National Telecommunications and Information Administration

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration's Institute for Telecommunication Sciences (ITS) has been working to better understand how to factor in clutter when analyzing and predicting the behavior of radio waves.

ITS engineer Chriss Hammerschmidt presented a paper earlier this week on "Extracting Clutter Metrics From Mobile Propagation Measurements in the 1755-1780 MHz Band" at MILCOM 2016, an international conference for military communications. The paper describes spectrum measurements ITS took during 2015 to inform and validate new radio wave propagation prediction models. Propagation models, mathematical algorithms that predict the behavior of radio waves, are an essential enabler for spectrum sharing. ITS and its predecessor labs within the Department of Commerce have been developing and improving propagation models since about 1909. But increased demand for spectrum, advances in technology, and the tremendous increase in the everyday spectrum usage (sometimes referred to as the "noise floor"), means that there are tremendous potential benefits from more research and testing to improve the accuracy of existing propagation models. As the telecommunications industry moves into the future with new technologies like 5G, ever more detailed models of clutter loss will be required to facilitate spectrum sharing.

This set of measurements is a first step on the path to making spectrum sharing as efficient as possible. Tremendous opportunities remain, however, for investment in propagation research and testing to achieve even greater efficiencies in our use of limited spectrum resources.

One of the major advantages of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration's surveys on computer and Internet use stems from their very large sample size--approximately 53,000 households representing more than 120,000 people. This allows us to break out results by demographics like age, race, income, and education, as well as by state of residence.

Oct 27, we are launching a new feature of our Data Explorer tool enabling users to visualize NTIA's computer and Internet use data by state, with metrics displayed in a national map. Users can easily adjust the map to reflect different datasets, while pressing the "Play" button cycles through datasets to show how the country has changed over time. The map view is available for every metric in Data Explorer, such as use of various devices, locations of Internet use, and online activities.

We have finally fulfilled the promise the United States made nearly two decades ago to privatize the Internet domain name system. We took the final steps with the expiration of the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) functions contract with Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) as of October 1 and last week by modifying our cooperative agreement with Verisign to remove National Telecommunications and Information Administration's (NTIA's) role in authorizing changes to the authoritative root zone file. I know many of you understand the significance of this historic moment in the evolution of the Internet. But I think it is also important to understand it in the context of the development of the multistakeholder approach to Internet governance and policymaking. This transition is a powerful testament to the strength of the multistakeholder model and what it can achieve.

After the community completed the IANA transition plan, there were those who tried to delay or block the transition at the eleventh hour. Of course, there will always be those who are not happy with the outcome. But if you believe in the process, you must respect the process. However, you do not show respect for the multistakeholder process when you wait until the process is over and the community has reached consensus and then propose major changes in the plan without ever asking the community to consider such an option. You do not show respect for the multistakeholder process when you do not participate for two years and then afterward say you object to the outcome.

On September 30, policy staff from National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) will be participating in an annual policy research conference where they will be discussing important research about Americans' computer and Internet use habits. They will be presenting two working papers at the 44th Research Conference on Communications, Information and Internet Policy (link is external) (TPRC), an annual conference on information, communications, and technology policy, which brings together researchers, policymakers, and advocates from the public, academic, and private sectors.

These papers shed light on important policy issues relying on data collected though NTIA's Computer and Internet Use Supplement to the U.S. Census Bureau's Current Population Survey (CPS Supplement). In the first working paper, Trust in Internet Privacy and Security and Online Activity (link is external), NTIA staff used data from the most recent CPS Supplement, which included questions on household privacy and security concerns, to identify certain indicators of distrust in security online. Their analysis reveals that Internet-using households with either serious concerns with Internet privacy or prior experiences with a security breach or harassment were more likely to report that they refrained from a range of online activities, after controlling for other factors.

Access to ubiquitous and affordable high-speed Internet is essential to many aspects of modern society. The Internet can assist in activities like accessing employment opportunities, healthcare options, affordable housing, and educational resources. However, millions of Americans still do not use the Internet, and even among those who do, the speed, quality and form of access can vary greatly.

We seek to better understand the challenges faced by non-adopters and under-connected Americans using new data from the July 2015 Computer and Internet Use Supplement to the Current Population Survey. We find that the nature of the digital divide is evolving. As usage habits and technologies change, new disparities are appearing, even while others gradually narrow. New divides based on the cost of owning multiple Internet-enabled devices appear to be surfacing. To better understand the changing needs of underserved communities, we examine three important and emerging trends.

First, we analyze survey data from Internet non-adopters. NTIA added new questions to its 2015 survey in order to better understand why households report not using the Internet. We allowed households to report multiple reasons for not using the Internet, enabling us to better understand why some households are not online. We also asked whether households lacking home Internet service would subscribe to such a service if it were offered at a lower price.

Second, we look specifically at one group of low adopters: rural communities. Americans in rural communities may face a disadvantage based on cumulative impact of various barriers to Internet use. For example, rural areas often face high broadband deployment costs, and may lack local facilities that offer public Internet access (e.g., community centers). Together, these factors may further depress Internet use in rural areas among those demographic groups already facing disparities, such low-income households. To understand these issues, we compare Internet use for similar demographic groups in rural and urban areas. Research suggests that, particularly among groups traditionally affected by the digital divide, Internet adoption rates are lower in rural areas.

Third, we focus on the diversification of devices used to access the Internet. The proliferation of devices means more people have more alternatives for getting online. However, this trend may open up a new digital divide, based on whether an individual has access to the right type of device for a particular task. Using a smartphone to access the Internet, for example, has qualitative strengths and weaknesses compared to using a laptop computer. To better understand this new divide, we investigate device use, particularly for those most likely to be on the wrong side of the digital divide.

Stimulating greater Internet use is an important and widely-prioritized public policy goal. In considering the best strategies to reach this goal, it is important to have a full, nuanced, and granular picture of the digital divide. Looking ahead, policy makers need to better understand how this divide is evolving with Internet and technology usage. Our paper aims to address these questions.

When she announced the Commerce Department's Digital Economy Agenda a year ago, Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker emphasized that broadband Internet access and digital skills are critical to the economy's success. The digital marketplace has created millions of new jobs in the United States. Digitally connected Americans are the modern workers, creative innovators, and new customers who will help sustain our nation's global competitiveness. But what about those Americans who do not use the Internet? Whether by circumstance or by choice, millions of US households are not online, and thus unable to meaningfully participate in the digital economy. Data from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration's July 2015 Computer and Internet Use Supplement to the Current Population Survey confirm that the digital divide persists.

In 2015, 33 million households (27 percent of all US households) did not use the Internet at home, where families can more easily share Internet access and conduct sensitive online transactions privately. Significantly, 26 million households--one-fifth of all households--were offline entirely, lacking a single member who used the Internet from any location in 2015. As we previously reported, non-Asian minorities and people with disabilities were among those groups most likely not to use the Internet at home, as were those with lower incomes and lower levels of educational attainment. The reasons these and other offline households gave in 2015 reflect a consistent pattern since 2001, which is when NTIA first asked why people did not use the Internet at home.

I want to talk about a topic that we have made a top priority during my seven years at [National Telecommunications and Information Administration]. I know many of you here in this room and watching from around the world are familiar with multistakeholder processes through the work of [Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers] and the [Internet Assigned Numbers Authority] stewardship transition. However, I want to spend a few minutes going into more detail about why we see this as not just as a tool for global technical Internet issues but also as a potential alternative to address a far broader set of policy issues.

The US government, including our Congress, has long championed the multistakeholder approach as the preferred tool for dealing with Internet policy issues. At NTIA, we will continue to trumpet the advantages of this approach wherever we can, both domestically and internationally. I ask all of you who support the model to help educate others about it and to push back against the ignorance sometimes displayed by opponents or skeptics of the approach, few of whom have ever actually participated in the process. We all want to protect Internet freedom and promoting the multistakeholder model is central to that protection.

For almost 20 years, Democratic and Republican Administrations, with bipartisan support from Congress, have worked closely with businesses, civil society groups, governments, and technical experts to develop a multistakeholder, private sector-led system for the global coordination of the Internet domain name system (DNS). The National Telecommunications and Information Administrations (NTIA’s) announcement in 2014 initiated the final step in the privatization process by asking the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) to convene global stakeholders to develop a transition plan. The two years of effort by the Internet multistakeholder community to develop the transition plan reflect truly historic and unprecedented work. The plan developed by the community has strengthened the multistakeholder process and holds ICANN even more directly accountable to the customers of the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) functions and to the broader Internet community. The proposal also ensures the continued leadership of the private sector in making decisions related to the technical underpinnings of the Internet.

The time to transition the IANA functions is now, and I urge this Congress to once again demonstrate strong support for the multistakeholder process related to Internet governance.

Pursuant to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA or Recovery Act) (Public Law No. 111-5), the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) provides this Quarterly Report on the status of the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program. This Report focuses on the Program’s activities from October 1 to December 31, 2015.

NTIA established key project indicators to track the success of the Program. SBA projects tracked the number of households subscribing to broadband, or “SBA Subscribers.” CCI projects tracked the number of “New and Upgraded Network Miles” and the number of “Community Anchor Institutions (CAIs) Connected.” Since the BTOP appropriation originally expired on September 30, 2015, NTIA retired the key project indicators. NTIA noted this in the FY 2016 budget submitted to Congress. However, on September 30, 2015, President Obama signed the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2016, which extended the availability of BTOP funding for both active grants and those in closeout until September 30, 2020. As a result, NTIA reinstated the key project indicator for the number of “New and Upgraded Network Miles.” However, due to the limited number and type of projects remaining, NTIA did not reinstate the key project indicator “CAIs Connected.” As of December 2015, NTIA’s CCI grant recipients continued to make progress toward the Program’s FY 2016 goal of deploying new or upgraded network miles. Grant recipients’ quarterly progress reports provide more granular details of these results. These reports were made public in March 2016, except for those closeout reports not yet approved by NTIA. Between October 1 and December 31, 2015, the remaining BTOP grant recipients deployed or upgraded 1,037 additional network miles. This brings the cumulative total for all BTOP recipients to more than 116,702 miles of new or upgraded network infrastructure.

One of the things we tried to do at this event was to drill down deeper into the potential policy issues by exploring specific recommendations and discussing what types of government engagement might be beneficial. I think we have advanced the discussion on these issues so I want to thank all of the speakers, presenters, and audience participants for helping us do that. We plan to incorporate the valuable information we received from today’s discussion as we finalize a Department of Commerce policy green paper on Internet of Things (IoT), which will identify next steps for the Department and recommendations for the next Administration.

In addition, we are also actively addressing cybersecurity related to IoT, which we discussed here today and was one of the top issues identified by commenters in the RFC. Earlier this summer, we announced that we plan to launch a new multistakeholder process to support better consumer understanding of IoT products that support security upgrades. We are looking at the third week of October, most likely outside of the beltway, to launch that initiative. Stay tuned for more info on that. Also, stakeholders involved in NTIA’s process aimed at developing guidelines related to the disclosure of cybersecurity vulnerabilities are making good progress and appear on track to wrap up their work before the end of the year.

[Angela Simpson is the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information at the US Patent and Trademark Office.]