Developing IoT ‘Strategy’ Among Tech Sector Wish List Items for Next President

The next president needs to work with the tech sector to “advance an agenda” that “ensures Americans possess the skills and talents needed for 21st century success” and “fosters a business climate that rewards risk and promotes innovation,” said CTA, the Information Technology Industry Council and 11 other tech groups Wednesday in an open letter to the remaining presidential candidates. The next administration also should work to encourage “a fair and open global market for goods and services” and to maintain “cutting-edge U.S. infrastructure that supports entrepreneurs,” said the groups, which also included Allied for Startups, BSA|The Software Alliance, CCIA, the Internet Association, CompTIA, the Semiconductor Industry Association, the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, the Technology CEO Council, the Software and Information Industry Association, TIA and TechNet. Their letter included a tech sector “presidential platform” with main points including boosting skills of the U.S. workforce and promoting an economy that nurtures innovation. The next president should “welcome high-skilled immigrants” as part of the effort to boost the skills of the U.S. workforce, the platform said. Doing so will “improve the ability of companies operating in the United States to recruit and retain highly educated foreign graduates and professionals to meet hiring needs and supplement our talented U.S. workforce,” it said. In working to “propel innovation,” the next president should “encourage policies that protect expression and creativity online,” promote and ease access to new spectrum and develop an IoT “strategy,” it said. That strategy should promote policies “to encourage innovation, competition, and private investment that are essential elements for IoT technologies to thrive,” it said.