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Blog Category: National

NTIA, Census Bureau Report New Findings on Internet Use in the United States

Submitted on February 17, 2010 - 2:42pm
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Image of circle of connected computers. Courtesy of Shutterstock

Image © Francesco Bisignani/Shutterstock

The Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) released a new report taking a first look at data collected through the Internet Usage Survey of more than 50,000 households, commissioned by NTIA and conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau in October 2009. Since 2007, the data show that, while virtually all demographic groups have experienced rising broadband Internet access adoption at home, historic disparities among particular demographic groups overall continue to persist. (More) (Census tables) (NTIA “Digital Nation” report—PDF)

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NIST Issues Expanded Draft of Smart Grid Cyber Security Strategy

Submitted on February 16, 2010 - 9:00pm
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NIST logo.

The Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has issued the second draft of its Smart Grid Cyber Security Strategy and Requirements, which now identifies more than 120 interfaces that will link diverse devices, systems and organizations engaged in two-way flows of electricity and information and classifies these connections according to the level of damage that could result from a security breach. (More)

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Commerce Awards Recovery Act Broadband Expansion Grants Totaling More than $20 Million for Virginia

Submitted on February 8, 2010 - 6:48pm
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Recovery Acy logo.

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced two grants totaling more than $21.5 million to expand broadband Internet infrastructure in Virginia. Funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, NTIA’s Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) provides grants to support the deployment of broadband infrastructure in unserved and underserved areas, enhance and expand public computer centers, and encourage sustainable adoption of broadband service. These investments will help bridge the technological divide, boost economic growth and create jobs. (More)

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Commerce Department Proposes Establishment of NOAA Climate Service

Submitted on February 8, 2010 - 3:12pm
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Department of Commerce seal.

Individuals and decision-makers across widely diverse sectors—from agriculture energy to transportation—increasingly are asking Commerce’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for information about climate change in order to make the best choices for their families, communities and businesses. To meet the rising tide of these requests, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke today announced the intent to create a NOAA Climate Service line office dedicated to bringing together the agency’s strong climate science and service delivery capabilities. (More) (Announcement) (Climate Web site)

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Secretary Locke Promotes Renewable Energy Export Opportunities at RETECH 2010

Submitted on February 5, 2010 - 4:47pm
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Secretary Locke.

File photo

A day after unveiling the details of the president’s National Export Initiative, Commerce Secretary Gary Locke urged attendees at the Renewable Energy Technology (RETECH) 2010 Conference to explore the export opportunities available for renewable energy technology that can support good paying jobs in a growing sector. (More) (Remarks)

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Secretary Locke Unveils Details of the National Export Initiative

Submitted on February 4, 2010 - 1:21pm
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Locke gesturing with hands from podium. Click for larger image.

Commerce Secretary Gary Locke unveiled details of President Obama’s National Export Initiative (NEI) today. During last week’s State of the Union speech, the president announced a goal of doubling exports over the next five years to support two million jobs in America. Locke detailed how the Export Initiative will help the country reach that goal—providing more funding, more focus and more cabinet-level coordination to grow U.S. exports. The NEI represents the first time the United States will have a government-wide export-promotion strategy with focused attention from the president and his Cabinet. (More) (Remarks) (C-SPAN video, 1:00 p.m. EST)

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NIST's Second 'Quantum Logic Clock' is Now World's Most Precise Clock

Submitted on February 4, 2010 - 12:30pm
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Image of clock compared to the size of a quarter. Click for larger image.

Physicists at Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have built an enhanced version of an experimental atomic clock based on a single aluminum atom that is now the world’s most precise clock, more than twice as precise as the previous pacesetter based on a mercury atom. The new clock is the second version of NIST’s “quantum logic clock,” so called because it borrows the logical processing used for atoms storing data in experimental quantum computing, another major focus of the same NIST research group. (More)

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Secretary Locke Statement on Advance Estimate of GDP in the Fourth Quarter 2009

Submitted on January 29, 2010 - 11:40am
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Commerce seal

The U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis released the advance estimate of gross domestic product (GDP) for the fourth quarter of 2009. Real GDP rose 5.7 percent at an annual rate, the second consecutive advance and the strongest increase since the third quarter of 2003. "Today's strong GDP showing represents important economic progress that must now be translated into new jobs," Commerce Secretary Gary Locke said. (More) (Release)

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NIST Issues First Release of Framework for Smart Grid Interoperability

Submitted on January 26, 2010 - 7:00pm
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Satellite image of North America at night showing electrical illumniation and outline of grid. Click for larger image.

Photo: NASA

Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has issued an initial list of standards, a preliminary cyber security strategy, and other elements of a framework to support transforming the nation’s aging electric power system into an interoperable “Smart Grid,” a key component of the Obama administration’s energy plan and its strategy for American innovation. By integrating digital computing and communication technologies and services with the power-delivery infrastructure, the Smart Grid will enable bidirectional flows of energy and two-way communication and control capabilities. (More) (Release)

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NOAA: December Global Ocean Temperature Second-Warmest on Record

Submitted on January 21, 2010 - 10:00am
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Image of the world's oceans.

The global ocean surface temperature was the second-warmest on record for December, according to scientists at NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C., and based on records going back to 1880. Scientists also reported the combined global land and ocean surface temperature was the eighth-warmest on record for December. For 2009, global temperatures tied with 2006 as the fifth-warmest on record. Also, the earth’s land surface for 2009 was seventh-warmest (tied with 2003) and the ocean surface was fourth-warmest (tied with 2002 and 2004.) (More)

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