NTIA Blog

This is part of a series of blogs highlighting how federal agencies use spectrum to carry out important missions for the American people.

When a large wildland fire breaks out, federal agencies have a number of tools at their disposal, from “smokejumpers” who can parachute into remote areas to airtankers that drop fire retardant from the sky.

But those various tactics would be ineffective – if not outright dangerous – without a communications infrastructure available to firefighting crews. The National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) and the National Interagency Incident Communications Division (NIICD) are responsible for coordinating communications when federal agencies are managing wildfires.

Source: U.S. Forest Service

A week ago, NTIA announced that the proposal developed by the Internet multistakeholder community to transition the U.S. Government’s stewardship role for the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) functions met the criteria NTIA outlined in March 2014. The announcement was an important milestone in the U.S. Government’s effort to complete the privatization of the Internet’s domain name system. The transition will help ensure the continued leadership of the private sector in making decisions related to the technical underpinning of the Internet, which has helped the Internet thrive as a platform for innovation, economic growth, and free speech.

NTIA worked with other U.S. Government agencies and conducted a thorough review of the Internet community’s proposal to ensure it met our criteria. NTIA also found that the proposal adequately addressed relevant internal control principles, in a review recommended by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO). In addition, a panel of corporate governance experts concluded that the plan is consistent with the sound principles of good governance.

From Internet-connected fitness bands and watches to security systems and thermostats, Americans are beginning to use Internet-connected devices, appliances, and objects that are part of a growing category of technology known as the Internet of Things (IoT).

More than a year ago, President Obama asked NTIA to convene stakeholders to help develop best practices to address privacy, transparency and accountability issues related to private and commercial use of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS).

I want to join Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker in congratulating the stakeholders who reached consensus yesterday on a set of best practices that will help guide the development and growth of UAS in the United States. I also want to thank everyone who put in the many hours of work throughout this process. Multistakeholder processes only succeed through stakeholders’ dedication, hard work and willingness to compromise.

UAS holds the potential to provide significant benefits to both industry and consumers in myriad ways. These include using UAS to inspect cell phone towers without risking human lives, monitor crop growth and take aerial photos of real estate.

The best practices agreed to by a diverse group of stakeholders -- including  privacy and consumer advocates, industry, news organizations and trade associations --  represent an important step in building consumer trust, giving users the tools to innovate in this space in a manner that respects privacy, and providing accountability and transparency.

This fall, NTIA will be joining the U.S. delegation, led by the U.S. Department of State, to an international conference that will consider issues that could impact international telecommunications standards and Internet-related policy issues.

NTIA is currently engaged in a collaborative process with the State Department to develop formal U.S. proposals and positions for the International Telecommunication Union’s World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly (WTSA), which takes place every four years. The WTSA, which runs from October 25-November 3, will set the overall strategic direction for the ITU’s telecommunications standards (ITU-T) work for the next four years.

As the President’s principal advisor on telecommunications and information policy issues, NTIA promotes policies that will help the Internet and the digital economy continue to grow and thrive as a platform for innovation, economic growth and free expression. Given this mission, NTIA wants to ensure that its contributions to the U.S. preparatory process result in proposals to the WTSA that accurately reflect the views and concerns of U.S. businesses and consumers about the Internet and the digital economy and also will help support economic growth and innovation. We also want to ensure that the work plan agreed upon at the WTSA related to upcoming ITU-T work does not duplicate the standards development processes of other bodies. 

This post was cross posted to the State Department’s blog: https://blogs.state.gov/stories/2016/05/16/china-s-internet-domain-name-measures-and-digital-economy

China is a force in the global digital economy and an important player in global Internet policy discussions. Today, more than 700 million people have access to the Internet in China, more than any country in the world. Several of the most valuable Internet-based companies call China home.  Global innovators and service providers from around the world, including from the United States, are eager to enter its market.

That’s why it is incredibly important that China use its power and influence in a manner that supports the continued development of the global Internet and the prosperity of its domestic digital economy. 

Both of our countries participate actively in a range of international organizations and processes that discuss the global development and deployment of the Internet.  We have both argued that the current processes, which rely on the cooperation of all stakeholders including government, industry, and civil society, are working effectively for the Internet’s future development and management.

However, the Chinese government’s recent actions run contrary to China’s stated commitments toward global Internet governance processes as well as its stated goals for economic reform.  

NTIA’s analysis of recent data shows that Americans are increasingly concerned about online security and privacy at a time when data breaches, cybersecurity incidents, and controversies over the privacy of online services have become more prominent.

Today, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and the Economics and Statistics Administration (ESA) convened a roundtable to discuss what data is needed to better measure the economic importance of the cross-border information flows that connect people and businesses across the globe.

This week, broadband leaders from across the country convened at the Schools, Health and Libraries Broadband Coalition’s annual conference to discuss key broadband policy issues important to communities and community anchor institutions such as schools, hospitals and libraries. NTIA had the opportunity to participate in several sessions at the conference to discuss our continued efforts to implement Obama Administration initiatives aimed at promoting broadband access, adoption and digital inclusion.

We also had the chance to meet with about two dozen officials from 15 states who work on broadband initiatives. The meeting was part of our efforts to keep an ongoing dialogue with state broadband leaders to sustain their peer network as a valuable vehicle for knowledge sharing.

Many of these state officials helped run programs that received funding through NTIA’s State Broadband Initiative (SBI). The SBI grants provided funding to each state, territory and the District of Columbia to collect the broadband availability data that helped power the National Broadband Map. In addition, SBI grantees used some of the funding to identify and address obstacles to broadband deployment and adoption in their states or territories.

From the thriving tech hub of Seattle to the small mountain town of Silverton, Colo., communities around the country understand that broadband access and adoption are essential to staying competitive in the 21^st century. A high-speed Internet connection combined with relevant digital skills can unlock a range of opportunities for residents, including better job prospects, access to educational and health care resources, and discounts on goods and services.

As local leaders take on the challenge of expanding broadband in their communities, NTIA is here to help. Our BroadbandUSA program  is harnessing the expertise we gained overseeing the $4 billion in grants issued through the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP). Through technical assistance, regional workshops, guidance and resources, BroadbandUSA is building on the lessons learned from across our grant portfolio to support communities as they seek to build infrastructure, pursue public-private partnerships, or increase adoption.