3 2 CARL TEGEN has spent his life making sure the signal got through to the Soldier, securely. Tegen, Associate Vice President of Army with AT&T Public Sector, served for 21 years as a Signal Officer in the U.S. Army. In that capacity, Tegen was instrumental in creating the communications network that helped protect the Kurds against Saddam Hussein in the aftermath of the first Gulf War, setting up the first no-fly zone in Iraq. After leaving the Army, Tegen joined AT&T, first with the legendary AT&T Laboratories (formerly Bell Labs) and then, in a succession of leadership positions, within the AT&T Public Sector organization. For the past 19 years, Tegen has been helping clients deploy new technologies, at an increasingly faster pace. At a time of fundamental change in communications, he is again perfectly situated to serve the nation by delivering better networking. “What many people call the ‘network of the future’ is really the ‘network of today’—we’ve built it already,” Tegen said at a recent event sponsored by Government Executive. “AT&T has invested billions of dollars building one of the best networks with the latest technology. We’ve done this because it was the only way to best serve our customers. Now, this global network is in place for the Army to utilize. We believe the Army is ready to work with commercial ‘non-traditional’ providers to improve its network.” It’s interesting that AT&T would be considered a non-traditional provider to U.S. military forces. Considering the long history of collaboration, during which AT&T regularly put the latest technological advances at the disposal of the military. AT&T has always been a traditional technology provider for the military. In his remarks, Tegen identified three main reasons that the Army’s network has struggled to keep pace with the demands of today’s complex world, while Fortune 1000 companies adopt new technologies at faster and faster rates. Pace of Innovation The pace of change in communications technology over the past 15 years has been breathtaking. Newer technologies, such as Software-Defined Networking (SDN) and Network Function Virtualization (NFV), have been implemented by commercial network providers, transforming private- sector networks. Software is replacing hardware in network infrastructure, adding unprecedented levels of performance and agility. Businesses within the Fortune 1000 make use of these technologies for their networking requirements, and nearly all of them are AT&T customers. Beyond the technology, this rapid acceleration has changed what Tegen calls the “advantage window” of innovation. The advantage window is the period of time that a new technology provides an edge over potential rivals. For example, inventing a better two-way radio like the kind used during WWII could deliver years of tactical value. Today, the average advantage window is roughly 18 months. Out- innovating potential adversaries is a constant, never-ending requirement. Government agencies are struggling with the accelerated pace of technological innovation, but the stakes are far higher for the military. “We are seeing potential rivals take advantage of technology invented here in the United States, faster than our own armed forces,” said Tegen. “Nation states and non-state actors have been faster than us in leveraging tools and technologies, like social media, cloud computing and new cellular networks.” LEADING THE FUTURE Government agencies are struggling with the accelerated pace of technological innovation, but the stakes are far higher for the military.