The Department of Energy (DOE) has selected seven local and state government entities to install new building technologies in Texas, Wisconsin, California, Kansas, Tennessee and Rhode Island. 

DOE said Wednesday that it competitively selected four local government bodies, two state energy agencies and a state judicial council to have these technologies installed and demonstrated under the department's State Energy Program.

The department seeks to improve the energy efficiency and flexibility of buildings through these technologies, such as artificial intelligence-aided sensors, building automation systems, gas absorption heat pumps and thermal energy storage systems.

“We are excited and ready to work with our public sector stakeholders to test out these innovative technologies for improving energy efficiency for homeowners, business owners and state and local governments,” said AnnaMaria Garcia, director of weatherization and intergovernmental programs at DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.

DOE finances the projects via the Building Technologies Proving Ground – Public Sector Field Validation funding opportunity.

The Department of the Air Force gathered leaders from both its service branches to standardize joint all-domain command and control processes at this year's annual C2 Summit. The event ran from Jan. 12 to 13th at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada, with the participation of U.S. Air Force, U.S. Space Force and joint senior leaders, USAF said Wednesday.

Attendees discussed a range of joint force-related topics such as USAF's Advanced Battle Management System (ABMS), a new technology designed to facilitate real-time information sharing and analysis across a joint force.

The event also featured discussions on C2 technology training, doctrine development, budgeting and USSF's integration into the JADC2 concept.

“The U.S. Space Force was a priority topic of discussion on the summit’s agenda in making sure that we're able to enhance integration of the space domain into joint warfighting,” said Col. Alan Docauer, chief of Air Combat Command's Directorate of Operations, C2, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Operations.

The U.S. military envisions the JADC2 concept as an integrated network of battlefield sensors from all the service branches.

CGI has updated its brand identity to demonstrate how the company enables clients to leverage technology to create value for their critical missions, the company reported on Thursday. 

"Today's brand refresh launch recognizes CGI's position as a leading advisor to clients, and our commitment to putting their aspirations at the center of our services," said Julie Godin, co-chair of the Board and executive vice president of Strategic Planning and Corporate Development.

CGI introduced its updated brand identity with the tagline, “Insights you can act on.” The tagline signifies the company’s knowledge of clients' industries and its collaborative style in building strategies and delivering services that support positive business outcomes.

The company launched its brand update as it enters its 45th year. The refreshed brand also coincides with the launch of the 2021 Voice of Our Clients initiative, where CGI leaders meet with business and IT executives to discuss business goals, IT priorities and best practices.

Based on the Voice of Our Clients initiative, CGI uses the insights to analyze leading enterprises that produce results from IT and business strategies. The company also shares its findings with clients to support their investments, as well as build and execute strategies.

The 2020 interviews resulted in valuable insights, concerning how business and IT priorities have evolved. The 2021 interviews will provide new perspectives on accelerating digital strategies, following the outbreak of COVID-19. 

"With the refresh of our brand identity including a new tagline, we reinforce our rich history as a leading IT and business consulting services firm, our deep knowledge-base of client insights, and the collective expertise of our 76,000 consultants and professionals located in 400 locations worldwide," Godin added.

The Department of Defense (DOD) will work to prevent interference to aviation instruments, as the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) continues to auction C-band spectrum used for 5G communication, Defense News reported on Thursday.

“The approach should be not on trying to slow down 5G metro deployment, but speeding up development and testing of mitigations that can serve as an interim gap until avionics manufacturers can harden their systems,” said Alan Burke, the Pentagon’s chair for the interagency Aviation Cyber Initiative Task Force.

The head of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Department of Transportation (DOT) requested that the FCC pause the sale of the C-band spectrum in Dec. 2020, following findings that 5G operations could cause harmful interference to radar altimeters, which are used to measure the distance between the aircraft and the ground.

To combat the threat, the Pentagon will study how the deployment of 5G networks will impact military aircraft, then enact a strategy to mitigate any safety concerns. “The longer-term challenge is going to be making — not just radar altimeters — but avionics systems that are resilient to out-of-band interference,” Burke added.

"The FCC confronted a host of technical, legal, practical, and political challenges in structuring this auction,” outgoing FCC chairman Ajit Pai said. “It would have been easy to delay. But we rightly pushed ahead and overcame every one of those obstacles. As a result, we significantly advanced United States leadership in 5G and have enabled America’s wireless consumers to more quickly benefit from 5G services.”

As part of the 5G FAST Plan, the FCC has projected to sell more than 5,000 new flexible-use overlay licenses for C-band spectrum in the 3.7 to 3.98 GHz frequency. The first phase of the auction received bids totaling $80.9 billion. 

“We’re working to establish a collaborative interagency approach,” Burke said. “And that includes [establishing] a national 5G operational test range. If we wanted to do operational testing of our radar altimeters in a 5G C band environment, we don’t have the capability to do that right now. And so that’s a shortfall that we want to work to address.”