September 2009

Inspector General to Review NTIA Handling of BTOP

The Commerce Department's Inspector General (IG) is conducting a review of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration's handling of the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) portion of the economic stimulus. In a memo last week to NTIA chief Larry Strickling, Judith Gordon, assistant inspector general for audit and evaluation, said an initial conference on the inquiry had been scheduled for Sept. 2. She said the goal of the review was to gauge how effectively NTIA is overseeing and managing the program, including contractors and office staffing. It will also evaluate how NTIA has set up the award process for winning bidders for the $7.2 billion in grant and loan money it is giving out in concert with the Department of Agriculture and with a consulting assist from the Federal Communications Commission. Finally, the IG will evaluate the reliability of the online application process. NTIA had to extend the deadline for bids after some users had trouble uploading documents electronically. It advised trying Firefox as a workaround.

NTIA Shortens Broadband Mapping Grants from 5 to 2 Years

On July 8, 2009, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration published a Notice of Funds Availability (NOFA) in the Federal Register to announce the availability of funds for the State Broadband Data and Development Grant Program. NTIA's highest priority with respect to this Program is to facilitate the development and maintenance of a national broadband map. The Agency seeks to develop the map in such a way that encourages continually improved data collection efforts while maintaining fiscal responsibility, resulting in a map that meets the requirements of Congress and the needs of all stakeholders, including policymakers and consumers. To that end, NTIA has determined that it will at this time fund mapping and data collection efforts for two years and will assess lessons learned, determine best practices, and investigate opportunities for improved data collection prior to obligating funding for subsequent years. NTIA now clarifies that the initial period of performance for funds allocated to Broadband Mapping purposes will be two years from the date of award and any subsequent funding will be subject to and contingent upon the agency's review of program priorities and the availability of funds.

Sept 29 FCC Meeting to Focus on National Broadband Plan

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski has indicated the agenda for the FCC's September 29 meeting will consist of a report on the status of the National Broadband Plan. The presentation will include a review of the testimony from participants at the August and September staff workshops, comments received from the public, and staff research and analysis.

Broadband Stimulus Applications Now Searchable Online

Applications for Broadband Technology Opportunities Program and Broadband Infrastructure Program grants are now available online. The applications can be searched by state, program, project type keywords or organization.

Broadband Stimulus Requirements Debate

A debate has erupted over whether or not broadband stimulus requirements should change to satisfy large telecommunications companies that snubbed the first round of funding in August. Many saw their absence as a sign that the broadband stimulus strategy had failed, but roughly $28 billion in applications were submitted to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and Rural Utilities Services (RUS), the two agencies distributing $7.2 billion set aside in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for broadband projects. With volume like that already in place, is it even necessary for large telecommunications companies to participate in the broadband stimulus? Some answer no.

Most Americans Believe Uninterrupted Broadband Access Should Be Available Like Other Utilities

According to a recent survey commissioned by SUPERCOMM, the telecommunications industry's trade show hosted by TIA and US Telecom, nearly 70 percent of all respondents believe uninterrupted broadband access should be as readily available as other utilities like electricity and water. This sentiment spreads almost evenly across all ages, race, income brackets and geographic lines. Additionally, the SUPERCOMM study, which involved over 1,000 respondents, found that more than half of respondents believe faster broadband access positively impacts productivity at the workplace

Consumer Groups Discuss Broadband at FCC Workshop

The Federal Communications Commission's National Broadband Plan workshop Wednesday focused on transparency, consumer control, and better broadband data. Taking dead aim at broadband data-collection efforts to date was Sascha Meinrath, director of the Open Technology Initiative at the New America Foundation. He said that nobody really knows the impact of broadband on the consumer because networks have refused to provide sufficiently granular data and the FCC has "facilitated that uncertainty" by refusing to mandate the kind of data collection that leads to informed policy, saying instead that broadband policymaking "continues to exist in a self-imposed veil of ignorance." Joel Kelsey, policy analyst for Consumers Union, focused on three areas: cyber crime, behavioral tracking, and deep packet inspection. He acknowledged that surfers had to take some responsibility for protecting themselves from cyber crimes, but that government and industry, which collects and shares sensitive information, also bears some responsibility. Ari Shcwartz, of the Center for Democracy and Technology, said companies have failed to respond to consumers' basic concerns and that they were still working from a 1980's direct marketing playbook that the data belonged to the companies doing the marketing rather than the users from whom it was collected. Debra Berlyn, who heads up the FCC's Consumer Advisory Committee, said the committee had shifted its focus from the DTV transition to broadband, particularly helping older populations adapt to and adopt broadband.

Innovation and the Internet

Once something becomes a part of our everyday lives, we tend to assume that it will always be roughly as we see it now. In the case of the Internet, while we hope that even greater data rates will become available, and that these rates will become available to even more homes and businesses, we may assume that little else will change. Last week's panel discussion on "the Internet of the Future" was a powerful reminder that the Internet, and broadband technology more generally, will continue to evolve. Moreover, innovation is critical to an infrastructure that meets our long-term needs, and this has implications for broadband policy. Moore's law suggests that electronic devices will continue to improve exponentially, and if the Internet does not improve at a comparable pace, it may become what Dave Clark called a "sea anchor." Moreover, progress does not simply mean we will see the same actors doing the same things but more quickly. Although the Internet has been around for four decades, elements of the current infrastructure, applications, and industry structure have emerged fairly recently, quickly, and sometimes unexpectedly - a phenomenon that could continue in the future.

EchoStar Pushes Coverage Over Speed in Broadband Definition Comments

Satellite television operator EchoStar is telling the Federal Communications Commission that the Commission should not define broadband by speeds high enough to exclude satellite broadband, which can be deployed more rapidly to rural and other hard-to reach places. The company also said it has applied for stimulus money to launch a satellite broadband service that could make that a reality. EchoStar said the definition should be "at least" 768 kbps downstream and 200 kbps upstream, far lower than some commenters have suggested, but enough for satellite operators to handle. That is the same threshold adopted by NTIA and the Agriculture Department's Rural Utility Service for its broadband stimulus/grant money, the company points out.

Pigeon transfers data faster than South Africa's Telkom

A South African information technology company on Wednesday proved it was faster for them to transmit data with a carrier pigeon than to send it using Telkom , the country's leading Internet service provider. Internet speed and connectivity in Africa's largest economy are poor because of a bandwidth shortage. It is also expensive. Local news agency SAPA reported the 11-month-old pigeon, Winston, took one hour and eight minutes to fly the 80 km (50 miles) from Unlimited IT's offices near Pietermaritzburg to the coastal city of Durban with a data card was strapped to his leg. Including downloading, the transfer took two hours, six minutes and 57 seconds -- the time it took for only four percent of the data to be transferred using a Telkom line. SAPA said Unlimited IT performed the stunt after becoming frustrated with slow Internet transmission times.

Benton

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