News

NTIA map links poverty usage and broadband access by compiling data sets to show where high-poverty communities are located with relation to internet usage patterns and access to computers and related equipment

WASHINGTON – The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) today released the Final Rule for the Connecting Minority Communities Pilot Program, which will direct $268 million for expanding broadband to eligible historically Black Colleges or Universities (HBCUs), Tribal Colleges or Universities (TCUs), and minority-serving institutions (MSIs).

WASHINGTON – The National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s (NTIA) Institute for Telecommunication Sciences (ITS) has issued a Broad Agency Announcement to procure prototype or commercial-off-the-shelf Open RAN equipment and software as part of an effort to test state-of-the-art Open RAN technology.

Vice President Harris, Secretary Raimondo and Secretary Haaland make announcement during White House event; Call for broadband investments in the American Jobs Plan

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced today the availability of $288 million in grant funding for the deployment of broadband infrastructure. Grants will be awarded to partnerships between a state, or political subdivisions of a state, and providers of fixed broadband service.

WASHINGTON – Today, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s (NTIA) Institute for Telecommunication Sciences (ITS) in Boulder, Colo., issued a Notice of Inquiry (NOI) in cooperation with the Department of Defense (DoD) to explore a “5G Challenge” aiming to accelerate the development of an open source 5G ecosystem that can support DoD missions.

Today, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross announced the appointment of Robert Tipton (Tip) Osterthaler to serve as Board Chair of the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet Authority).

Today, the U.S. Department of Commerce joined with its government partners to release a Progress Report detailing the accomplishments of the American Broadband Initiative (ABI) after the release of the initial ABI Milestones Report. The Progress Report shows significant achievements across government in removing regulatory barriers to broadband deployment, leveraging public resources for broadband expansion, and maximizing the impact of federal broadband funding.

Today, the Department of Commerce and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced a 120-day pilot program to curb illegal online sales of unapproved opioids. Under the program, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will work with three domain name registries, Neustar (.us), Verisign (.com, .net) and Public Interest Registry (.org), to suspend the domain names of websites found to be illegally selling unapproved opioids.

Today, NTIA on behalf of the Executive Branch petitioned the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to reconsider its Order and Authorization that conditionally granted license modification applications filed by Ligado Networks LLC. The FCC action permits Ligado to provide terrestrial wireless services that threaten to harm federal government users of the Global Positioning System (GPS) along with a variety of other public and private stakeholders.

Today, NTIA has filed on behalf of the Executive Branch of the United States Government a recommendation that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) terminate and revoke the Section 214 international authorizations of China Telecom (Americas) Corporation (China Telecom) to provide international voice traffic between the United States and foreign countries.

Statement from Douglas Kinkoph, performing the delegated duties of the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information:

“We congratulate the FirstNet Board for its decision to name Ed Parkinson as Executive Director. Ed’s energy and enthusiasm for the FirstNet mission, and deep roots in the public safety community, make him the right person to oversee the successful deployment of a world-class dedicated public safety communications network.”

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Today, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) launched a new Minority Broadband Initiative (MBI) focused on solving broadband deployment challenges in vulnerable communities. NTIA announced the initiative at the 2019 Carolinas Alliance for Success in Education (CASE) Summit held at Johnson C. Smith University.

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross announced the appointment of two leaders in public safety and law enforcement to serve on the Board of the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet Authority).

Statement of Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information Doug Kinkoph on the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) approval of initial commercial deployments in the 3.5 GHz band:

Today, NTIA released the first annual report showing continuing efforts to repurpose parts of the nation’s radiofrequency spectrum to meet the future communications needs of commercial and federal users. The report shows that the United States already leads the world in spectrum available for 5G technology, and is working to more-than-double the radio spectrum available for the next generation of wireless network technology.