Month: July 2025

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Federal mDL Industry Day: Collaboration and Momentum Toward Secure Digital Identity

On July 14, GSA welcomed nearly 1,500 attendees—including representatives from federal agencies, state governments, industry partners, and international organizations — for the first-ever Federal Mobile Driver’s License (mDL) Industry Day. This hybrid event, held in person at the Department of the Interior Headquarters in Washington, D.C., and streamed online, was hosted in collaboration with the Department of Homeland Security Transportation Security Administration (DHS TSA), the DHS Security Science and Technology Directorate (DHS S&T), and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The day marked a major milestone in the federal government’s exploration of secure, privacy-preserving digital identity solutions.

mDLs: More Than Just a Digital License

Throughout the day, panelists and presenters emphasized that mDLs are not just digital replicas of plastic IDs. Instead, they are privacy-preserving, standards-based digital credentials that offer individuals greater control over their personal information, while enhancing identity assurance for government agencies and service providers.

With over 14 states actively issuing mDLs, the technology is moving beyond pilot projects and into real-world implementations. We heard firsthand from the state Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) leaders at the forefront of this shift, as they shared lessons learned, technical strategies, and user-centric design approaches that are shaping the digital identity ecosystem nationwide.

Insights from Across the Ecosystem

The agenda featured perspectives from state DMVs, federal agencies, standards bodies, and international implementations, highlighting the momentum building across sectors. Panelists shared lessons from real-world deployments; challenges around interoperability and user experience; and the importance of designing for privacy, accessibility, and security from the start.

Demonstrations and Use Cases

In-person attendees experienced live demonstrations of mDL technology across multiple use cases, reinforcing the importance of interoperability testing environments to support scalable, real-world adoption. These demos illustrated how mDLs can help federal agencies deliver services more efficiently, securely, and transparently.

Speakers also emphasized that successful adoption will require cross-functional collaboration across IT, acquisition, privacy, cybersecurity, and service delivery teams.

A Call for Collaboration

GSA announced its participation in a business use case testing initiative led by NIST’s National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (NCCoE)—a key step to developing standards to ensure mDLs function seamlessly across state and federal systems before wide-scale deployment. This collaborative project is focused on advancing the adoption of privacy-preserving digital credentials by developing and demonstrating practical use cases for mDLs.

The key takeaway: mDLs are here — and growing fast. But unlocking their full potential will require sustained collaboration between federal agencies, state governments, standards bodies, and solution providers.

We’re proud to help lead this effort — and we’re just getting started. Stay tuned as we continue supporting digital identity innovation across the federal enterprise.

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Looking Beyond EIS: Help GSA Define the Future of Federal Telecommunications

Telecommunications services make up an agency’s critical network infrastructure and enable federal agencies to effectively execute their missions. Congress, through Section 5124(b) of the Clinger-Cohen Act, specifically directed GSA to manage and coordinate federal telecommunications acquisitions. This mandate ensures agencies can access mission-critical communication services with cutting-edge network technologies at discounted prices through specialized contract vehicles. 

Telecommunications and network services require specialized acquisition approaches that include comprehensive performance guarantees, integrated service delivery, robust security compliance, and complex infrastructure considerations that standard commercial IT contracts cannot adequately address. GSA provides centralized, cost-effective procurement vehicles for acquiring advanced communication services, supporting everything from secure voice communications to complex, multi-site data networks and cloud integrations, collectively called Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions.

Sharing Our Research

Federal networks are becoming more virtual, flexible, and connected to the cloud. They are built on innovations like software-defined networking, zero-trust security, mobile workforce strategies, 5G/6G, satellite communications and artificial intelligence. These improvements are really changing how government agencies provide services and carry out their missions.

At the same time, the telecommunications market is also evolving fast. Many of the capabilities that used to be seen as specialized or only for the government are now available commercially, ready to buy, or through companies that use adaptable, standards-based approaches. GSA is dedicated to using these commercial options when it makes sense, following Executive Order 14217 on ensuring cost-effective procurement. We believe that working closely and competitively with private companies leads to new ideas, lower costs, and better results.

Planning for a Potential EIS Successor

With Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions scheduled to sunset in 2032, GSA is conducting broad market research to understand agencies’ needs, how industry is changing and what the next generation of network infrastructure acquisition should offer. We’re asking agencies fundamental questions like:

  • What are your future telecommunications and networking needs? 
  • What products and services will you likely be buying in the future and how are they different from what you bought in the past?
  • What challenges do you face in acquisition, security, and integration?
  • Can telecommunications services and equipment individually or in combination satisfy the government’s enterprise needs?
  • Where are customized solutions still necessary due to mission-specific constraints?
  • How can the federal acquisition community minimize reliance on custom builds while preserving service quality and security?
  • What improvements in vendor engagement, transition planning, and pricing transparency are needed?

Functionally, we’re examining whether a future contract would need to include:

  • Seamless integration between cloud, WAN, and LAN services
  • Support for scalable, available edge, cellular and satellite technologies
  • Embedded cybersecurity in line with Zero Trust and TIC 3.0
  • Simplified acquisition and ordering structures to reduce agency burden

This market research is exploratory. It is not a commitment to a new contract, but a strategic effort to optimize federal telecommunications procurement.

Reach out to us: EISfollowon@gsa.gov

If you work in telecommunications, network services, or IT acquisition in your agency, or you run programs with high or specific data requirements, we want to hear from you. The GSA team can be reached at EISfollowon@gsa.gov.