Newsroom

I want to thank our hosts today, TechAmerica, TechNet, the Churchill Club, Stanford University, and the TRUST Center.

And I want to thank all of you for joining us this morning.

There may be some other people here, who, like me, can remember when Time’s “Man of the Year” was a personal computer, and, according to reports, most of that story was composed on a typewriter.

That was in 1982, well before terms like “cyberspace” and “virtual reality” and “social networking” would enter the popular lexicon. 

The Department of Commerce today issued a report detailing initial policy recommendations aimed at promoting consumer privacy online while ensuring the Internet remains a platform that spurs innovation, job creation, and economic growth.  The report outlines a dynamic framework to increase protection of consumers’ commercial data and support innovation and evolving technology. The Department is seeking additional public comment on the plan to further the policy discussion and ensure the framework benefits all stakeholders in the Internet economy.

Broadband Internet is a catalyst for job creation. In fact, a recent report by McKinsey & Company finds that the Internet has created 2.6 jobs for each job it has eliminated. To take full advantage of the economic opportunities enabled by broadband, however, more Americans need online skills. For instance, broadband service allows a small business owner in rural America to sell her goods to consumers around the world – but online skills are also required.

The summer heat relents, and NTIA celebrates the success of its internship program!

As one of NTIA's nine summer interns, I spent the past two months working in NTIA's Office of Public Affairs helping to manage a range of activities related to the agency's  web presence and media relations.  Much of my work focused on helping to develop NTIA's new website, track news coverage, and highlight some of the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) grantees' ongoing progress and success stories.

Last Friday, I visited Kannapolis, North Carolina to attend a groundbreaking ceremony for the second phase of an infrastructure project that will deploy or improve broadband networks throughout much of the state, particularly in rural areas. The effort is led by MCNC, a nonprofit broadband provider that has operated the North Carolina Research and Education Network (NCREN) for more than 25 years. The project—funded by a $104 million Recovery Act investment and $40 million in private sector matching funds—will deploy approximately 1,650 miles of new fiber.

At a public computing center in Baltimore today, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke announced a digital literacy initiative that works to expand economic and educational opportunities in America. Locke joined U.S. Senators Barbara A. Mikulski (D-MD) and Benjamin L. Cardin (D-MD) in unveiling www.DigitalLiteracy.gov, a new website that provides libraries, community colleges, schools and workforce training centers a variety of resources and tools for teaching computer and Internet skills, which are increasingly necessary for success in today’s economy.

Last week I visited a new WorkSource Center Satellite in South Los Angeles, where a Recovery Act investment by NTIA has funded 25 new computer stations that community members seeking jobs can use. Coupled with hands-on assistance and career counseling from trained personnel, this investment is creating economic opportunities in a neighborhood where poverty and unemployment rates are unacceptably high.

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Good morning and thank you for joining us today. NTIA is pleased to be hosting this 12th Annual International Symposium on Advanced Radio Technologies here at our research and engineering laboratory in Boulder.

This week construction began on a fiber-optic network that will bring broadband Internet service to more than 120 communities in western and north central Massachusetts. Thanks in large part to a $45.4 million Recovery Act investment from NTIA, the project will help residents and businesses in these underserved parts of the state to better compete in today’s knowledge-based economy.

Remarks by Lawrence E. Strickling
Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information
Internet Governance Forum--USA
 Washington, DC
July 18, 2011
-As prepared for delivery-

Thank you for the opportunity to speak once again at the IGF-USA. I want especially to thank Marilyn Cade for her work in pulling together the third edition of this meeting and I am glad to have had the opportunity to speak at each of these sessions.

Testimony of Lawrence E. Strickling

Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information
National Telecommunications and Information Administration
U.S. Department of Commerce

Hearing on Internet Privacy:
The Views of the FTC, the FCC, and NTIA

Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade and
Subcommittee on Communications and Technology
Committee on Energy and Commerce
United States House of Representatives

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced today they will host the 12th Annual International Symposium on Advanced Radio Technologies (ISART) on July 27-29, 2011 in Boulder, Colorado.  This year’s conference will focus on developing policies and processes to maximize the efficient use of spectrum resources, with particular attention on radar bands and technologies.

Oral Statement of

The Honorable Lawrence E. Strickling

Before the

Subcommittee on Communications and Technology

Committee on Energy and Commerce

Hearing on “Federal Government Spectrum Use”

July 6, 2011

[As prepared for delivery]

As part of BTOP’s comprehensive oversight of its grant recipients, I recently spent several days in North Carolina conducting an on-site review of two broadband infrastructure projects.

This month I had the honor of hosting our Federal, State and local partners as we formally kicked off the construction phase of the One Maryland: Inter-County Broadband Network (ICBN) Recovery Act funded-project. This project is important to me because it will allow the State of Maryland to bring sorely needed broadband resources to every corner of the State and foster cooperation across many layers of government.

Yesterday I was happy to participate in a panel discussion about broadband at the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) annual conference in San Antonio. NALEO members recognize that broadband Internet is one of the tools necessary to help their communities thrive in today's economy. In fact, I think that any conference focused on building stronger communities should include a discussion of broadband - it's a critical ingredient for job creation, economic growth, and improving education, health care, and public safety.

I. Introduction

Chairman Walden, Ranking Member Eshoo, Vice Chairman Terry, and Members of the Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to testify on behalf of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) regarding the Federal Government's use of the radio spectrum. I am very pleased to describe NTIA's efforts to maximize the efficient and effective Federal use of spectrum and our work to identify and reallocate spectrum to meet the Nation's rapidly-growing demand for wireless broadband.

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I am pleased to be here to speak in support of the draft communiqué on Internet policymaking principles.  While previous speakers have discussed certain of the substantive provisions, I will focus my remarks on a key process for Internet policymaking—the multistakeholder model.

The United States enthusiastically and vigorously supports the use of the multistakeholder process as the preferred means of responding to Internet policy challenges.

Background: Today at a meeting in Paris, France, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) member countries and other stakeholders agreed to a set of principles to guide Internet-related policy-making in member countries. The principles resulting from this multi-stakeholder process are in this communiqué: http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/40/21/48289796.pdf

The Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration today announced the award of a sole source contract to ICANN to perform technical functions supporting the Internet Domain Name system.

The department on February 21, 2006 issued a Request for Information to conduct market research about whether there were other qualified entities to perform these functions.

New Version of InterNIC Website to be Launched December 1

Testimony of J. Beckwith Burr
Associate Administrator of the
National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA)
for International Affairs, U.S. Department of Commerce
before the House Committee on Commerce
Subcommittee on Telecommunications, Trade and Consumer Protection
on the Future of the Domain Name System

June 10, 1998

Thank you, Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee, for this opportunity to report on progress towards transitioning management of the Internet domain name system ("DNS") to the private sector.

Thank you to NCTA for inviting me to speak here today.

I’ve had the pleasure of attending many Cable Shows over the years and I am especially pleased to attend the inaugural show for your new President and CEO, Michael Powell. I had the great fortune to get to know Michael when he served as a Federal Communications Commissioner back when I worked for Chairman Kennard and he is a first-rate guy. He is smart and knowledgeable and extremely curious but most importantly, just a really good guy.