National Telecommunications and Information Administration
Encyclopedia
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) is an agency of the United States Department of Commerce
that serves as the President
's principal adviser on telecommunication
s policies
pertaining to the United States
' economic and technological advancement and to regulation of the telecommunications industry.
The NTIA administrator is Lawrence E. Strickling, Assistant Secretary of Commerce. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on June 25, 2009, following his nomination by President Barack Obama.
Among its stated goals are:
The Associate Administrator is of the OPAD Daniel J. Weitzner.
These policies affect how Americans use and gain access to the wireless
services like the Internet
, telephone service and video programming. Issues the OPAD deals with include making sure all Americans have access to integrated broadband services
, content is regulated to keep children safe on the Internet, competition in the telecommunication and information industries are cooperative and that users privacies are protected.
Additionally, OPAD carries out research, files reports, letters and formal comments, and proposes and respondes to federal legislation for the Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) and other regulatory committees.
2. The Office of International Affairs (OIA) is responsible for developing and the implementation of policies to strengthen U.S. companies' ability to compete worldwide in both the Information Technology
and Communications sectors. In consultation with other U.S. agencies and the U.S. private sector, OIA partakes in both international and regional conferences and conventions to advocate for policies that open Information and communications technology (ICT) markets and boost competition.
The Associate Administrator for the OIA is Fiona Alexander.
The two main goals of the OIA are to:
The OIA staff helps to participate in U.S. delegations of many different meetings in which global telecommunications and information policy is discussed and developed by providing the negotiators critical policy and expertise advice.
3. The Institute for Telecommunication Sciences (ITS) is the research and engineering laboratory of the NTIA. ITS provides technical support to NTIA by further advancing telecommunications and information infrastructure development, strengthening domestic competition, enhancing U.S. telecommunications trade deals, as well as promoting a more effective use of the radio spectrum
. Additionally, ITS serves as a key Federal appliance in investigating the current telecommunications’ challenges of other Federal agencies, state and local governments, private corporations and associations, and international organizations.
The Director of Staff for the ITS is Al Vincent.
4. The Office of Telecommunications and Information Applications (OTIA) collaborates public and non-profit entities in productively using telecommunications and information technologies to complete national goals in addition to adequately providing public services. The OTIA is also currently administering programs that are helping the nation's switch to digital television, the Broadband Technology Opportunity Program (BTOP), and Public Safety Interoperable Communications (PSIC) Grant Program.
The Associate Administrator of the OTIA is Bernadette McGuire-Rivera.
Additionally the OTIA is involved with the Public Telecommunications Facilities Program (PTFP), a competitive grant program that assists public broadcasting stations, state and local governments, Indian Tribes, and non-profit organizations construct facilities to bring educational and cultural programs to the American Public using telecommunication broadcast technologies. Funds are allocated to support the Pan-Pacific Educational and Cultural Experiments by Satellite (PEACESAT) project, which provides satellite-delivered education, medical, and environmental emergency telecommunications to numerous small-island countries and territories in the Pacific Ocean area.
The OTIA is also involved with The New York City 9/11 Program and the Technology Opportunities Program (TOP). The NYC 9/11 Program provided the Metropolitan Television Alliance
(MTA) with $29.5 million for the creation and classification costs of the temporary digital television broadcast system in the NYC area until a more permanent facility is finished being constructed atop the Freedom Tower. The TOP program, which was last awarded grants in 2004, plays a significant role in understanding the vision of an information society by providing logical applications of innovative telecommunications and information technologies in both the public and non-profit sectors.
5. The NTIA's Office of Spectrum Management is in charge of regulating use of spectrum allocated to the Federal Government. It serves in a manner equivalent to the Federal Communications Commission
for this purpose. It is also the part of the Department of Commerce that oversees ICANN
.
The Associate Administrator of the OSM is Karl Nebbia.
The OSM carries our the responsibilities of managing the radio frequency spectrum by:
passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
, which paved the way for a $7.2 billion grant given to the NTIA and U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Utilities Service
to bolster broadband
access across the United States. $4.7 billion of the grant was allocated to provide for the implementation of broadband infrastructure, develop and amplify public computer centers, encourage reasonable adoption of broadband service, and create and sustain a nationwide map of broadband proficiency and availability.
This project, known as the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program is being administered by the NTIA in three levels. The secondary purpose of this project is to reduce the digital gap between the various generation demographics.
Comprehensive Community Infrastructure is the first of three projects in the BTOP. It aims to develop and unfold new or improved broadband internet facilities as well as to network with schools, libraries, hospitals, public safety facilities and other community anchor institutions.
The BTOP will also focus on Public Computer centers and will create new public computer facilities or enhance existing facilities that already offer broadband services to the general public or specific vulnerable populations.
The third project that the BTOP plans to address is Sustainable Broadband Adoption. This project will center in on increasing broadband internet usage, specifically in areas where broadband technology has been unavailable or underutilized. This includes digital literacy training and outreach campaigns to educate the general public on the importance and relevance of broadband in everyday life.
In 2009, the NTIA also launched the State Broadband Data and Development Program to carry out the missions of both the Recovery Act and the Broadband Data Improvement Act to establish an encompassing project that sustains the integration of broadband technology into the economy.
Since the program commenced, NTIA allocated $293 million to 56 grantees, which include one from each state, five territories and the District of Columbia. Grantees are responsible for funding the creation, expansion and maintenance, as well as supporting and encouraging the use of, broadband technology. These efforts are made to aid small businesses and community institutions in the efficient and effective use of technology as well as to conduct research as to the boundaries in broadband expansion and innovation of broadband technology in the future.
The National Broadband Map is the foundation for efforts to expand and improve broadband internet access
around the United States in under-equipped communities as well as assisting businesses and consumers to educate them on broadband internet options. The NTIA's findings show that while strides were made in broadband development and implementation, many people and institutions lack the broadband availability and capability needed for full internet engagement. In the last year, broadband access in households has increased nearly five percent and the number of people not using the internet is down over three percent.. Yet, lower demographic groups continue to lack behind in internet capability.
The NTIA also found that many community anchor institutions are generally underserved in broadband connectivity. The data showed that two-thirds of the surveyed schools were signed up for broadband service that provide less than half the speed that educational technology studies recommend and only four percent of libraries subscribe to recommended broadband speeds.
Along with the continuous update of the National Broadband Map, the NTIA will sustain its state-driven efforts to increase broadband implementation and will move to expand its collaboration efforts to serve as an expansive network to empower broadband developers throughout execution of their development and creation phases.
United States Department of Commerce
The United States Department of Commerce is the Cabinet department of the United States government concerned with promoting economic growth. It was originally created as the United States Department of Commerce and Labor on February 14, 1903...
that serves as the President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
's principal adviser on telecommunication
Telecommunication
Telecommunication is the transmission of information over significant distances to communicate. In earlier times, telecommunications involved the use of visual signals, such as beacons, smoke signals, semaphore telegraphs, signal flags, and optical heliographs, or audio messages via coded...
s policies
Telecommunication policy
The Telecommunications policy in the US is a framework of law directed by government and the Regulatory Commissions, most notably the Federal Communications Commission. Two landmark acts prevail today, the Communications Act of 1934 and the Telecommunications Act of 1996...
pertaining to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
' economic and technological advancement and to regulation of the telecommunications industry.
The NTIA administrator is Lawrence E. Strickling, Assistant Secretary of Commerce. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on June 25, 2009, following his nomination by President Barack Obama.
Among its stated goals are:
- Working to ensure that all Americans have affordable phonePhoneWithin phonetics, a phone is:* a speech sound or gesture considered a physical event without regard to its place in the phonology of a language* a speech segment that possesses distinct physical or perceptual properties...
and cable TV service. - Helping to bring the benefits of advanced telecommunications technologies to millions of Americans in rural and undeserved urban areas through its information infrastructure grants.
- Providing the hardware that enables public radioRadioRadio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
and televisionTelevisionTelevision is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
broadcasters to extend and maintain the reach of their programming. - Advocating competition and liberalization of telecommunications policies around the world.
- Participating in international government-to-government negotiations to open markets for U.S. companies.
- Negotiating with foreign governments to ensure adequate spectrumElectromagnetic spectrumThe electromagnetic spectrum is the range of all possible frequencies of electromagnetic radiation. The "electromagnetic spectrum" of an object is the characteristic distribution of electromagnetic radiation emitted or absorbed by that particular object....
for national defense, public safety, and U.S. business needs. - Promoting efficient use of federal radio spectrum and encouraging the development and implementation of new and emerging telecommunications technologies.
- Performing long-term research to explore uses of higher frequency spectrum.
- Working with Federal, state, and local public safety agencies to address future spectrum requirements.
Main offices
1. The Office of Policy Analysis and Development (OPAD) is the domestic policy division of the NTIA. OPAD is responsible for executing and managing research and analysis and preparing policy recommendations for the [{Executive_(government)|Executive Branch]]. The domestic policy office is responsible for creating policies that promote innovation and growth, both politically and economically, that provide for American businesses and consumers, alike.The Associate Administrator is of the OPAD Daniel J. Weitzner.
These policies affect how Americans use and gain access to the wireless
Wireless
Wireless telecommunications is the transfer of information between two or more points that are not physically connected. Distances can be short, such as a few meters for television remote control, or as far as thousands or even millions of kilometers for deep-space radio communications...
services like the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
, telephone service and video programming. Issues the OPAD deals with include making sure all Americans have access to integrated broadband services
Integrated Broadband Services
Integrated Broadband Services is providing managed, integrated broadband to broadband providers in the United States, Canada, Latin America, and the Caribbean. Serving over 230 broadband providers that support more than one million modems worldwide, IBBS provides both residential broadband services...
, content is regulated to keep children safe on the Internet, competition in the telecommunication and information industries are cooperative and that users privacies are protected.
Additionally, OPAD carries out research, files reports, letters and formal comments, and proposes and respondes to federal legislation for the Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
(FCC) and other regulatory committees.
2. The Office of International Affairs (OIA) is responsible for developing and the implementation of policies to strengthen U.S. companies' ability to compete worldwide in both the Information Technology
Information technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
and Communications sectors. In consultation with other U.S. agencies and the U.S. private sector, OIA partakes in both international and regional conferences and conventions to advocate for policies that open Information and communications technology (ICT) markets and boost competition.
The Associate Administrator for the OIA is Fiona Alexander.
The two main goals of the OIA are to:
-
- Formulate international ICT policy, gGoals, and strategies:
-
-
- By leveraging the knowledge of the Office of Spectrum Management, Office of Policy Analysis and Development, Office of Telecommunications and Information Applications, and the Institute for Telecommunications Sciences, the OIA can proved important policy and technical breakdown to the U.S. negotiators and interagency consignments.
- The OIA also provides long-lasting advice to the Executive Branch contemplating the management of the Internet’s domain name and numbering system (DNS), which is critical to the overall infrastructure.
-
-
- Advocate U.S. policy interests
- The goal of the OIA here is to: foster pro-competitive and flexible policy environments that:
-
- Carry the profits of ICTs to the global community
- Open up foreign market opportunities for U.S. Telecommunications and Information Technology companies
- Observe the esteemed role of all stakeholders in the production and facilitation of the Internet as well as telecommunications policy issues occurring in the ICT community
-
The OIA staff helps to participate in U.S. delegations of many different meetings in which global telecommunications and information policy is discussed and developed by providing the negotiators critical policy and expertise advice.
3. The Institute for Telecommunication Sciences (ITS) is the research and engineering laboratory of the NTIA. ITS provides technical support to NTIA by further advancing telecommunications and information infrastructure development, strengthening domestic competition, enhancing U.S. telecommunications trade deals, as well as promoting a more effective use of the radio spectrum
Spectrum
A spectrum is a condition that is not limited to a specific set of values but can vary infinitely within a continuum. The word saw its first scientific use within the field of optics to describe the rainbow of colors in visible light when separated using a prism; it has since been applied by...
. Additionally, ITS serves as a key Federal appliance in investigating the current telecommunications’ challenges of other Federal agencies, state and local governments, private corporations and associations, and international organizations.
The Director of Staff for the ITS is Al Vincent.
4. The Office of Telecommunications and Information Applications (OTIA) collaborates public and non-profit entities in productively using telecommunications and information technologies to complete national goals in addition to adequately providing public services. The OTIA is also currently administering programs that are helping the nation's switch to digital television, the Broadband Technology Opportunity Program (BTOP), and Public Safety Interoperable Communications (PSIC) Grant Program.
The Associate Administrator of the OTIA is Bernadette McGuire-Rivera.
Additionally the OTIA is involved with the Public Telecommunications Facilities Program (PTFP), a competitive grant program that assists public broadcasting stations, state and local governments, Indian Tribes, and non-profit organizations construct facilities to bring educational and cultural programs to the American Public using telecommunication broadcast technologies. Funds are allocated to support the Pan-Pacific Educational and Cultural Experiments by Satellite (PEACESAT) project, which provides satellite-delivered education, medical, and environmental emergency telecommunications to numerous small-island countries and territories in the Pacific Ocean area.
The OTIA is also involved with The New York City 9/11 Program and the Technology Opportunities Program (TOP). The NYC 9/11 Program provided the Metropolitan Television Alliance
Metropolitan Television Alliance
The Metropolitan Television Alliance, LLC was organized in the wake of the loss of the transmission facilities atop the World Trade Center in 2001. Its mission is to identify, design and build a facility suitable for the long term requirements of its member stations to meet their over-the-air...
(MTA) with $29.5 million for the creation and classification costs of the temporary digital television broadcast system in the NYC area until a more permanent facility is finished being constructed atop the Freedom Tower. The TOP program, which was last awarded grants in 2004, plays a significant role in understanding the vision of an information society by providing logical applications of innovative telecommunications and information technologies in both the public and non-profit sectors.
5. The NTIA's Office of Spectrum Management is in charge of regulating use of spectrum allocated to the Federal Government. It serves in a manner equivalent to the Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
for this purpose. It is also the part of the Department of Commerce that oversees ICANN
ICANN
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers is a non-profit corporation headquartered in Marina del Rey, California, United States, that was created on September 18, 1998, and incorporated on September 30, 1998 to oversee a number of Internet-related tasks previously performed directly...
.
The Associate Administrator of the OSM is Karl Nebbia.
The OSM carries our the responsibilities of managing the radio frequency spectrum by:
-
-
- Establishing and issuing policy overlooking allocations and administrations governing the Federal spectrum use
- Assigning plans for both peacetime and wartime use of the spectrum
- Preparing for, participating in, and establishing the results of international radio conferences
- Maintaining spectrum use databases
- Participating in all aspects of the Federal Government’s communications regarding emergency readiness activities and automated information security systems
-
Broadband USA
In February 2009, the United States CongressUnited States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, abbreviated ARRA and commonly referred to as the Stimulus or The Recovery Act, is an economic stimulus package enacted by the 111th United States Congress in February 2009 and signed into law on February 17, 2009, by President Barack Obama.To...
, which paved the way for a $7.2 billion grant given to the NTIA and U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Utilities Service
Rural Utilities Service
is an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture , one of the federal executive departments of the United States government charged with providing public utilities to rural areas in the United States via public-private partnerships...
to bolster broadband
Broadband
The term broadband refers to a telecommunications signal or device of greater bandwidth, in some sense, than another standard or usual signal or device . Different criteria for "broad" have been applied in different contexts and at different times...
access across the United States. $4.7 billion of the grant was allocated to provide for the implementation of broadband infrastructure, develop and amplify public computer centers, encourage reasonable adoption of broadband service, and create and sustain a nationwide map of broadband proficiency and availability.
This project, known as the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program is being administered by the NTIA in three levels. The secondary purpose of this project is to reduce the digital gap between the various generation demographics.
Comprehensive Community Infrastructure is the first of three projects in the BTOP. It aims to develop and unfold new or improved broadband internet facilities as well as to network with schools, libraries, hospitals, public safety facilities and other community anchor institutions.
The BTOP will also focus on Public Computer centers and will create new public computer facilities or enhance existing facilities that already offer broadband services to the general public or specific vulnerable populations.
The third project that the BTOP plans to address is Sustainable Broadband Adoption. This project will center in on increasing broadband internet usage, specifically in areas where broadband technology has been unavailable or underutilized. This includes digital literacy training and outreach campaigns to educate the general public on the importance and relevance of broadband in everyday life.
In 2009, the NTIA also launched the State Broadband Data and Development Program to carry out the missions of both the Recovery Act and the Broadband Data Improvement Act to establish an encompassing project that sustains the integration of broadband technology into the economy.
Since the program commenced, NTIA allocated $293 million to 56 grantees, which include one from each state, five territories and the District of Columbia. Grantees are responsible for funding the creation, expansion and maintenance, as well as supporting and encouraging the use of, broadband technology. These efforts are made to aid small businesses and community institutions in the efficient and effective use of technology as well as to conduct research as to the boundaries in broadband expansion and innovation of broadband technology in the future.
National Broadband Map
These programs collected data used by the NTIA to refurbish a public interactive National Broadband Map that was released in February, 2011. The map was authorized by Congress with the 2008 Broadband Data Improvement Act and was funded through the 2009 economic stimulus bill. The map will continue to be updated every six months with help from grantees and the general public.The National Broadband Map is the foundation for efforts to expand and improve broadband internet access
Broadband Internet access
Broadband Internet access, often shortened to just "broadband", is a high data rate, low-latency connection to the Internet— typically contrasted with dial-up access using a 56 kbit/s modem or satellite Internet with inherently high latency....
around the United States in under-equipped communities as well as assisting businesses and consumers to educate them on broadband internet options. The NTIA's findings show that while strides were made in broadband development and implementation, many people and institutions lack the broadband availability and capability needed for full internet engagement. In the last year, broadband access in households has increased nearly five percent and the number of people not using the internet is down over three percent.. Yet, lower demographic groups continue to lack behind in internet capability.
The NTIA also found that many community anchor institutions are generally underserved in broadband connectivity. The data showed that two-thirds of the surveyed schools were signed up for broadband service that provide less than half the speed that educational technology studies recommend and only four percent of libraries subscribe to recommended broadband speeds.
Along with the continuous update of the National Broadband Map, the NTIA will sustain its state-driven efforts to increase broadband implementation and will move to expand its collaboration efforts to serve as an expansive network to empower broadband developers throughout execution of their development and creation phases.