82 FR 4313 - The Benefits, Challenges, and Potential Roles for the Government in Fostering the Advancement of the Internet of Things

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Telecommunications and Information Administration

Federal Register Volume 82, Issue 9 (January 13, 2017)

Recognizing the vital importance of the Internet to U.S. innovation, prosperity, education, and civic and cultural life, the Department of Commerce (Department) has made it a top priority to encourage growth of the digital economy and ensure that the Internet remains an open platform for innovation. Thus, as part of the Department's Digital Economy Agenda, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) issued a green paper ``Fostering the Advancement of the Internet of Things'' that lays out an approach and areas of engagement for the Department's possible future work on the Internet of Things (IoT). Through this Notice, NTIA seeks broad input from all interested stakeholders--including the private industry, researchers, academia, and civil society--on the issues and proposed approach, current initiatives, and next steps laid out in this paper. These comments will help inform Department leadership on possible future Department action regarding IoT.

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 9 (Friday, January 13, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4313-4314]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2017-00720]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Telecommunications and Information Administration

[Docket No. 170105023-7023-01]
RIN 0660-XC033


The Benefits, Challenges, and Potential Roles for the Government 
in Fostering the Advancement of the Internet of Things

AGENCY: National Telecommunications and Information Administration, 
U.S. Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Notice, request for public comment.

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SUMMARY: Recognizing the vital importance of the Internet to U.S. 
innovation, prosperity, education, and civic and cultural life, the 
Department of Commerce (Department) has made it a top priority to 
encourage growth of the digital economy and ensure that the Internet 
remains an open platform for innovation. Thus, as part of the 
Department's Digital Economy Agenda, the National Telecommunications 
and Information Administration (NTIA) issued a green paper ``Fostering 
the Advancement of the Internet of Things'' that lays out an approach 
and areas of engagement for the Department's possible future work on 
the Internet of Things (IoT). Through this Notice, NTIA seeks broad 
input from all interested stakeholders--including the private industry, 
researchers, academia, and civil society--on the issues and proposed 
approach, current initiatives, and next steps laid out in this paper. 
These comments will help inform Department leadership on possible 
future Department action regarding IoT.

DATES: Comments are due on or before 5 p.m. Eastern Time on February 
27, 2017.

ADDRESSES: Written comments may be submitted by email to 
[email protected]. Comments submitted by email should be machine-
readable and should not be copy-protected. Written comments also may be 
submitted by mail to the National Telecommunications and Information 
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue 
NW., Room 4725, Attn: IOT RFC 2017, Washington, DC 20230. Responders 
should include the name of the person or organization filing the 
comment, as well as a page number on each page of their submissions. 
All comments received are a part of the public record and will 
generally be posted on the NTIA Web site, http://www.ntia.doc.gov/, 
without change. All personal identifying information (for example, 
name, address) voluntarily submitted by the commenter may be publicly 
accessible. Do not submit confidential business information or 
otherwise sensitive or protected information. NTIA will accept 
anonymous comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Travis Hall, National 
Telecommunications and Information Administration, U.S. Department of 
Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW., Room 4725, Washington, DC 
20230; telephone (202) 482-3522; email [email protected]. Please 
direct media inquiries to NTIA's Office of Public Affairs, (202) 482-
7002, or at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Background: As part of the Department's Digital Economy Agenda, the 
National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) is 
requesting comment on the benefits, challenges, and potential roles for 
the government in fostering the advancement of the Internet of Things 
(IoT).
    The Internet of Things--in which connected devices are 
proliferating at an unprecedented rate--is transforming the way we live 
and do business. IoT continues the decades-long trend of increasing 
connectivity among devices and the Internet, bringing online everything 
from refrigerators to automobiles to factory inventory systems. At the 
same time, IoT encompasses a widening scope of industries and 
activities and a vastly increasing scale and number of devices being 
connected, thus raising the stakes and impacts of broad connectivity. 
Due to its expertise and experience with the issues raised by IoT, as 
well as its economy-wide perspective, the Department is well placed to 
meet the challenges of IoT and to champion the development of a robust 
IoT environment that benefits consumers, the economy, and society as a 
whole.
    With an April 2016 Request for Comment, ``The Benefits, Challenges, 
and Potential Roles for the Government in Fostering the Advancement of 
the Internet of Things,'' the Department sought to review the current 
technological and policy landscape relating to IoT.\1\ A broad array of 
stakeholders--from the private sector, academia, government, and civil 
society--offered perspectives in response to the request.\2\ In 
September 2016, the Department hosted a workshop to delve deeper into 
the questions raised by the Request for Comment, and to explore some of 
the related issues arising from the public comments.\3\ The Department 
issued a green paper entitled ``Fostering the Advancement of the 
Internet of Things,'' which represents the Department's analysis of 
those comments.\4\ The green paper also identifies key issues that can 
impact the deployment of IoT technologies, highlights potential 
benefits and challenges, and discusses what role, if any, the U.S. 
Government, particularly the Department, should play in this evolving 
landscape. With this Request for Comment, the Department is asking for 
a response to the issues raised by the green paper, as well as the 
proposed approach, current initiatives, and next steps.
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    \1\ Request for Comments on the Benefits, Challenges, and 
Potential Roles for the Government in Fostering the Advancement of 
the Internet of Things, 81 FR 19956 (April 16, 2016), available at 
https://ntia.doc.gov/federal-register-notice/2016/rfc-potential-roles-government-fostering-advancement-internet-of-things.
    \2\ All comments are publicly available at: https://ntia.doc.gov/federal-register-notice/2016/comments-potential-roles-government-fostering-advancement-internet-of-things.
    \3\ ``Fostering the Advancement of the Internet of Things 
Workshop Webcast,'' September 1, 2016, available at https://ntia.doc.gov/other-publication/2016/09012016-fostering-advancement-internet-things-workshop-webcast (In addition to the webcast, also 
available are the Workshop agenda, transcript, and various 
presentations).
    \4\ The IOT green paper is available at: https://www.ntia.doc.gov/other-publication/2017/green-paper-fostering-advancement-internet-things.

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[[Page 4314]]

Request for Comment

    Instructions for Commenters: The Department invites comment on the 
full range of issues that may be presented by this inquiry, including 
issues that are not specifically raised in the following questions. 
Commenters are encouraged to address any or all of the following 
questions. Comments that contain references to studies, research, and 
other empirical data that are not widely published should include 
copies of the referenced materials with the submitted comments.
    (1) Is our discussion of IoT presented in the green paper regarding 
the challenges, benefits, and potential role of government accurate 
and/or complete? Are there issues that we missed, or that we need to 
reconsider?
    (2) Is the approach for Departmental action to advance the Internet 
of Things comprehensive in the areas of engagement? Where does the 
approach need improvement?
    (3) Are there specific tasks that the Department should engage in 
that are not covered by the approach?
    (4) What should the next steps be for the Department in fostering 
the advancement of IoT?
    For any response, commenters may wish to consider describing 
specific goals or actions that the Department, or the U.S. Government 
in general, might take (on its own or in conjunction with the private 
sector) to achieve those goals; the benefits and costs associated with 
the action; whether the proposal is agency-specific or interagency; the 
rationale and evidence to support it; and the roles of other 
stakeholders.

    Dated: January 10, 2017.
Kathy D. Smith,
Chief Counsel, National Telecommunications and Information 
Administration.
[FR Doc. 2017-00720 Filed 1-12-17; 8:45 am]
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