News and Events

NTIA is honored to report that the National Public Safety Telecommunications Council (NPSTC) has established the Atkinson Technical Award to commemorate David (DJ) Atkinson, a senior engineer with NTIA’s Institute for Telecommunication Sciences (ITS) who was recently killed in a tragic motorcycle accident. His death has been a great loss to NTIA and to ITS, NTIA’s research and engineering laboratory, which is located in Boulder, CO.

Earlier this year, the Obama Administration released a comprehensive blueprint to improve consumers’ privacy protections in the information age and promote the continued growth of the digital economy. The White House requested that NTIA convene interested stakeholders -- including companies, privacy advocates, consumer groups, and technology experts -- to develop enforceable codes of conduct that specify how the principles in the Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights apply in specific business contexts.

The deadline for analog low-power television stations and translator stations to apply for a federal grant to cover digital upgrade costs is fast approaching. The last day that NTIA can accept grant applications under the Digital Upgrade Program is July 2.

While all full-power television stations in the United States had to upgrade to digital broadcasting in 2009, thousands of analog low-power television stations and translator stations have until 2015 to make the transition. 

I recently had the opportunity to participate in a Community Broadband Summit held by the District of Columbia to explore the many ways that broadband drives economic growth, spurs community development and opens up new possibilities in jobs, education, healthcare and other areas.

I recently had the opportunity to participate in a symposium at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab that highlighted the benefits that a new high-speed broadband network will bring to schools, libraries, healthcare institutions, public safety facilities and other community “anchors” across the state of Maryland.

In today’s wireless world, the demand for spectrum from consumers, businesses, and federal users continues to grow at a rapid rate.  In response to this growing demand, in June 2010, President Obama directed the Department of Commerce, working through NTIA, to collaborate with the FCC to make available an additional 500 megahertz of spectrum over the next decade for commercial wireless broadband use.

A dozen years ago, a group of technology officials in the neighboring Wisconsin cities of Eau Claire and Chippewa Falls began meeting to share ideas on how to prepare their computer systems for Y2K. The group included officials from the city and county governments, local school districts, community libraries and medical institutions. And while Y2K came and went without incident, it soon became clear that the collaboration had the potential to turn into something much bigger.

Last week, over 350 representatives from public safety organizations, Federal agencies, industry and academia converged in Broomfield, Colorado to learn about the latest developments in public safety broadband technologies.  The conference was sponsored by the Public Safety Communications Research (PSCR) program, a joint effort between NTIA’s Institute for Telecommunication Sciences (ITS) research laboratory and NIST's

Just over a year ago, we unveiled the National Broadband Map – an unprecedented, interactive map that shows what high-speed Internet services are available in the United States. Powered by a searchable database of more than 20 million records, the map is the most extensive set of U.S. broadband availability data ever published. Our partners in the states collect new data every six months from nearly 1,800 broadband providers nationwide. Just as we did last September, today we are again updating the map with the latest information.

Last week the Obama Administration unveiled a Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights, part of a comprehensive blueprint to improve consumers’ privacy protections in the information age and promote the continued growth of the digital economy. These rights enumerate the specific protections that consumers should expect from companies that handle personal data, and set expectations for the companies that use personal data. While the Administration will work with Congress to enact legislation based on these rights, we are moving forward now to put these principles into practice.

The Obama Administration today unveiled a “Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights” as part of a comprehensive blueprint to improve consumers’ privacy protections and ensure that the Internet remains an engine for innovation and economic growth.

At the request of the White House, the Commerce Department’s NTIA will begin convening companies, privacy advocates and other stakeholders to develop and implement enforceable privacy policies based on the Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights.

NTIA's Recovery Act broadband infrastructure projects  are connecting communities across the country to high-speed Internet, creating jobs, and supporting economic growth.

Last week I attended a meeting of Latino business leaders, convened by the White House, to discuss how the broadband industry can grow the jobs of the future in the Latino community.

As part of our BTOP series: Tales from the Front Lines, today we are highlighting Ohio sustainable broadband adoption grantee One Community.

As part of our BTOP series: Tales from the Front Lines, today we are highlighting public computer centers in Philadelphia.

As part of our BTOP series: Tales from the Front Lines, today we are highlighting South Dakota infrastructure grantee SDN Communications.

As part of our BTOP series: Tales from the Front Lines, today we are highlighting North Carolina infrastructure grantee MCNC.

As part of our BTOP series: Tales from the Front Lines, today we are highlighting California sustainable broadband adoption grantee CETF.

The Broadband Technology Opportunities Program is producing jobs, driving growth, providing tools for economic empowerment and improving lives across the country. That was the takeaway from a recent panel discussion at the annual State of the Net conference held in Washington, D.C. last month. The conference, which is organized by the Advisory Committee to the Congressional Internet Caucus, explores the biggest technology policy issues of the day.

This week I had the opportunity to participate in a panel discussion hosted by the National Organization of Black Elected Legislative Women, or NOBEL, that examined how broadband is helping to address many of America’s most pressing challenges.

When discussing digital literacy, most conversations center around people's initial contact with computers and learning how the Internet is relevant to their lives; the basics on how to obtain information, goods, and services online; and developing the threshold skills necessary to succeed in the digital economy.  These basic skills are building blocks for success, and are the focus of many of our Broadband Technology Opportunity Program (BTOP) projects.

This week we are happy to announce a new feature of the National Broadband Map that will make it easier to use on your mobile device. This new feature allows anyone on the go to more easily search broadband availability, summarize and rank data, and view a map of community anchor institutions — all optimized for their mobile device.

The U.S Department of Commerce today released a comprehensive report on “The Competitiveness and Innovative Capacity of the United States.” 

Part of the report explores the federal role in providing a 21^st century infrastructure and highlights Administration efforts already underway, including NTIA’s BTOP program, which is expanding broadband access and adoption in communities across the country.