National Telecommunications and Information Administration

From September through December 2013, BTOP Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) recipients:

• Deployed or upgraded more than 760 miles of fiber. Since the program began, recipients have deployed more than 112,000 miles of fiber.
• Connected more than 900 community anchor institutions. Thus far, recipients have connected approximately 21,000 total community anchor institutions.
• Generated approximately 1,600 new broadband adoption subscribers, bringing the total number of new subscribers to approximately 631,000.

As of December 30, 2013, NTIA helped 192 recipients (86 percent of the total) complete project activities. NTIA will continue to work with the remaining 32 recipients (14 percent) to verify that they have met their grant requirements and formally close out these grants in the coming months. The majority of State Broadband Initiative (SBI) awards remain active until January 31, 2015.

As of December 31, 2013, grant recipients drew down $3.51 billion, or 85 percent, of federal grant funds. Recipients will use up to the remaining $613.3 million, or 15 percent, of federal grant funds to complete their projects.

The first Accountability and Transparency Team recommended holding these meetings as a way to increase the level of support and commitment of governments to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) multistakeholder process.

In London, the ICANN board will be making its formal response to that latest set of recommendations.

In April 2014, we communicated at the NETmundial meeting in Brazil a number of conditions that we insist must apply to the transition.

First, the proposal must support and enhance the multistakeholder model in that it should be developed by the multistakeholder community and have broad community support. More specifically, we will not accept a transition proposal that replaces the NTIA role with a government-led or intergovernmental organization solution.

Second, the proposal must maintain the security, stability, and resiliency of the domain name system. And in that regard, all we have put on the table is a transitioning of our role. Due to the need to maintain security and stability, we have not asked for an evaluation of the role of ICANN and Verisign in this process.

Third, it must meet the needs and expectations of the global customers and partners of the IANA services. And finally, it must maintain the openness of the Internet.

In June 2011, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) endorsed a set of principles that encouraged its members to implement policies that call for a common approach to Internet policymaking that center on ensuring the openness of the Internet.

The Internet Policymaking Principles (IPPs) include many of the same principles the United States has long advocated in its approach to Internet policymaking, standards and governance including calls to ensure the openness of the Internet, protect and promote the free flow of information on the Internet, and use of the multistakeholder approach to tackle Internet policy challenges.

These principles, which were inspired by Internet principles adopted by Brazil, were developed in 2011 as OECD members sought ways to spur economic growth as well as respond to threats to online freedom worldwide and advance a more inclusive approach to Internet policy development.

The United States has long believed that this multistakeholder approach to Internet policymaking is the best way to preserve the openness of the Internet and free flow of information. The OECD principles recognize this and endorse this approach.

The United States is taking steps to further strengthen the global multistakeholder model for Internet governance.

We hope to do just that in London at a meeting hosted by Britain’s Communications Minister Edward Vaizey where we will confer with high-level government representatives from around the world to discuss Internet governance issues more broadly. This high-level gathering will take place as part of the 50th meeting in London of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), which has been tasked with convening stakeholders to help develop a successful transition plan of the US stewardship of the DNS.

NTIA released the Fourth Interim Progress Report on the Obama Administration’s initiative to identify and make available 500 megahertz of federal and non-federal spectrum for commercial wireless broadband use by 2020.

This report also includes a plan for federal agencies to conduct quantitative assessments of their actual spectrum usage in 960 megahertz of additional spectrum, as directed in President Barack Obama’s June 2013 Memorandum. America’s future competitiveness and global technology leadership depend on access to radio spectrum -- the lifeblood of smartphones, tablets, and other data-hungry wireless devices.

The key accomplishments in the 2013 fiscal year include the following:

• NTIA’s Commerce Spectrum Management Advisory Committee concluded its groundbreaking work to explore relocation alternatives and spectrum sharing arrangements between federal agencies and commercial mobile broadband systems in the 1695-1710 MHz and 1755-1850 MHz bands.
• NTIA released regulations and guidance implementing changes to the Commercial Spectrum Enhancement Act (CSEA) that provide eligible federal agencies incentives and financial assistance to facilitate the transition of the reallocated federal bands that the FCC will auction.
• NTIA published an initial assessment on spectrum-sharing technologies and the risk to federal users if Unlicensed-National Information Infrastructure (U-NII) devices were authorized to operate in the 5350-5470 MHz and 5850-5925 MHz bands (5 GHz).
• NTIA, in collaboration with other federal agencies, developed the plan for federal agencies to provide quantitative assessments of their usage of spectrum in selected frequency bands.
• The FCC initiated or concluded rulemaking proceedings for several spectrum bands and services, including H Block and AWS-4 services.

The US. Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) is seeking public comment on how developments related to “big data” impact the Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights.

The NTIA has issued a Request for Comments on how issues raised by big data impact the Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights, the Obama Administration’s framework for privacy protections released in February 2012.

The most recent action was called for in the White House’s big data and privacy working group report on how big data is transforming the way we live and work. Counselor to the President John Podesta convened senior government officials, including US Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker, to conduct the wide-ranging review of big data and privacy, and the group presented its findings to President Obama on May 1.

Specifically, NTIA is seeking comment on:

• How the principles in the Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights support innovations related to big data while also responding to potential privacy risks;
• Whether the Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights should be clarified or modified to better accommodate the benefits or risks of big data;
• Whether a responsible use framework should be used to address the challenges posed by big data; and
• Mechanisms to best address the limits of the “notice and consent” model for privacy protection noted in the big data report.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration is hosting the first of several workshops focused on community broadband as we explore ways to build on the momentum of our successful broadband grant programs and explore what comes next.

The 2009 Recovery Act included more than $7 billion to expand access to high-speed Internet services to close the digital divide and spark economic growth. Through our Broadband Technology Opportunities Program, NTIA invested about $4 billion of that in 230 projects across the country that have built critical network infrastructure, opened or upgraded public computer centers and established broadband adoption programs. And through our State Broadband Initiative Program, we invested another almost $300 million to help states collect broadband data for the National Broadband Map and expand their statewide broadband capacity.

These investments are now enabling one-to-one computing programs and replacing old-fashioned textbooks with engaging online instructional materials in North Carolina classrooms. They are allowing Arkansas physicians to remotely examine patients located hundreds of miles away in far-flung rural corners of the state. They are supporting digital literacy training in low-income Latino communities across California. And they are bringing 4G LTE wireless broadband service to parts of the Navajo Nation that previously lacked even basic landline phone service.

As of the end of 2013, our grantees had built or upgraded more than 112,000 miles of fiber -- enough to circle the earth four and a half times or get you halfway to the moon. They had connected more than 21,000 community anchor institutions, including about 8,000 K-12 schools, 1,300 libraries and 2,400 medical facilities. And they had established or upgraded 3,000 public computer centers and helped more than 600,000 households sign up for broadband.

At the same time, our State Broadband Initiative Program has supported more than 200 local broadband planning teams across the country. So the question now is: where do we go from here? It’s a question that affects communities across the nation that are investing in broadband to ensure they have the advanced telecommunications infrastructure – and tech-savvy citizenry -- needed to drive growth, attract new businesses and remain competitive in the 21st Century economy.

Through our broadband investments, we have witnessed the demonstrated need that community institutions have for broadband. And we know anchor institution demand for broadband is only continuing to skyrocket as telemedicine applications, one-to-one classroom computing, and streaming video become more commonplace in hospitals, schools, and libraries.

To date, our broadband grants have connected more than 21,000 community anchor institutions, including about 8,000 K-12 schools, 1,400 higher education campuses, more than 1,300 libraries, and 2,400 medical and healthcare providers. We’ve also invested in 3,000 new or improved public computer centers and brought online more than 600,000 broadband-subscribing households.

But let’s look past these metrics. We are compiling case studies and gathering information about the impact of these broadband grant projects across the country. And we are sharing the results.

We already released three library-focused reports that highlight the incredible work libraries are doing with their broadband awards. Now, I’d like to share with you four new case studies focusing on the benefits flowing from broadband investments in Arkansas; the Central Valley of California; West Virginia; and Tallahassee, Florida.

In 2010, as part of the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP), National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) awarded more than $450 million in matching grants to establish or upgrade public computer centers and initiate innovative broadband adoption programs in underserved communities.

Four years later, that investment has resulted in more than 3,000 new or improved public computer centers and produced 600,000 new household broadband subscriptions. These grants complement the $3.4 billion in infrastructure investments from NTIA that have enabled BTOP grant recipients to connect more than 21,000 community anchor institutions with ultra-fast broadband, including 2,400 medical and health care providers, more than 1,300 libraries, and 8,000 K-12 schools.

BTOP has provided a significant down-payment on President Obama’s ConnectED initiative to link all schools to high-speed Internet by 2018. Schools, libraries, and health care providers were pivotal in making this rapid expansion possible. These anchor institutions already had close ties to their communities, recognized the enormous benefits high-speed Internet affords, and possessed skilled staff to organize classes and broker learning resources.

At the Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband (SHLB) Coalition annual conference, we released four more of the 15 case studies that detail the impact of the BTOP public computer center and sustainable broadband adoption awards. The case studies were conducted as part of an evaluation contract by independent research firm ASR Analytics. With this release a total of seven studies are available to the public. The institutions profiled in the case studies include community colleges, a historically black university, and two nonprofit organizations that work with K-12 schools, first responders, and health care providers.

The following is a snapshot of the projects featured in the reports and information on the impact they are having in their communities. All 15 ASR Analytics case studies report on five key impact areas of broadband adoption and use: Workforce and Economic Development; Education and Training; Healthcare; Quality of Life/Civic Engagement; and Digital Literacy.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration issues this Notice on behalf of the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) as part of the annual process to seek expressions of interest from individuals who would like to serve on the FirstNet Board.

Four of the 12 appointments of non-permanent members to the FirstNet Board are expiring in August 2014.

NTIA issues this Notice to obtain expressions of interest in the event the Secretary must fill any vacancies arising on the Board. Expressions of interest will be accepted until May 23, 2014.

[Commentary] We head to Sao Paulo, Brazil, to attend NETmundial, a global meeting of governments, entrepreneurs, academics, Internet institutions, activists and users to discuss the future of Internet governance.

Over two days delegates will discuss and work toward developing a set of principles to guide international Internet governance activities in the future.

The United States will work with other delegations to expand the community of individuals, organizations, firms, and governments who are willing to put their faith in the proven multi-stakeholder system of cooperation and coordination; this system has enabled the unprecedented growth of the global Internet, which in turn has fueled economic development and innovation.

Along with most of the world’s Internet advocates and users, we believe that no one stakeholder or group of stakeholders, including governments, should have control over the operation or protocols of the Internet or the creativity, innovation, and freedom of expression that it enables. We are optimistic that NETmundial will make an important contribution to the positive evolution of the Internet and its governance and we support efforts at NETmundial and beyond to preserve an, open, inclusive, resilient, interoperable, and innovative global Internet.

[Daniel serves as Special Assistant to the President and White House Cybersecurity Coordinator; Strckling serves as Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information and Administrator, National Telecommunications and Information Administration; Ambassador Sepulveda serves as US Coordinator for International Communications and Information Policy at the US Department of State; Painter serves as Coordinator for Cyber Issues at the US Department of State; Busby serves as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor]