Appeals Court Rules FCC Can't Impose Net Neutrality

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia dealt a serious blow to the FCC’s effort to impose network neutrality regulations. In a ruling on April 6, Judge David Tatel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit wrote that the FCC failed to show it had the required authority to regulate how Internet service providers manage network traffic.

The ruling is a victory for Comcast Corp., the nation’s largest cable ISP. In 2008, Comcast had been throttling the broadband speeds of customers who were using BitTorrent file sharing to download large volumes of data. The FCC ordered Comcast to end the practice, which the company did voluntarily. However, Comcast challenged the FCC’s authority to require ISPs to give equal treatment to all data transfers. The challenge brought increased attention to the network neutrality debate.

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first published week of:   04/05/2010

Apple launches federal integrator strategy
Company quietly forming partnerships with large and small primes

Apple Corp. is looking to take a larger bite out of the government IT pie.

The company recently launched a program to formalize relationships with systems integrators and sell its products — chief among them, the iPad tablet computer and the iPhone — on an enterprise level in the government and commercial markets.

One of those systems integrators is Agilex Corp. of Chantilly, Va., a 3-year-old firm that is Apple’s first government-focused contractor in the program, said Tim Hoechst, chief technology officer of Agilex.

“Apple has a new program they have created only in the last few months that they call their authorized systems integrator program,” he said. “It’s new for Apple to have relationships with systems integrators. That’s a very enterprise concept and it underlines their move to be able to support the enterprise, and so they created this program and their goal was to sign up companies as partners in several different categories, small systems integrators and some large systems integrators.”

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first published week of:   12/06/2010

Appleton, Wis., to Launch GIS-Based Road Sign Inventory

While about 25 percent of driving occurs at night, half of all fatalities happen during such hours, according to the Federal Highway Administration. In an effort to reduce roadway deaths and improve overall traffic safety, the agency has mandated state and local agencies meet minimum sign “retro-reflectivity” standards — the nighttime visibility of traffic signs.

Appleton, Wis., is making headway on this task and others with the help of a streamlined sign inventory system.

Through a contract with GISi, Appleton will soon have a GIS-based road sign inventory system and data collection service, putting it into compliance with federally mandated standards. The traffic sign management system — which will be available for mobile devices and online — will track inventory, develop work plans and track maintenance activities, according to a press release.

“This solution will revolutionize that workflow,” said Kevin Stewart, an account manager with GISi. “This solution will define when those signs need to be maintained.”

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first published week of:   09/13/2010

Binghamton, NY City Hall’s 2nd Floor Gallery to Feature Month-Long GIS Mapping Exhibit

The City of Binghamton will host a month-long Geographic Information Systems (GIS) mapping exhibit in recognition of National Geographic’s annual “Geographic Awareness Week.” The exhibit, titled “Visualizing Our Community,” will feature a series of GIS maps—including data maps on crime, cancer, code violations, dog permits, housing investments and gas leases—in an effort to raise awareness about the importance of GIS as a municipal planning and development tool.

The exhibit will open tomorrow, November 5th, from 6:00—9:00pm, for the monthly First Friday Art Walk. The exhibit then will remain on display during normal business hours (weekdays 9:00am—5:00pm) until December 3rd. “GIS provides planners, policymakers, residents and investors with a very powerful tool to analyze community trends, needs and opportunities,” said Tarik Abdelazim, Director of Planning, Housing & Community Development. “The City is proud to partner with the County on supporting a dedicated County GIS Division. This exhibit is an opportunity to share the value of this resource and show how citizens can use it for personal, professional and civic needs.”

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first published week of:   11/01/2010

Bossier City, La., Police Department Deploys E-Ticketing Devices

In Bossier City, La., the local police department is finally catching up to the 21st century, one ticket at a time. For years, traffic officers lost precious time and wasted paper when they had to write a driver's information in a ticket book. But in the next few months, the paper ticket process will be left behind, replaced with a comprehensive new e-ticketing system.

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first published week of:   07/19/2010

California CIO Teri Takai Touts Successes, Says Much Work Remains

In what could be her last major speech as California’s technology chief, CIO Teri Takai invoked Psychology 101 when explaining how the state has improved its technology services and management during the past two and a half years, and what remains to be accomplished in the future.

Takai told an audience of private-sector IT executives on Thursday, Sept. 9, that California has made much progress on a range of issues -- from speedier procurement methods to the adoption of an enterprisewide information security plan -- during her tenure as CIO. But she said the state still has more ground to cover to meet its “basic” technology needs and position the next gubernatorial administration to focus on business-line applications instead of technology infrastructure.

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first published week of:   09/06/2010

Volume 31

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