November 2016

Sen Edward Markey (D-MA) blasted GOP calls for Federal Communication Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler to avoid action on “controversial items" until the new administration. "Blind and visually impaired individuals will suffer because Republicans and their allies on the Commission will not allow a vote to expand the amount of video-described programming available,” Sen Markey said. "Small business, universities, hospitals, and public safety organizations will suffer because Republicans and their allies on the Commission won’t allow a vote on business data services. Republican lawmakers should stop their obstruction and support Commission action on those pro-consumer, pro-accessibility measures without delay.”

To assist communities, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration released a toolkit for local officials and citizen groups to use as a guide for building successful public-private partnerships. Using Partnerships to Power a Smart City: A Toolkit for Local Communities identifies factors to consider when developing a partnership -- including what to look for in a partner, assessing each partner's contribution, and guidance on how to structure the most fruitful partnership agreements. The toolkit also includes checklists to help communities as they work through the planning process.

When developing the toolkit, NTIA drew from its experience administering the $4 billion in grants funded under the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP). The expertise it developed through overseeing BTOP led it to launch its BroadbandUSA program, which provides technical assistance to communities seeking to expand broadband deployment and adoption. NTIA's goal is to share the knowledge we have gained working with a wide range of broadband stakeholders during the last seven years so that more communities can benefit. By equipping communities with the know-how to build long-lasting partnerships, we hope to contribute to the vibrant and sustainable smart cities of the future.

They called it Project X. It was an unusually audacious, highly sensitive assignment: to build a massive skyscraper, capable of withstanding an atomic blast, in the middle of New York City. It would have no windows, 29 floors with three basement levels, and enough food to last 1,500 people two weeks in the event of a catastrophe. But the building’s primary purpose would not be to protect humans from toxic radiation amid nuclear war. Rather, the fortified skyscraper would safeguard powerful computers, cables, and switchboards. It would house one of the most important telecommunications hubs in the United States — the world’s largest center for processing long-distance phone calls, operated by the New York Telephone Company, a subsidiary of AT&T.

Documents obtained by The Intercept from the NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden do not explicitly name 33 Thomas Street as a surveillance facility. However — taken together with architectural plans, public records, and interviews with former AT&T employees conducted for this article — they provide compelling evidence that 33 Thomas Street has served as an NSA surveillance site, code-named TITANPOINTE.

President Barack Obama named 21 recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the Nation’s highest civilian honor, presented to individuals who have made especially meritorious contributions to the security or national interests of the United States, to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors. The awards will be presented at the White House on November 22nd. One recipient was Newt Minow.

Minnow is an attorney with a long and distinguished career in public life. After serving in the US Army during World War II, Minow served as a Supreme Court clerk and counsel to the Governor of Illinois. In 1961, President Kennedy selected Minow, then 34, to serve as Chairman of the Federal Communications Committee, where he helped shape the future of American television and was a vigorous advocate for broadcasting that promoted the public interest. In the five decades since leaving the FCC, Minow has maintained a prominent private law practice while devoting himself to numerous public and charitable causes.