NTIA Blog

The Trump administration has made substantial progress in improving the resilience of the Internet ecosystem and reducing the threat of botnets. In a report released today, the Departments of Commerce and Homeland Security documented more than 50 activities led by industry and government that demonstrate progress in the drive to counter botnet threats. Building upon work started two years ago with the Botnet Report and Road Map, industry and government are working hard to put a stop to these dangerous attacks.

Here are a few of the milestone achievements:

NTIA launched the Minority Broadband Initiative (MBI) in November 2019 in partnership with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs) to work on solving deployment challenges in vulnerable communities.  As part of that ongoing effort, BroadbandUSA’s July webinar, “Cyberinfrastructure: Moving Beyond Broadband at HBCUs and TCUs,” highlighted that cyberinfrastructure – the broader network of technology systems – is a vital component for HBCUs and TCUs to remain competitive in the digital economy. The webinar was moderated by NTIA’s MBI lead, Francine Alkisswani, and Tonya Smith-Jackson, Senior Vice Provost for Academic Affairs at North Carolina A&T State University.

Curtis Bradlee, Acting Chief Information Officer at South Carolina State University, said partnerships with area universities helped to expand SC State’s capabilities. Among these partnerships is C-Light, a statewide direct fiber network managed by Clemson University that provides access to national and international research networks such as Internet2. SC State serves as an access point for other institutions to connect to Internet2, and participated in the National Science Foundation (NSF) CI Empower initiative.

NTIA’s National Broadband Availability Map (NBAM) has added Indiana and Georgia to its growing roster of participants. These additions closely follow the incorporation of Wyoming and Washington State to the broadband platform earlier this month. To date, NBAM includes 22 states.   

The NBAM is a geographic information system platform which allows for the visualization and analysis of federal, state, and commercially available data sets. This includes data from the Federal Communications Commission, U.S. Census Bureau, Universal Service Administrative Company, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Ookla, Measurement Lab, and the state governments. The mapping platform provides users, including administrators from the 22 participating states, with access to the NBAM and its data to better inform broadband projects and funding decisions in their states.

With more and more states joining, the NBAM is another step closer to creating a national platform that can help inform policymakers and expand Internet coverage across the United States. 

For questions, please email: [email protected].

NTIA’s National Broadband Availability Map (NBAM) reached a 20 state milestone with the addition of Wyoming and Washington State. 

The NBAM is a geographic information system platform which allows for the visualization and analysis of federal, state, and commercially available data sets. This includes data from the Federal Communications Commission, U.S. Census Bureau, Universal Service Administrative Company, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Ookla, Measurement Lab, and the state governments. The mapping platform provides users, including administrators from the 20 participating states, with access to the NBAM and its data to better inform broadband projects and funding decisions in their states.

40 percent of the states now participate in the NBAM. This positive momentum will better equip policymakers as we work together to expand broadband Internet coverage across the United States.

For questions, please email: [email protected].

Today, NTIA is announcing the establishment of the Communications Supply Chain Risk Information Partnership (C-SCRIP), a program to share supply chain security risk information with trusted communications providers and suppliers. 

Small and rural communications providers and equipment suppliers are the primary focus of this program, and our goal is to improve their access to information about risks to key elements in their supply chain. NTIA will ensure that this risk information is relevant and accessible, and we will work with our government partners to enable the granting of security clearances when necessary.

The C-SCRIP program was called for in the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act of 2019, which President Trump signed into law on March 12, 2020. The Act established a Federal Communications Commission program to reimburse smaller providers for removing and replacing equipment and services that threaten national security. This information sharing program, mandated by Section 8 of the Act, was intended to ensure that small, rural providers have access to the supply chain risk information they need before they make an investment, which should help mitigate further “rip and replace” programs in the future.

The Minority Broadband Initiative (MBI) has been closely engaging with Historically Black Colleges and University (HBCU) presidents, chancellors, and students on Digital Economy related issues since its launch last November. Building and maintaining conversations with key stakeholders has been instrumental in understanding and exploring options for leveraging HBCU broadband infrastructure to connect neighboring communities of vulnerable populations, especially during the outbreak of COVID-19. 

In May and June, the MBI hosted a teleconference with 77 leaders from 57 HBCUs to discuss HBCU institutional approaches, successes, and remaining challenges as they confront the immediate response to COVID-19 and set plans for the longer-term recovery. The schools’ leaders identified an ongoing need for targeted federal funding for broadband access, digital literacy training, and continued close engagement with government at all levels to expand the relationship with the HBCU community and ensure the distinct needs of their institutions are well understood by decision makers.

By NTIA

NTIA today is announcing the addition of five states to its National Broadband Availability Map (NBAM) program. Wisconsin, Colorado, Illinois, Oregon, and New Hampshire join 13 other states who are partnering on this critical broadband data platform.

The NBAM is a geographic information system platform which allows for the visualization and analysis of federal, state, and commercially available data sets. This includes data from the Federal Communications Commission, U.S. Census Bureau, Universal Service Administrative Company, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Ookla, Measurement Lab, and the state governments. The mapping platform provides users, including administrators from the 18 participating states, with access to the NBAM and its data to better inform broadband projects and funding decisions in their states.

With the addition of five new states, the NBAM is another step closer to creating a national platform that can help inform policymakers and expand Internet coverage across the United States. 

For questions, please email: [email protected].

NTIA has updated its BroadbandUSA website database of 57 federal broadband programs, spanning 14 federal agencies with billions of dollars for broadband grants, loans, and other resources. The site, created with the help of participating federal agencies, fulfills a goal set out in the Trump Administration’s American Broadband Initiative to make it easier for providers and stakeholders to find federal funding and permitting information.

The Trump Administration is poised to make significant progress this year in efforts to promote new 5G opportunities through mid-band spectrum sharing. In January, NTIA reported considerable potential for spectrum sharing options in the 3450-3550 MHz band. This summer, years of work by NTIA engineers in collaboration with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the Department of Defense will culminate in an FCC auction of Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) licenses in the adjacent 3550-3650 MHz band.

Incumbent federal operations in both these bands are primarily military radars and include shipborne, airborne, and land-based systems. But limited information exists about actual usage of these bands – what’s sometimes known as spectrum occupancy data.

Today, NTIA’s research lab, the Institute for Telecommunication Sciences (ITS), published a summary report that presents data collected from a two-year effort to measure spectrum occupancy in these two key bands. Interim occupancy reports were provided to NTIA engineers throughout 2018 and 2019, helping to inform CBRS policy. Today’s publication makes a summary of the measurements available to the public for the first time.