Alaska's Lt. Gov., Fran Ulmer, who was the opening speaker for the event, cited the state's formation of the Telecommunications Information Council in the late 1980s as instrumental in securing funding for major telecom projects in the state.
"The TIC has helped Alaska make the progress we have made," Ulmer said. "We have created access for citizens beyond any imagined given the physical challenges we face."
Ulmer also said the state is in the top 3 percent of "connected" schools in the nation and, that under CIO Larry Walsh, Alaska has launched a major statewide telecommunications project that will create enterprise wide systems and networks that support voice, data, video and wireless technologies.
Regional NASTD representatives presented updates from projects in their states, expressing their concerns over shrinking state budgets that could negatively impact telecom initiatives and their optimism over potential savings realized through leveraging telecom resources.
NASTD President Brenda Decker, who is also Nebraska's telecom director, said that strong attendance at the conference reflects the commitment of telecommunications directors throughout the nation to persevere with projects that promise to bring value to government.
Darby Patterson, Editor in Chief
