AT&T: A Global Leader

Q&A with Jill Singer, vice president, National Security

ATT

Jill Singer


What are some of the primary markets AT&T serves?

We are a diversified, global leader in telecommunications, media and entertainment, and technology. We provide more than 100 million U.S. consumers with entertainment and communication experiences. We serve educational institutions with technology, network and Wi-Fi coverage, and long-distance learning capabilities. We serve nearly three million business customers, providing high-speed and highly secure connectivity and smart solutions. We also serve federal, state, local, and tribal governments. We can trace our support for the government back 143 years, from the beginning of our company. Today, we support every branch of the federal government.

Our network is the largest, most advanced, and most powerful global backbone that exists. Generally, you’re going to find access to the AT&T network around the globe, wherever your business or personal travels take you.

What challenges does AT&T help its customers overcome?

In the public sector, we help intelligence agencies modernize and improve their ability to deliver their missions through an array of capabilities and expertise. We provide network and information technology design, engineering, development, operations, maintenance, management, security integration, and testing. We offer enterprise IT support and management, wireless innovation testing, software development including cloud applications and support, and voice and video services.

As the carrier delivering the FirstNet network, we offer intelligence agencies the communications platform built specifically to support their engagements with the public safety community. We deliver wireline and wireless networks to support intelligence missions and provide near real-time connectivity combined with robust cybersecurity to safeguard people and information. And, we help with network infrastructure assessment, accreditation, and authorization processes in government and enterprise IT environments.

I am proud to be at AT&T and everyone here is proud to do our part to help keep our nation safe.

GEOINT 2019 Executive Interview: Carmen Medina and AT&T’s Jill Singer from Trajectory On Location on Vimeo.

What differentiates AT&T with regard to intelligence systems and data analytics?

We provide the underlying foundation in the IC. We offer the IC wireline and wireless network environments that allow them to operate their intelligence systems and perform data analytics in support of their missions. We do this with cybersecurity as a core capability of their network environments—offering confidence the systems and analytics are highly secure.

In what ways is AT&T digitally innovative?

In the past several years, there has been exponential growth in the demand for bandwidth—mainly driven by video, mobile technology streaming, and other capabilities. Since 2007, data traffic on the AT&T wireless network has grown more than 470,000 percent. We could not continue our hardware-centric deployment of infrastructure to all corners of the globe—it would have been incredibly expensive and takes a lot of time.

We migrated to a software-defined network to offer customers the ability to access bandwidth on demand and respond to real-time needs around the globe. We took individual hardware pieces—like firewalls, routers, and accelerators—and moved them into software—a flexible and less expensive commodity-based hardware. We did this out of necessity to better serve our customers.

How has USGIF Membership helped your business?

USGIF events allow us to bring our message to the various communities USGIF serves. The GEOINT Symposium is a perfect example. At GEOINT 2019, we had numerous opportunities to connect with government leaders and hear firsthand their concerns and mission challenges. These interactions allow us to hone our capabilities, so we are laser-focused on their top mission priorities and delivering the capabilities and solutions that help them succeed. The Symposium also allows us to connect with industry colleagues and develop joint market partnerships to create solution ecosystems that offer greater value to customers.

What excites you about the IC’s future?

Geospatial context is critical to intelligence, diplomacy, warfighting, law enforcement, and more. And when you combine geospatial information with imagery intelligence and other intelligence data, it empowers the United States with a deeper understanding of global events. It supports U.S. competitive advantage on the global stage. That, in itself, is exciting. Also exciting is AT&T’s ability to apply innovative technologies—such as augmented and virtual reality training—to assist the IC.

Finally, AT&T is excited about the state-of-the art cybersecurity innovations we can bring to protect the IC from edge to edge and everywhere in between. We’re honored and thrilled to provide network and communications support to the IC.

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