News and Events

BOULDER, Colo. – The First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) Board today adopted a resolution outlining its path forward with the seven public safety Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) grantees, whose funding was partially suspended following enactment of the law creating FirstNet. 

Keynote Address by Lawrence E. Strickling

Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information

at the

2013 Broadband Summit of the Federal-State Joint Conference

on Advanced Services

“Broadband Adoption and Usage – What Have We Learned?”

Washington, DC

February 7, 2013

Washington — The U.S. Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) today announced the availability of $121.5 million in grants to assist states as they prepare for a nationwide public safety broadband network.

Nearly two years ago, NTIA launched the National Broadband Map, and today we are updating it, as we have every six months since its inception.  The map provides the first-ever detailed datasets of broadband availability across the country, and it would not be possible without a unique partnership between the federal government, states, and the voluntary participation of many broadband providers. 

NTIA’s Institute for Telecommunication Sciences (ITS) is hard at work in our Boulder, Colorado labs testing next-generation technology that will be used in a new nationwide public safety broadband network to be built by the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet).

Public Safety official participates in testing of digital LMR intelligibility.

Washington, DC – National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) Administrator Lawrence E. Strickling today delivered remarks at the Brookings Institution to underscore the importance of NTIA’s Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP), which works to expand access to broadband services to communities across the United States.

As 2012 draws to a close, I would like to take a moment to think back on some of the major things we’ve accomplished and then look forward to what we have on our plate for 2013.

Anna M. Gomez
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information
PLI/FCBA Telecommunications Policy & Regulation Institute
Washington, D.C.
December 14, 2012

-As prepared for delivery-

Thank you to the folks at the Practicing Law Institute and FCBA for inviting me to speak to you today.  I particularly want to express my appreciation for all you who have come during the earliest time slot the morning after the Chairman’s dinner!

Remarks by Lawrence E. Strickling
Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information
PLI/FCBA Telecommunications Policy & Regulation Institute
Washington, DC
December 14, 2012

--As prepared for delivery--

I want to thank the distinguished Deputy Administrator of NTIA, Anna Gomez, for yielding me the remainder of her time.  Rest assured she was under no pressure to do so.

WASHINGTON – The city of Seattle, the University of Washington, Gigabit Squared (a private company), and Gig.U joined together today to announce plans to deploy Gigabit networks and services to 12 Seattle neighborhoods.  The project targets areas surrounding the University of Washington as well as several underserved areas.

WASHINGTON –  Following up on NTIA's recommendation from our 2010 Fast-Track evaluation and last year's spectrum report of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST), the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted today in its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking proposals that would open the doo

NTIA recently released the Third Interim Progress Report on the Obama Administration’s efforts to make available 500 megahertz of spectrum by 2020 for expanded wireless broadband use.

Internet Protocol (IP) numbers underpin and connect broadband and IP-based network infrastructures. Without IP numbers, we could not attach computers and smartphones to the Internet, and we could not route traffic to and from those devices. Without an adequate supply of these numbers, we could not design cloud computing networks or the smart grid. As we move to a world of innovation where virtually everything can be networked to everything else, we need to ensure a sufficient supply of IP numbers.

On the eve of the World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT), we believe that it is the right time to reaffirm the U.S.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Commerce on November 29, 2012, approved renewal of the .com Registry Agreement between Verisign, Inc., and the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). Through this agreement, Verisign will manage the registry for the .com top level domain for six more years. 

WASHINGTON - First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) Board Chairman Sam Ginn announced today the appointment of four Vice Chairs of FirstNet’s Public Safety Advisory Committee (PSAC).

WASHINGTON – First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) Chairman Sam Ginn praised the Federal Communications Commission for granting FirstNet its spectrum license, marking another important step in the effort to build and operate a nationwide, interoperable public safety broadband network.

Opening Session Remarks by Lawrence E. Strickling
Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information
Internet Governance Forum
Baku, Azerbaijan
November 6, 2012
-As prepared for delivery-

WASHINGTON - First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) Board Chairman Sam Ginn announced today the appointment of Harlin McEwen as Chairman of FirstNet’s Public Safety Advisory Committee. 

In recognition of the need for states and first responders impacted by Hurricane Sandy to focus their attention and resources on helping citizens recover from the devastating effects of that storm, NTIA will accept comments filed in response to its Notice of Inquiry (NOI) related to the FirstNet conceptual presentations until Friday, November 9, 2012.

While stuck in construction traffic the other day, I thought of the old cliché that there are only two seasons – winter and road construction.  But after visiting the Central Valley Independent Network’s (CVIN) offices in Fresno, California this summer, I would add broadband construction as a third season.

Address by Lawrence E. Strickling,
Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information
The State of Telecom – 2012

Columbia Institute for Tele-Information (CITI) and IDATE

New York, New York
September 24, 2012

-As prepared for delivery-

The First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) Board of Directors held its first meeting today, marking a significant milestone towards deployment of a nationwide wireless broadband network that will enable first responders to better communicate with each other during emergencies, improve response time and save lives.

Testimony of
Mr. Karl Nebbia
Associate Administrator, Office of Spectrum Management
National Telecommunications and Information Administration
U.S. Department of Commerce

Before the
Subcommittee on Communications and Technology
Committee on Energy and Commerce
United States House of Representatives

Hearing on
“Creating Opportunities through Improved Government Spectrum Efficiency”
September 13, 2012

At the second privacy multistakeholder meeting regarding mobile application transparency held August 22, stakeholders made substantial progress on procedural issues to move this process forward. Poll results from the meeting are available here. NTIA grouped the poll results into three categories: “general support,” “mixed views,” and “general opposition.” These categories are our rough groupings, and are certainly not binding.