NTIA Blog

This post is part of our “Spotlight on NTIA” blog series, which is highlighting the work that NTIA employees are doing to advance NTIA’s mission of promoting broadband adoption, finding spectrum to meet the growing demand for wireless technologies, and ensuring the Internet remains an engine for innovation and economic growth.

Joel Dumke works on cutting-edge research that may help emergency first responders to better use video to help save lives. Dumke, an electronics engineer at NTIA’s Institute for Telecommunication Sciences (ITS) in Boulder, Colo., leads a team that is developing requirements and minimum standards for video systems that can be used by public safety.

For example, he noted that firemen can learn a lot about what is burning in a fire by watching video and observing the color, speed and location of the smoke.

One of his team’s current projects is focused on finding the right compression levels for transmitting video. Because video can eat up a lot of bandwidth, Dumke’s team is looking for ways to compress video signals while still preserving the video quality. It’s a delicate balance.  “If you don’t compress it enough it consumes too many resources and if you compress it too much it becomes useless,” he said. “It’s interesting to find the sweet spot where it works well.”

Agencies across the federal government use spectrum to perform critical functions from predicting the weather to air traffic control. But they may not be as familiar with NTIA’s role in this process and how we ensure agencies have the airwaves they need to carry out critical missions for the American people.

NTIA manages the federal government's use of spectrum, ensuring that the United States’ domestic and international spectrum needs are met while making efficient use of this limited resource. As part of this effort, twice a year we offer training in the latest tools, techniques, trends and issues to federal spectrum managers to better meet the requirements of their job.

NTIA’s Edward Drocella meets with participants at the most recent spectrum training session. (click for large version)

Today we are celebrating International Internet Day, which marks the first message ever sent over the Internet 45 years ago. At NTIA, one of our main jobs every day is to maximize the societal benefits made possible by the Internet through policies and efforts that expand Internet availability and adoption.

To help us in this work, it is important to know how Americans are using and accessing the Internet. Earlier this month, NTIA released the latest installment of our Digital Nation report series, which measures American computer and Internet use. The latest data, which is based on a survey of 53,000 households collected for NTIA by the Census Bureau in October 2012, demonstrated not only how ingrained the Internet has become in Americans’ lives but that we are now a digital nation on the go. The report found:

This post is part of our “Spotlight on NTIA” blog series, which is highlighting the work that NTIA employees are doing to advance NTIA’s mission of promoting broadband adoption, finding spectrum to meet the growing demand for wireless technologies, and ensuring the Internet remains an engine for innovation and economic growth.

You could say Lynn Chadwick’s career has come full circle.

After spending the early part of her career in community radio, she found herself in 2001 once again working with community telecommunications – this time  from the federal perspective when she began working at NTIA first in the Public Telecommunications Facilities Program (PTFP). Now, working as a federal program officer for NTIA’s State Broadband Initiative (SBI), Chadwick’s focus is on helping states use broadband technology to better compete in the digital economy and assist states in gathering data twice a year on the availability of broadband in their communities.

Chadwick is pictured while visiting an exhibition in
London of the English artist Lynn Chadwick.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) last week hosted the second in a series of stakeholder workshops as we launch a new initiative to leverage the success of our Recovery Act broadband grant programs and support communities nationwide seeking to build their broadband capacity.

Over the past five years, NTIA’s Broadband Technology Opportunities Program and State Broadband Initiative have invested more than $4 billion in network infrastructure, public computer centers, digital inclusion projects and broadband mapping. These programs have taught us that closing the digital divide is a multi-pronged challenge that demands a comprehensive, holistic approach.

Addressing existing gaps requires not only network availability and robust bandwidth, but also affordable computer equipment and monthly service, effective training and useful applications. It also requires collaboration among many stakeholders, including local, state and federal officials, community leaders, industry executives, private foundations and broadband advocates.

Last week’s workshop, held in Minneapolis, brought together more than 100 stakeholders for a series of informative panel discussions, presentations and networking opportunities. Participants also met with NTIA staff, who will be providing guidance, technical assistance, funding leads and connections to help communities expand broadband access and adoption.

This post is part of our “Spotlight on NTIA” blog series, which is highlighting the work that NTIA employees are doing to advance NTIA’s mission of promoting broadband adoption, finding spectrum to meet the growing demand for wireless technologies, and ensuring the Internet remains an engine for innovation and economic growth.

Robert Denny was no stranger to NTIA when he finally decided to come to work here four months ago as an electronics engineer in the Office of Spectrum Management’s International Spectrum Policy Division.

Prior to joining NTIA, Denny spent three years at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Weather Service, where he worked on many of the same issues he now deals with at NTIA.

Denny advocates for the U.S. position on issues related to international radio regulation at the International Telecommunication Union. But even before he came to the federal government, Denny’s work in the private sector aligned with many of NTIA’s issues.

Today, we are announcing the second in a series of workshops to share lessons we have learned from our broadband grants programs with communities nationwide seeking to build their broadband capacity.

“It’s been great seeing people come back and say, ‘I’ve been able to get a job,’ after we helped them with sprucing up their résumé and applying for jobs online.”  - PCC Staff Member, Las Vegas Urban League

“Without this computer lab, we would not be getting people the jobs that we’re getting them. It’s just a great thing.”  - Staff Member, Workforce West Virginia

Last week, President Obama signed the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act aimed at creating a more flexible and responsive system of workforce development to meet the needs of employers looking to fill 21^st century jobs. Ensuring U.S. workers are able to compete and succeed is a key priority at the U.S. Commerce Department. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker served on a task force with Vice President Biden that recently released a report looking at solutions for making the nation’s workforce and training system more job-driven, integrated and effective.

This post is part of our “Spotlight on NTIA” blog series, which is highlighting the work that NTIA employees are doing to advance NTIA’s mission of promoting broadband adoption, finding spectrum to meet the growing demand for wireless technologies, and ensuring the Internet remains an engine for innovation and economic growth.

Bart Gibbon is not your average NTIA employee. He is one of a handful of employees at a remote site many NTIA employees might not have heard of before.

Gibbon is an information technology engineer at NTIA’s remote site operations in Gettysburg, Pa., where he has worked since he joined the agency in 2005. He spends his days in a different setting than the typical NTIA employee, but he says his work in the information technology department is just like that of any IT engineer. Up until two months ago, Gibbon was the sole IT employee at the Gettysburg office.

Day-to-day, Gibbon works on maintaining and enhancing the site’s capabilities by applying patches and updates to the servers and assists in responding to help desk tickets. Even though he is not in NTIA’s main Washington office, he says he spends most of his time on the phone with other NTIA employees. He also travels to the main office for meetings about every other month. 

First responders know the deadly consequences of not having a communications network that is reliable and interoperable, a problem highlighted during the September 2001 terrorist attacks and Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy.  

The U.S. Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) is working to ensure our nation’s first responders have access to the most advanced communications when responding to an emergency or natural disaster.

NTIA is working closely with the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet), an independent authority within the agency, as it works towards creating a nationwide public safety broadband network. In support of that effort, NTIA also is working to ensure states are prepared to take full advantage of this network once it is deployed.

NTIA awarded $116 million in grants to 54 states and territories to help plan for the broadband network that FirstNet will deploy. The State and Local Implementation Grant Program (SLIGP) is helping states prepare for the development and implementation of a more resilient broadband network, which will enable first responders to communicate efficiently and, consequently, save lives.