News and Events

I. Introduction.

Chairman Rush, Ranking Member Whitfield, and Members of the Subcommittee, thank you for your invitation to testify on behalf of the U.S. Department of Commerce.  As the Associate Administrator for the Office of Policy Analysis and Development at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), I welcome the opportunity to testify before you to discuss how best to protect consumer privacy in the rapidly evolving Internet Age.

On Tuesday, I joined a group of Hispanic community development leaders in San Francisco to launch the Latino Tech-Net Initiative, a Recovery Act project spearheaded by the Mission Economic Development Agency, or MEDA, which is equipping 17 computer centers in 11 cities across the country with equipment, software, and training to help Latino entrepreneurs and small businesses build online skills, spur local economic development, and support job creation in their communities.

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Last year Dale Hatfield and I agreed that I would come here without a prepared text. Instead, I would sit and listen to the conference and then I would stay up all night to prepare remarks to give at the end of the conference. I found it a challenging but stimulating exercise – at least enough so to agree to reprise it again this year.

But before I turn to this year’s discussion, I’d like to update everyone on our progress since last year’s conference.

I. Introduction.

Chairman Rockefeller, Ranking Member Hutchison, distinguished Committee Members, thank you for the opportunity to testify on behalf of the Department of Commerce ("Department") to discuss Internet privacy policy reform. I welcome the opportunity to discuss how we can better protect consumer data privacy in the rapidly evolving Internet Age. In doing so, I am pleased to testify here today with Jonathan Leibowitz, the Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

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Thank you for inviting me to speak here today. I especially want to thank my friend and former FCC colleague Bob Atkinson for including me here today.

I. Introduction

Chairman Walden, Ranking Member Eshoo, Vice Chairman Terry, and Members of the Subcommittee, thank you for your invitation to testify on behalf of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) regarding the implementation of the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) and State Broadband Data and Development (SBDD) Program.

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Thank you, Shirley for the kind introduction.  It is great to be here this morning to speak with all of you.

One of the priorities of the Obama Administration is expanding affordable access to and adoption of high-speed Internet in America. This is a key element of the President's strategy to build the innovation economy of the future -- one that supports new and better jobs, and enhances America's global competitiveness.

WASHINGTON – The Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) today urged businesses to prepare for the transition to Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6), an updated Internet addressing system, with the release of a new "IPv6 Readiness Tool."

At an event in Washington, D.C. yesterday, National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) Administrator Lawrence E. Strickling described the progress of broadband stimulus projects, noting that Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) grantees have thus far installed more than 4,000 computers for public use and provided computer training to more than 65,000 people.

“These Recovery Act projects are already providing an essential link to economic and educational opportunities for thousands of Americans,” said Strickling.

WASHINGTON – The Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) today announced a nearly $9 million American Recovery and Reinvestment Act investment to help bridge the technological divide and increase economic opportunities in Illinois. The investment will expand and upgrade public computer centers in locations throughout Chicago and provide technology and job assistance training to residents, with a focus on at-risk youth, senior citizens, people with disabilities, and the unemployed.

WASHINGTON - The Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) today announced a nearly $15 million American Recovery and Reinvestment Act investment to help bridge the technological divide, boost economic growth, and improve communications for people with disabilities nationwide.

The U.S. Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) today announced completion of an initiative with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and VeriSign to enhance the security and stability of the Internet.  The announcement marks full deployment of a security technology -- Domain Name System Security Extensions (DNSSEC) -- at the Internet's authoritative root zone (i.e.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke today announced 29 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act investments to help bridge the technological divide, boost economic growth, create jobs, and improve education and healthcare across the country. The investments, totaling more than $404 million in grants, will fund projects that lay the groundwork to bring enhanced high-speed Internet access to millions of households and businesses and link thousands of schools, hospitals, libraries, and public safety offices to the information superhighway.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke today announced nine American Recovery and Reinvestment Act investments to help bridge the technological divide, boost economic growth, create jobs, and improve education and healthcare across the country. The investments, totaling more than $114 million in grants, will increase broadband access and adoption in more than a dozen states.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke today announced the launch of an initiative designed to gather public input and review the nexus between privacy policy and innovation in the Internet economy. In addition, Locke also announced the formation of a Department of Commerce-wide Internet Policy Task Force to identify leading public policy and operational issues impacting the U.S. private sector's ability to realize the potential for economic growth and job creation through the Internet.

WASHINGTON – The Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) today announced an American Recovery and Reinvestment Act investment to help bridge the technological divide, boost economic growth, create jobs, and improve education and public safety in portions of Arkansas, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas.

WASHINGTON – The Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced today that it received 867 applications requesting $11 billion in funding for proposed broadband projects reaching across the United States. These applications are for the second round of NTIA's American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding aimed at expanding broadband access and adoption to help bridge the technological divide; expand economic opportunities; create jobs; and improve healthcare, education, and public safety.

WASHINGTON – The Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) today announced an American Recovery and Reinvestment Act investment to help bridge the technological divide, boost economic growth, create jobs, and improve education and healthcare in the Territory of Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. The $8 million grant will increase broadband access and adoption by upgrading the existing telecommunications network serving these remote and underserved areas.

WASHINGTON – The Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) today announced grants totaling $63 million to expand broadband access and adoption in Massachusetts, Michigan and North Carolina. Funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, NTIA's Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) provides grants to support the deployment of broadband infrastructure in unserved and underserved areas, enhance and expand public computer centers, and encourage sustainable adoption of broadband service.

WASHINGTON – The Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and USDA's Rural Utilities Service (RUS) today announced availability of $4.8 billion in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) grants and loans to expand broadband access and adoption in America. This is the second funding round for the agencies' broadband programs. The investment will help bridge the technological divide, boost economic growth, and create jobs.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke today, joined by U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer, Congresswoman Maxine Waters and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa at the South Los Angeles WorkSource Center,announced a $7.5 million Recovery Act grant that will upgrade and expand 188 computer centers that provide the public with free broadband access to the Internet. The investment will help bridge the technological divide and improve access to job and computer training, and educational opportunities.

WASHINGTON – The Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) today announced that it has awarded grants to fund broadband mapping and planning activities in Connecticut, Hawaii, Kentucky, Maine, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and Texas under NTIA's State Broadband Data and Development Grant Program. The program, funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, will increase broadband access and adoption through better data collection and broadband planning.

WASHINGTON – The Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and the USDA's Rural Utilities Service (RUS) today announced the launch of BroadbandMatch, a new online tool to facilitate partnerships among prospective applicants to the agencies' broadband grant and loan programs. The programs, funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, are intended to expand broadband access and adoption in America, helping to bridge the digital divide, create jobs, and stimulate long-term economic growth.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration today announced the appointment of Anna Gomez as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information, and Deputy National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) Administrator. One of Ms. Gomez's top duties will be to help facilitate the nation's historic transition to digital television.