON... Wheeler to head FCC News outlets May 1 widely reported that President Obama will nominate telecom industry lobbyist Tom Wheeler to head the Federal Communications Commission. Wheeler has served as head of the wireless industry's CTIA trade group and the National Cable and Telecommunications Association. Anonymous sources inside the White House predict the nomination will come May 1. For more, read the Washington Post article. > Q&A: A look inside an international disaster doc's mHealth toolbox. Article (GovernmentHealthIT)
> Social media gets mobile. Post (Mobile Gov blog)
> Leveraging open data, building apps for public safety. Post (White House blog)
> Officials, industry preparing for more mobile government. Article (WaPo)
> House Dems call for FTC inquiry into 'Obama phone' website. Article (The Hill) And Finally… In move to pwn boys, Girl Scouts to introduce game developer badge. Article (ArsTechnica) ©2013 FierceMarkets This email was sent to ignoble.experiment@arconati.us as part of the FierceMobileGovernment email list which is administered by FierceMarkets, 1900 L Street NW, Suite 400, Washington, DC 20036, (202) 628-8778.
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