The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has wrapped up the first mid-band spectrum auction for 5G networks and raised approximately $4.6 billion in gross bids.

Auction 105 freed up 70 megahertz of spectrum in the 3,550-3,650 MHz band and enabled bidders to secure more than 91.1 percent of available 22,631 priority access licenses, FCC said Tuesday.

“This auction has been a key part of our 5G FAST Plan and our ongoing push to make more mid-band spectrum available for 5G,” said FCC Chairman Ajit Pai. “And I look forward to the Commission making available 280 more megahertz of mid-band spectrum for 5G in the C-band auction beginning on December 8.”

FCC kicked off Auction 105 in July 2020.

Join Potomac Officers Club for its 5G Summit on Oct. 27, 2020 to learn about the impact that innovative technologies and 5G integration have on the private and public sectors, the steps the federal agencies have taken to remain up to speed with the rapid advancement of technology, and the future programs, plans and priorities as the nation aligns with emerging technology.

Don’t miss out on this must see event! Click here to register for the 5G Summit on October 27th.

The General Services Administration (GSA), NASA, Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) and the NIH Information Technology Acquisition and Assessment Center plan to unveil an IT vendor management office in October to help agencies make informed decisions when it comes to IT procurement, Federal News Network reported Tuesday.

“Launching the ITVMO is an important step in our category management evolution,” OFPP Administrator Michael Wooten told the network in a statement. “The ITVMO will further sharpen the government’s IT acquisition intelligence capability. It will allow us to leverage our collective expertise, turn data into information, and increase engagement with our important vendor partners.”

A fact sheet on ITVMO says the proposed office will use IT category management, governmentwide procurement data, shared acquisition knowledge and technical contracting expertise to advise and support agencies when it comes to their IT purchases.

ITVMO will provide services across five areas to support agencies’ IT procurement decisions: data analytics; vendor relationship management; subject matter expertise; IT security and risk management; and best-in-class solutions management.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has rolled out a new tool meant to help care providers and patients schedule appointments efficiently. VA said Monday that it will deploy the Centralized Scheduling Solution at various health facilities to speed up patient-care coordination activities.

Users may use CSS to schedule appointments by viewing color-coded time slots and checking out resources such as rooms, equipment and clinicians.

Pamela Powers, acting deputy secretary at VA, said the tool will help users flag canceled appointments as well as identify and mitigate double bookings.

The tool is a part of VA’s Electronic Health Record Modernization effort, an initiative that seeks to consolidate the department’s healthcare facilities into a single platform.

The U.S. Air Force has selected a contractor to assist the service branch in efforts to deploy 5G cellular network infrastructure at Nellis AF Base in Nevada, C4ISRnet reported Monday.

Gen. Charles Corcoran, commander of the Air Force Warfare Center, told the publication in an interview that the undisclosed contractor will perform work within six to eight months and support initial testing of the 5G infrastructure at the military installation.

According to Corcoran, the experimental effort will focus on coordinating 5G network operations with the Advanced Battle Management System’s (ABMS) command and control software designed for human-machine mission execution.

“I need sensors to field a common operating picture. I need radars — space based, air-based, land-based, whatever,” he said. “Applications, computers … ABMS is working on those tools, those interfaces.”

Join Potomac Officers Club for its 5G Summit on Oct. 27, 2020 to learn about the impact that innovative technologies and 5G integration have on the private and public sectors, the steps the federal agencies have taken to remain up to speed with the rapid advancement of technology, and the future programs, plans and priorities as the nation aligns with emerging technology.

Don’t miss out on this must see event! Click here to register for the 5G Summit on October 27th.

A bipartisan group of representatives has introduced legislation to help improve data accuracy in COVID-19 research and other reporting activities related to the novel coronavirus.

The Office of Rep. Scott Peters, D-Calif., said Friday that he along with Rep. Lucy McBath, D-Ga., Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., and Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., introduced the Health STATISTICS Act of 2020 in an effort to standardize COVID-19 reporting at the county, city, state and national levels.

The Health STATISTICS Act will mandate the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to promote health data-sharing across the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other public health organizations while preserving rights to individual privacy.

The HHS secretary will also lead the development of data and technology standards as well as unified reporting criteria for high-priority data, according to the statement. 

“Our bill would ensure vital information often missing from current reports, such as race or mortality data, is collected and shared accordingly so that patterns can be found and relief can be more rapidly deployed,” said Rep. Peters. 

“Modernizing and standardizing public health reporting will reduce burdens on state and local public health departments and save money and lives,” noted Rep. Eshoo.

Other efforts under the Health STATISTICS Act include grant programs to help state, local, tribal and territorial governments modernize their health data infrastructure.