1. Monthly archive
  2. February 2016

February 2016

White House budget would fund computer science, other tech priorities

President Barack Obama’s $4 billion plan to help fund computer science classes in schools calls for $40 million in funding in 2017, with yearly spending quickly escalating for the next five years. The Computer Science for All plan, unveiled in Jan, calls for federal funding for states to offer coding classes for students in kindergarten through high school. Funding for the program was included in President Obama's overall $4.1 trillion budget proposal released Feb 9. The aim is to train a quarter million teachers, upgrade infrastructure and provide online courses. It would rely partly on partnerships with private industry. In 2018, President Obama’s budget calls for mandatory funding for the program to rise to $720 million. Spending would increase above $1 billion in each 2019 and 2020. Spending would be $660 million in 2021 and $280 million in 2022. The program also calls for $100 million is discretionary funding for schools to expand computer science classes for girls and minorities.

The budget also calls for funding for 25 agencies to develop digital service teams, which are meant to place tech talent throughout the government. The budget also factors in an estimated $5 billion in savings over the next decade by having the Federal Communications Commission enact spectrum license user fees and allowing the FCC to auction satellite services.

NTIA Updates $4 Billion Broadband Stimulus Program Results

The Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) is winding towards a close, according to the latest quarterly update from National Telecommunications & Information Administration, which highlights broadband stimulus program results. The report dated October 2015 but only released publicly during the week of Feb 1, provides a summary of what the BTOP program had accomplished as of June 2015. In 2009 and 2010, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), which administered the BTOP program, awarded approximately $4 billion to 233 BTOP projects. Those projects focused on four areas:
$3.5 billion to 123 infrastructure projects (primarily middle-mile)
$251 million to 44 sustainable broadband adoption (SBA) programs
$201 million to 66 public computing center (PCC) projects
The NTIA also was responsible for awarding $293 million to 56 state broadband initiative (SBI) projects, which were focused on collecting information for the National Broadband Map.

Five Ideas for the Road to 5G

Here are my five ideas for the road to 5G:

  1. To find spectrum for next generation networks we need to look high: the 5G future will look different [from 4G]—very different. We will need to bust through the old 3 GHz ceiling and create new possibilities for millimeter wave spectrum—in the airwaves at 24 GHz and above. This is spectrum that is way, way up there.
  2. When we look high for new spectrum, we cannot forget that we also need to look low: while we explore the big possibilities of millimeter wave, we need to continue to look for opportunities
  3. below 3 GHz.
  4. To build a bigger wireless future, we need to focus as much on the ground as on the skies: We can begin by taking a comprehensive look at tower siting practices and make them
  5. more consistent across the country.
  6. If we want a bold wireless future, we need a better way to manage our balance sheets: When auction values are not right, relocation costs are wrong, or assumptions are built into the baseline that don’t reflect what is happening—we have a problem.
  7. We need sandboxes for cities—and more experimental licenses: 5G technology will have applications everywhere—in rural areas, urban areas, and everything in between. But these applications hold special promise in our cities. That’s because 5G will bring high speed, low latency technology to densely populated areas, opening up a whole new range of civic and commercial services.

Remarks of FCC Commissioner Michael O'Rielly at the Country Radio Seminar 2016

Country radio is certainly one of the big success stories of the radio industry as a whole, as the top format in the US in terms of the number of stations and the top two or three in terms of audience ratings. I’m looking forward to hearing from you about how we at the Federal Communications Commission can be helpful, but given all of this good news, it seems to me that one of the best things we can do for you is to work on getting out of your way. I am optimistic that during my time at the Commission it will be possible to spur many more badly-needed reforms allowing broadcasters to leverage the Internet in fulfilling requirements such as sponsorship ID and widespread advertising of employment opportunities.

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