Publications

Pursuant to Section 6001(d)(4) of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act or Act) (Public Law No. 111-5), the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) provides this Quarterly Report on the status of the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP or Program). This Report focuses on the Program’s activities from April 1 to June 30, 2011.

Final Report of the Advisory Committee on Public Interest Obligations of Digital Television Broadcasters

Information and updates about the issues in this Report will be available at www.benton.org/PIAC.

NTIA transmitted to the FCC a letter from Assistant Secretary Strickling with this report titled, Assessment of LightSquared Terrestrial Broadband System Effects on GPS Receivers and GPS-dependent Applications, prepared by the National Space-Based Positioning, Navigation, Timing Systems Engineering Forum (NPEF) on behalf of the National Executive Committee for Space-Based Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (EXCOM).

In accordance with the Plan to Implement Recommendations of the President’s Spectrum Policy Initiative, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), in coordination with relevant federal agencies, conducted a comprehensive study of the U.S. international spectrum policy framework.2 This study reviewed the following four policy considerations:

1. policies and related approaches regarding barriers to the implementation of new spectrum-dependent technologies and services;
2. U.S. technical, administrative and financial contributions to organizations involved in international spectrum policy;
3. cross-border processes for sharing and coordination to ensure compatibility; and
4.  global and regional spectrum harmonization and technical interoperability.

This report is the result of the recommended study effort and examines each of the four identified components of the U.S. international spectrum management framework. In considering each area, an assessment was conducted of how the United States develops positions and interacts with other administrations and regional and international bodies with regard to international spectrum management. Past and ongoing efforts are described and analyzed and conclusions drawn from the outcomes of recent U.S. policy positions. This analysis led to several recommendations for how the U.S. Government might work both to improve national policies and procedures for international spectrum management and also to enhance the underlying framework in which it operates when seeking spectrum for new spectrum-dependent technologies and services.

Advanced Telecommunications in Rural America is a response by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and the Rural Utilities Service (RUS) to a request by ten U.S. Senators on the status of broadband deployment in rural versus non-rural areas in the United States. This report also responds to a call by President Clinton and Vice President Gore to bridge the digital divide and create digital opportunities for more Americans. The rate of deployment of broadband services will be key to the future economic growth of every region, particularly in rural areas that can benefit from high-speed connections to urban and world markets.

NTIA and the U.S. Copyright Office released this Joint Study.

A study funded by NTIA's Technology Opportunities Program (TOP), Historically Black Colleges and Universities: An Assessment of Networking and Connectivity, assesses 80 of the 118 Historically Black Colleges and Universities in the United States.