1. Monthly archive
  2. October 2015

October 2015

NTIA Sends Twenty-Fifth Quarterly Status Report to Congress Regarding BTOP

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration sent to Congress this Quarterly Report on the status of the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program. This Report focuses on the Program’s activities from January 1 to March 31, 2015 and the following areas of Program implementation and project oversight:

Program status and progress of broadband projects, including closeout efforts, extensions, and Program expenditures.
State Broadband Initiative, including the National Broadband Map and recipient progress.
Monitoring and grants administration for broadband projects and the results of those efforts.

Homeland Security will now get warrants for Stingray surveillance

The Department of Homeland Security has a new, more constitutional policy for cell-site simulators, also known as Stingrays. Rolled out Oct 21, the new policy follows in the footsteps of the previously announced Justice Department policy, requiring explicit warrants for the deployment of the technology, except in exceptions already made by the Fourth Amendment or "exigent circumstances" like threats to human life or destruction of evidence.

"As with any law enforcement capability, the Department of Homeland Security must use cell-site simulators in a manner that is consistent with the requirements and protections of the Constitution, including the Fourth Amendment," the policy reads. It's one of the few public acknowledgements that DHS is using the technology, which has remained shrouded secrecy despite being in use for more than 10 years.

Comcast Moves Closer to Offering Cell Service, Activates Deal With Verizon

Comcast is getting closer to entering the cellphone business. In recent months, the cable giant notified Verizon it intends to exercise its option to resell cellular service using the carrier’s network, apparently. Comcast and several other cable operators got the option several years back as part of a spectrum deal with Verizon. Verizon confirmed that at least one of the cable companies was exercising its option to tap Verizon’s network for a cellular service.

“We have an existing [cellular service] agreement and we were informed that they are going to execute on that agreement,” Verizon CFO Fran Shammo said. One of the key questions is whether the companies are going to revise the years-old deal, which was crafted before data became the central part of cellphone service rather than voice minutes or texts. “I am not going to get into whether we are discussing revising the agreement or the terms and conditions of that since it’s under NDA and we will see how this plays out,” Shammo said. “Obviously, the industry is moving. Cable is going to do what they are going to do and we’re going to do what we’re going to do.”

OMB Unveils Major Rewrite of Federal IT Policy

The White House unveiled a broad rewrite of the federal government’s strategy for buying, managing and securing agency IT systems. The Office of Management and Budget Circular A-130, as it’s known, hasn’t been significantly update since the pre-smartphone days of 2000. A 2014 update to federal cybersecurity legislation mandated an A-130 update.

Federal Chief Information Officer Tony Scott and other federal officials announced the new policy. The updated guidance aims to “ensure that the federal IT ecosystem operates more securely and more efficiently while saving tax dollars and serving the needs of the American people,” the post stated. Scott, Office of Federal Procurement Policy Administrator Anne Rung and Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs Howard Shelanski signed off on the draft of the new plan. The new policy lays out guidance for managing IT investments, improving information security practices and streamlining the process for acquiring new technology. The administration is taking comments on the plan for the next 30 days. A final version of the new policy is expected to released in December.

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