press release

As part of President Barack Obama's Climate Action Plan, Commerce's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is leading a collaborative nationwide effort to develop a framework that US communities can use to prepare for, resist, respond to, and recover from hazard events more rapidly and at a lower cost.

On July 30, NIST will host the second in a series of regional workshops devoted to developing a community-centric "disaster resilience framework" to minimize the impacts of hazards and quickly restore vital functions and services in the aftermath of disasters.

The disaster resilience framework will establish overall performance goals; assess existing standards, codes, and practices; and identify gaps that must be addressed to bolster community resilience.

The workshop will begin with a session on resilience lessons learned from Hurricane Sandy, the 2012 "superstorm" that affected many states along the Atlantic seaboard. Topics will include buildings and facilities, transportation systems, energy systems, communication and information systems, water and wastewater systems, and social vulnerabilities.

NIST seeks input from a broad array of stakeholders, including planners, designers, facility owners and users, government officials, utility owners, regulators, standards and model code developers, insurers, trade and professional associations, disaster response and recovery groups, and researchers.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler announced the members of an inter-bureau steering committee and the working team leaders established to coordinate the agency’s review of merger applications from Comcast-Time Warner Cable-Charter and AT&T-DirecTV. Jonathan Sallet, General Counsel, will chair the steering committee that will oversee both sets of transactions.

Bureau chiefs on the steering committee include Media Bureau Chief Bill Lake, International Bureau Chief Mindel de la Torre, Wireline Competition Bureau Chief Julie Veach, and Wireless Telecommunications Bureau Chief Roger Sherman.

Hillary Burchuk will lead the working team responsible for the review of the proposed Comcast-Time Warner Cable-Charter transaction. Bill Dever from the Wireline Competition bureau will be her deputy.

The Comcast-Time Warner Cable-Charter working team will report to the steering committee. Jamillia Ferris will join the Office of General Counsel to lead the working team for the review of the proposed AT&T-DirecTV transaction.

Elizabeth Andrion from the Office of Strategic Planning & Policy Analysis will serve as her deputy.

William Rogerson will serve as senior economist overseeing the review of the proposed Comcast-Time Warner Cable-Charter and has been selected to serve as senior economist overseeing the review of the proposed AT&T-DirecTV transactions.

Shane Greenstein will serve as senior economic consultant, providing guidance on the proposed Comcast-TWC-Charter and AT&T-DirecTV transactions.

Sen John (Jay) Rockefeller, IV (D-WV), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation released the following statement after the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it filed a complaint against wireless phone service provider T-Mobile USA, which alleges that the company made millions of dollars by placing unauthorized charges on consumers’ phone bills.

“I am deeply disturbed by the FTC’s allegations that T-Mobile allowed millions of dollars in unauthorized charges to be crammed on consumer wireless bills. […] The FTC’s allegations only heighten my concern about the industry’s repeated assertions that voluntary oversight effectively protects consumers from cramming. I am pleased the FTC is scrutinizing carrier practices and look forward to seeing how this FTC action will inform the Committee’s work to make sure the wireless industry is accountable to consumers.”

Following an in-depth investigation, the European Commission has approved under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed acquisition of Dutch Telecom operator KPN's German mobile telecommunications business E-Plus by Telefónica Deutschland.

The approval is conditional upon the full implementation of a commitments package submitted by Telefónica.

The Commission had concerns that the merger, as initially notified, would have removed two close competitors and important competitive forces from the German mobile telecommunications market and that it would have further weakened the position of Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) and Service Providers to the detriment of consumers.

To address these concerns, Telefónica submitted commitments ensuring that new competitors will enter the mobile telecommunications market in Germany and that the position of existing competitors is strengthened. These commitments remove the Commission's concerns.

The American Library Association (ALA) participated in an E-rate press call moderated by the Federal Communications Commission, and was joined by several education and digital learning advocates.

More than 4 million people visit America’s public libraries each day, and high-capacity broadband and Wi-Fi-enabled connections are at the center of what our communities need to connect with a world of online resources.

“The pressure for high-capacity broadband in libraries grows every year, as more essential employment and government services move online and libraries add interactive and streaming multimedia. The needs are urgent, and the time for action is now. ALA sees the FCC’s efforts as a solid first step in reforms to immediately support investments in Wi-Fi and to simplify the E-rate program,” said American Library Association Washington Office executive director Emily Sheketoff. Virtually all libraries now offer free public Wi-Fi, and this use is accelerating rapidly. One Oregon library recently topped 1 million Wi-Fi sessions in one year. Many patrons bring one, two or even three devices, and the K-12 trend toward supplying students with tablets and laptops is dramatically impacting library networks after school bells ring. This Wi-Fi access depends on affordable, scalable high-capacity connections to the building.

“With more than half of libraries with speeds of less than 10Mbps, we have a long way to go before we can claim victory toward the 1 gigabit goal, and the FCC must also address this concern. This is a first, not last step, to supporting digital learning and digital opportunity for our students and communities,” Sheketoff added.

The Federal Communications Commission announced that it is investigating complaints that T-Mobile billed its customers for millions of dollars in unauthorized third-party subscriptions and premium text messaging services.

The FCC has coordinated its investigation with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which filed a lawsuit against T-Mobile concerning the company’s placement of unauthorized charges on customer’s mobile phone bills -- a practice known as “cramming.”

“Consumers should not be charged for services that they did not order,” said Travis LeBlanc, Acting Chief the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau. “We will coordinate our investigation with the FTC, and use our independent enforcement authority to ensure a thorough, swift, and just resolution of the numerous complaints against T-Mobile.”

Numerous T-Mobile subscribers have filed complaints with the FCC and the FTC alleging that unauthorized charges for unwanted third-party services were added to their T-Mobile wireless telephone bills. The unwanted charges included billing for ringtones, wallpapers, and text message subscriptions to services providing horoscopes, flirting tips, and celebrity gossip.

The Federal Communications Commission released a report of the potential impact of a pending proposal to modernize the federal E-Rate program to meet a pressing demand by the nation’s schools and libraries: robust connectivity to the Internet through Wi-Fi networks.

Three out of five schools in America lack the wireless high-speed Internet -- or Wi-Fi -- to carry data at today’s broadband speeds. The report provides a state-by-state breakdown of the estimated number of additional students, schools and libraries that would gain E-rate funding needed for Wi-Fi upgrades over the next five years under the proposal by FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler. Nationwide, the proposal would increase funding for Wi-Fi 75 percent for rural schools and 60 percent for urban schools, allowing an additional 44 million students and 16,000 libraries to have access to Wi-Fi services by 2019, all within existing program funding. “Technology has changed.

The needs of schools and libraries have changed. The E-Rate program must reflect these changes.” said Chairman Wheeler. “Modernizing E-Rate to expand Wi-Fi connectivity in schools and libraries will empower students and library patrons to use the latest education technology to access new learning opportunities and infinite worlds of information.”

Wi-Fi is the most cost-effective way to connect to the Internet at today’s speeds for individualized online learning. Despite this incredible Wi-Fi connectivity gap, the E-rate program was unable to support any Wi-Fi in 2014. When funds have been available for Wi-Fi in prior years, they have only reached about 5% of schools and 1% of libraries. The proposal will help close the Wi-Fi gap by maximizing existing funds, and ensuring funding is available to the vast majority of schools and libraries, not just a few.

One Billion. That’s how many World Cup-related posts, comments, and likes 220 million people on Facebook have made in the course of conversation since the tournament began on June 12.

Engagement on Facebook around the knockout matches pushed the overall interactions number over the 1 billion mark. Facebook generally sees a large amount of conversation around sporting events, but the World Cup has proven to be a unique moment.

Facebook’s data editors have never measured an event -- sports or otherwise — that has topped a billion interactions.

The US Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced the appointment of experts from the private and nonprofit sectors to serve on the Commerce Spectrum Management Advisory Committee (CSMAC), which provides advice and expertise on a wide-range of spectrum policy and technical issues.

Committee members, appointed by the Secretary of Commerce for two-year terms, will provide the Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information with advice and recommendations aimed at strengthening the US global leadership role in wireless technology services and innovation while supporting the country’s homeland security, national defense, and other critical government missions.

The committee will be co-chaired by Larry Alder, director of access strategy at Google, and Mark Gibson, senior director of business development at Comsearch. Both Adler and Gibson previously served on CSMAC and are among the 17 returning members to the 28-member panel.

The new members are Audrey L. Allison, director of frequency management services, for Boeing; Michael S Chartier, director of spectrum technology at Intel's public policy group; Harold Feld SVP of public policy at Public Knowledge; Dr Paul Kolodzy, an independent telecommunications consultant; Dr Robert Kubik, director of communications policy and regulatory affairs for Samsung Electronics America; Dr. Giulia McHenry, an associate with The Brattle Group; Charla Rath, VP of wireless policy development at Verizon; Dr Jeffrey Reed, director of wireless at Virginia Tech; Kurt Schaubach, VP and CTO, National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative; Steve Sharkey, senior director, chief engineering and technology policy in T-Mobile’s government affairs office; Mariam Sorond, VP of technology development for DISH.

The Federal Communications Commission has released its latest reports on Internet access service connections and local telephone services in the United States. Titled Internet Access Services and Local Telephone Competition, respectively, the reports are based on data submitted by service providers every six months. The reports include data collected by the FCC through June 30, 2013.

Highlights from the reports include the following:

• The number of connections with downstream speeds of at least 10 Mbps increased by 118% over June 2012, to 103 million connections, including 58 million fixed connections and 45 million mobile connections.
• Growth is particularly high in mobile Internet subscriptions. The number of mobile subscriptions with speeds over 200 kbps in at least one direction grew to 181 million -- up 18% from June 2012.
• In voice services, there were 90 million end-user switched access lines in service, 45 million interconnected VoIP subscriptions, and 306 million mobile voice subscriptions, or 441 million retail local telephone service connections in total as of June 30, 2013.
• Over the three years between June 2010 and June 2013, interconnected VoIP subscriptions increased at a compound growth rate of 16%, mobile voice subscriptions increased at a compound annual growth rate of 3%, and retail switched access lines declined at 10% a year.