NII
Update

Tuesday, April 18
A summary of NTIA and NII events and news

NTIA Speaks...

• Michele Farquhar April 19
  Speaks on video dialtone,
  universal service, redlining, and
  the NII to Telecom Reports
  conference
  (Washington, DC)
  

  Larry Irving May 1
  Speaks on promoting access to
  the NII at Harvard Law School
  seminar
  (Cambridge, MA)
  

  Larry Irving May 4
  Speaks at "Ties that Bind," a
  conference on community
  networking
  (Cupertino, CA)
  

  Larry Irving May 7-8
  Speaks on GII at NCTA conference
  (Dallas, TX)
  

Event Schedule

April 19
TELECAP report released during
half-day conference. For more
information, contact Louis
Camphor, III at (202) 482-6173
(New York, NY)

Quotable...

"By the year 2000, 97 percent of
what is known at that time will
have been discovered or invented
since those of us in this room
were born. It's been further
projected that by the year 2020,
knowledge or information will
double every 73 days."

Dr. James Applebury,
President, AASCU

Report Released on Minorities in Telecom Industry Conference to Be Held on Capital and Investment

NTIA's Minority Telecom Development Program (MTDP) will hold a conference on capital formation and investment in the telecommunications industry. The conference will be held tomorrow (Apr. 19) at the New York Law School from 1:00-5:00 p.m, and will feature several government officials and business leaders. In conjunction with the conference, Assistant Secretary Larry Irving will unveil a report entitled Capital Formation and Investment in Minority Business Enterprises in the Telecommunications Industries. The report concludes that minorities face identifiable barriers to participation in telecom ventures, and often lack access to the capital necessary to form and expand telecom businesses. In an effort to address these barriers, the report identifies fifteen capitalization strategies which offer alternatives to traditional capital sources. These sources, when combined with entrepreneurial education and training, effective business selection strategies, and other efforts will help promote minority ownership in the telecom industry. For more information on the report, please contact Louis Camphor, III at 202.482.6173.

Ten-Year Plan For National Spectrum Revealed

In a press conference on April 7, Assistant Secretary Larry Irving released an NTIA report entitled U.S. National Spectrum Requirements: Projections and Trends . The report forecasts U.S. spectrum requirements for all licensed radio services for both Federal and non-Federal radiocommunication users for a ten-year period. The report was published by NTIA's Office of Spectrum Management which manages the Federal Government's use of spectrum.

The report concludes that land mobile services, including public safety operations, cellular, conventional dispatch services, PCS, paging, intelligent transportation systems and trunked mobile services, will need significant additional spectrum due to the rapid growth in non-dispatch services. Specifically, the report concludes that land mobile services will need approximately an additional 204 MHz. Other major spectrum requirements include an additional 60 MHz for mobile-satellite service and 200-400 MHz for mobile-satellite feeder links. The report also reviews technology trends that will influence future spectrum use. For more information on the report or to receive a copy, please contact Norbert Schroeder at 202.482.3999.

Private Sector Advisory Council Pushes Forward

The NII Advisory Council (NIIAC) continues to break new ground with the release of "Common Ground: Fundamental Principles for the NII," the successful conclusion of its April 12 meeting in Santa Fe, and the development of the KickStart project--a blueprint to accelerate access to the NII to public institutions. Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) opened the meeting stressing the importance of connecting rural Americans to the NII. He also pointed out that many programs which help Americans "get connected," including NTIA's TIIAP, may be severely cut. During the meeting, the NIIAC heard extensively from representatives of Native American and Hispanic communities about the barriers faced in accessing the NII. The NIIAC also recently released "Common Ground," a report to Commerce Sec. Ronald H. Brown that details a set of principles which set out to strengthen the NII vision, address NII issues, and provide guidelines to ensure that the NII will have significant educational and commercial benefits. For more information on any of these projects, please contact Celia Nogales at 202.482.1835.

NTIA On-Line

NTIA's on-line resources include:
dial-up access: 202.482.1199 at speeds up to 14,400 baud
Internet access points:
ftp.ntia.doc.gov
gopher.ntia.doc.gov
http://www.ntia.doc.gov

Room 4892 HCH Building
Washington, DC 20230
Voice 202.482.1835, Fax 202.482.0979
E-mail: dgardner@ntia.doc.gov