News and Publications

Remarks of Lawrence E. Strickling
Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information
The Self-Governing Internet

Georgia Institute of Technology
Atlanta, Georgia
October 26, 2016

--As Prepared for Delivery--

Thank you Milton for inviting me and thank you to all of you joining us here at Georgia Tech and watching the webcast.

The U.S. Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) today announced the appointment by Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker of outside experts to serve on the Commerce Spectrum Management Advisory Committee (CSMAC), which provides advice and expertise on a wide range of spectrum policy and technical issues.

Statement from Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information and NTIA Administrator Lawrence E. Strickling:

The federal court in Galveston, Texas denied the plaintiffs’ application for declaratory and injunctive relief. As of October 1, 2016, the IANA functions contract has expired.

The Internet has extraordinary power to shrink the world -- to allow people separated by thousands of miles to more easily interact, learn from one another, and trade goods and services. These interactions are possible because of the incredible amounts of data that flows seamlessly across borders.

Tomorrow, policy staff from NTIA will be participating in an annual policy research conference where they will be discussing important research about Americans’ computer and Internet use habits. They will be presenting two working papers at the 44th Research Conference on Communications, Information and Internet Policy (TPRC), an annual conference on information, communications, and technology policy, which brings together researchers, policymakers, and advocates from the public, academic, and private sectors.

When she announced the Commerce Department’s Digital Economy Agenda a year ago, Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker emphasized that broadband Internet access and digital skills are critical to the economy’s success.  The digital marketplace has created millions of new jobs in the United States. Digitally connected Americans are the modern workers, creative innovators, and new customers who will help sustain our nation’s global competitiveness. 

Remarks of Lawrence E. Strickling
Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information
Internet Society’s InterCommunity 2016
Washington, D.C.
September 21, 2016

I want to thank Kathy Brown and Sally Wentworth for inviting me here today to participate in your program. I want to talk about a topic that we have made a top priority during my seven years at NTIA.

In March 2014, NTIA initiated the final step in the privatization of the Internet’s domain name system   (DNS) by asking ICANN to convene its global stakeholders to develop a plan to transition the stewardship role NTIA plays related to the DNS technical functions, known as the IANA functions.

Statement of Lawrence E. Strickling, Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information and NTIA Administrator, on the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, “Department of Commerce - Property Implications of Proposed Transition of U.S.

Broadband is increasingly playing a central role in the lives of Americans. Job searches, education, entertainment, health care services, business ventures – those with access to reliable, high-speed broadband gain tremendous opportunities in almost every facet of life.

Today, we will be hosting our seventh broadband workshop in Missoula, Montana, where we will have the chance to hear from local leaders, broadband providers, community groups and others. Issues teed up include the importance of engaging with stakeholders who are key to any broadband project’s success. But it’s not always easy to identify who key stakeholders are or the best ways to engage them to help contribute to a broadband project’s success.

We are on the verge of an explosion in the number of Internet-connected devices, from smartwatches to connected refrigerators, furniture and thermostats. Some experts predict that there will be as many as 200 billion connected devices around the world by 2020, or about 25 devices per person.

Two months ago, we passed an important milestone in a nearly 20-year effort to privatize the Internet domain name system (DNS). We announced on June 9 that the transition proposal developed by the Internet multistakeholder community meets the criteria we outlined in March 2014 when we declared our intent to transition NTIA’s stewardship role related to the DNS.

Earlier this month, about 160 scientists, engineers, mathematicians, policy experts and other participants representing government agencies, academic institutions and industry gathered to discuss an exciting new field of spectrum research aimed at providing novel insights on ways to address radio signal interference.  Advances in this area promise to bring improvements to how spectrum is managed, in particular supporting efforts to efficiently and effectively accommodate the constantly increasing demand for use of this critical, limited. and already congested resource.

While 75 percent of Americans reported using the Internet in July 2015, the longstanding disparity between urban and rural users persists and has emerged in the adoption of new technologies such as the smartphone and social media, according to the latest computer and Internet use data collected for NTIA. This suggests that in spite of advances in both policy and technology, the barriers to Internet adoption existing in rural communities are complex and stubborn.

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.

Jean Rice and Don Williams both work at NTIA – and just so happen to be married.

The Internet of Things (IoT) offers a wide range of consumer benefits – from the ability to control your thermostat or light fixtures through a smartphone, to an Internet-connected home security system, to wearables such as Internet-connected fitness bands and watches and beyond. To help realize the full innovative potential of IoT, users need reasonable assurance that IoT devices and applications will be secure.

Spectrum sharing is key to meeting the ever-increasing demand for spectrum among commercial and federal users. As sharing becomes more common, federal and non-federal users will need to increase their cooperation and collaboration, and technological advancements will be needed to improve efficiency and protect against interference.