August 2016

By this Public Notice, the Incentive Auction Task Force and the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau announce the 114 megahertz spectrum clearing target that has been set by the Auction System’s optimization procedure for the second stage (Stage 2) of the incentive auction. This Public Notice also describes the band plan associated with the 114 megahertz spectrum clearing target, and the number of Category 1 and Category 2 generic license blocks in each Partial Economic Area (PEA) that will be offered during the forward auction in Stage 2. In addition, we provide details and specific dates regarding bidding and the availability of educational materials for Stage 2 of the incentive auction. We also remind reverse and forward auction applicants of their continuing obligations. Stage 2 bidding in the reverse auction will start on September 13, 2016.

Federal Communications Commissioner Mignon Clyburn really wants you to know she’s not one of those “inside the Beltway” types. That may seem hard to believe coming from the daughter of Rep Jim Clyburn (D-SC), a congressman since 1993 and the No.3 Democrat in the House. But until she took the FCC job in 2009, Commissioner Clyburn never left her home state for more than a few weeks at a time. “I did not come up to DC to be like a lot of others (respectfully, this sounds a little tough) that I see in DC, who always want to be picture perfect, wrapped up in a bow, and ready for presentation,” Commissioner Clyburn says. “I am very different if you to compare me to my colleagues,” she said. Referring several times to her “Southern accent,” she said, “I am very much outside of the Beltway.” Commissioner Clyburn’s quiet and poised demeanor strikes a sharp contrast to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, the physically imposing FCC Chairman who exudes a larger-than-life political presence. Yet for nearly six months in 2013, Commissioenr Clyburn sat in Chairman Wheeler’s chair. She was acting FCC Chairwoman while Congress deliberated over Wheeler’s confirmation. There was a historic nature to her chairmanship.

We often get the question, “If I comply with the NIST Cybersecurity Framework, am I complying with what the FTC requires?” From the perspective of the staff of the Federal Trade Commission, NIST’s Cybersecurity Framework is consistent with the process-based approach that the FTC has followed since the late 1990s, the 60+ law enforcement actions the FTC has brought to date, and the agency’s educational messages to companies, including its recent Start with Security guidance.

The Framework is not, and isn’t intended to be, a standard or checklist. It’s meant to be used by an organization to determine its current cybersecurity capabilities, set individual goals, and establish a plan for improving and maintaining a cybersecurity program, but it doesn’t include specific requirements or elements. In this respect, there’s really no such thing as “complying with the Framework.” Instead, it’s important to remember that the Framework is about risk assessment and mitigation. In this regard, the Framework and the FTC’s approach are fully consistent: The types of things the Framework calls for organizations to evaluate are the types of things the FTC has been evaluating for years in its Section 5 enforcement to determine whether a company’s data security and its processes are reasonable. By identifying different risk management practices and defining different levels of implementation, the NIST Framework takes a similar approach to the FTC’s long-standing Section 5 enforcement.