| The President’s National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee (NSTAC) has provided industry expertise and advice regarding national security and emergency preparedness (NS/EP) issues associated with telecommunications and information systems since 1982. Members of the NSTAC are typically chief executives of the Nation’s industry leading telecommunications, network service provider, information technology, finance, and aerospace companies. Motivated by patriotism and a desire to meet common threats to our national security and safety, the members devote their time and resources to examining high-priority NS/EP issues. NSTAC members also appoint senior executives from their firms to represent them in the NSTAC’s Industry Executive Subcommittee (IES)—the NSTAC’s working body—which performs the day-to-day work of the Committee. IES members are aided by the cultivated expertise of each company and by the knowledge contributed by non-member companies, institutions and Government organizations. Early recommendations from the NSTAC to the President created systems and processes that have proved invaluable in many national security and emergency events, including the September 11, 2001 attacks and Hurricane Katrina in August 2005. The reality of terrorism, in addition to traditional national security concerns has made an industry and Government partnership more critical than ever before. The NSTAC is systematically working with Government NS/EP stakeholders and subject matter experts from industry, Government, and academia to formulate recommendations to the President for the ever-changing telecommunications and information systems environment.
Currently, the NSTAC is studying the emergence of Next Generation Networks (NGN) and the effect of the movement on NS/EP telecommunications. To that end, the NGN Task Force was created in May 2004 to study these issues. Most recently, the NSTAC has began to study emergency communications and network interoperability issues, forming scoping groups to further investigate the ways in which the NSTAC can aid the President with relevant recommendations in those areas. The NSTAC continues to anticipate potential challenges created by shifting requirements, technologies and threats, and works to prepare high-priority counsel in various NS/EP arenas. |