The NASTD has about 600 members who manage the spectrum of telecommunication projects in states. Brenda Decker, president of the NASTD and director of Nebraska's Division of Communications, said the association encourages information sharing between members and maintains an extensive listserv for its members. The listserv pushes out a variety of information to members, and allows them to exchange RFPs, which helps them eliminate the costs associated with building new proposals.
Once relegated to a particular niche in government that was associated with MIS activities alone, many telecommunications managers and directors now report to CIO's and assume operational responsibilities that cover numerous facets of running state technology services.
Among the responsibilities shouldered by telecommunications directors is helping the move toward increased interoperability of communications systems happen -- a task highlighted by the experiences of incompatibilities during the response to Sept. 11.
Don Fournier, IT policy analyst for the state of Idaho, outlined his state's efforts to create greater integration with enterprise services and broadband rollout, noting the passage of a bill creating a three percent tax credit for investment in broadband by the state's Legislature.
In addition, he said, IDANET -- the state's broadband digital telecommunications initiative -- is focused on bringing telecom services to all of the state's 44 counties. He also said the state is hoping to collaborate with Montana on integrated projects in the public safety communications arena.
Montana also reported aggressive plans to create interoperability between state and local governments. Carl Hotvedt, chief of the state's Network Technology Services Bureau, said the emphasis is on public safety services, including radio systems.
He said previous attempts to build an alliance between the state and local governments were defeated because of the reluctance of some county sheriffs to share data, but the new initiative is moving forward.
Toward the goal of better integration, he said Montana intends to consolidate its servers and applications within state agencies. Hotvedt also said his group is looking for a good working model for an integrated voice response system to base its own system on.
Hotvedt said that though there had been an overall reduction in the state's budget, he was optimistic about moving forward with telecommunications projects.
