NTIA Blog

By: Robert Cannon, Senior Telecommunications Policy Analyst

Securing our nation's cyber infrastructure is imperative. That is why all Department of Commerce networks have taken the first step to implement Internet routing security.

Routing security ensures that Internet traffic reaches its intended target. Misconfigurations or manipulations of routing information can lead to significant degradation and loss of service.

The United States Government is tackling concerns about routing security through a whole-of-government approach. The Department of Commerce is playing a leading role in these efforts:

By: Dr. Chris Anderson, Institute for Telecommunication Sciences (ITS), Theory Division Chief

In an increasingly congested wireless spectrum, conflict is both inevitable but often resolvable.  

Between commercial applications (e.g., terrestrial and non-terrestrial wireless communications, navigation, and telemetry), scientific activities (e.g., radio astronomy, polar research, earth observation), and other vital spectrum-dependent uses (e.g., air traffic control), competition for spectrum access will only increase with new and emerging applications and technologies.

Finding ways to create additional access to this limited and valuable resource thus comes with many potential benefits, including faster, higher capacity and lower latency communications; new astronomical and scientific discoveries; more energy-efficient cities; increased highway capacity and safety; and more accurate weather predictions.  

One important way to achieve these benefits is to integrate coexistence measures into spectrum-using applications at an early stage. This includes greater use of dynamic spectrum sharing systems, which enable spectrum users to operate safely in close proximity—whether geographically or in frequency—without causing harmful interference.  Additionally, it involves enabling spectrum users to share spectrum access more rapidly than is currently possible with traditional and largely manual spectrum management approaches.  

By: Luis Zambrano Ramos, Acting Deputy Associate Administrator, Office of Policy Analysis and Development, NTIA

Every three years, the U.S. Copyright Office reviews and occasionally recommends expanding legal protections rooted in Section 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 for circumventing access controls on copyrighted works. Last week, the Copyright Office concluded its most recent review and issued its recommendations.

NTIA congratulates the Copyright Office and the Librarian of Congress on completing this important rulemaking, which can help prevent copyright law from getting in the way of vehicle repair, film studies classes, and a plethora of other important activities. We also support the Librarian of Congress’ conclusion that there are issues involving copyright-protected technology that “may require a broader solution” beyond this process.

Why a Triennial Review?

Because more and more devices have embedded software, this Section 1201 proceeding affects a range of activities, including security research, unlocking cellphones to switch wireless carriers, and repairing products.

By: Will Arbuckle, Senior Policy Advisor, NTIA

President Biden and Vice President Harris made a historic commitment to connect everyone in America to affordable, reliable high-speed Internet service while creating good-paying jobs and boosting American manufacturing. These investments are, in part, thanks to efforts made by the Biden-Harris Administration to enforce Buy American and impose Made in America requirements, going further than any previous Administration to reinforce these actions.

Today, NTIA and the Department of Commerce took another step toward realizing that goal.

On July 30th, 2024, NTIA published information about how Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program stakeholders can show compliance with the Build America, Buy America (BABA) requirement. One aspect of this compliance framework is the BABA Self Certification list for the BEAD Program.  

By: Maya C. James

Estephanie (Stephanie) Solano sees herself as a vessel for change.

A recent graduate of California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH), Solano currently works as a career advisor at Goodwill in southern Los Angeles, where she helps connect community members with job opportunities and resources.

Her pathway to her current role emerged not only from her desire to counsel vulnerable populations, but from a paid internship through an NTIA-funded workforce development program.  

NTIA awarded CSUDH $5.3 million from the Connecting Minority Communities Pilot Program to improve access to high-speed Internet service, devices, digital literacy training, and paid workforce development training. Part of this grant funded the Workforce Integrated Network (WIN) program, which Solano participated in during her third and final year of college.

“I applied right away,” Solano said after learning about the program from a professor. “Being a single mom and a student made it hard for me to participate in other programs and clubs on campus, so I knew I needed some sort of work experience and school participation.”

After successfully applying for the program, Solano worked as a teaching assistant for a Goodwill digital literacy skills course in Long Beach, CA. Between teaching someone how to use a mouse for the first time, to helping locals learn how to use Microsoft Office products, Solano says her work opened her eyes to the variety of people who were interested in upskilling.