IANA Transition on Schedule for Year's End, NTIA Says

said Saturday at the FCBA annual seminar. ICANN is making changes to its bylaws now, even before that report is issued, he said, and, assuming NTIA has no serious concerns, the U.S./ICANN contract could end in September. If that happens, he said, "for the most part no one will notice anything different," though it would be symbolically important. The Commerce Department this fall will put out a set of IoT-promoting policy recommendations and observations as the next step after the request for comment in which it's engaged (see 1604060030), said Angie Simpson, NTIA deputy assistant secretary. Simpson said numerous agencies outside Commerce will be looking at that report, and it might lead to a number of workshops or a multistakeholder process. "We're really trying to get our arms around what this means to folks," she said. While the NTIA's $4 billion broadband grant program is largely complete and no further funding is seen anytime soon, the agency could have a larger role in the future in working with localities on broadband matters, Strickling said. Through its Broadband USA program of technical assistance, publications and community connectivity efforts, NTIA has been trying to develop "digital skills" within communities lacking access to infrastructure or those skill sets, NTIA Chief of Staff Glenn Reynolds said. Meanwhile, its Broadband Opportunity Council is "a way ... to be scrappy and tenacious" and partner up with agencies that have resources NTIA doesn't and use those to leverage broadband connectivity, Simpson said. Individual Opportunity Council efforts, such as working with the Interior Department on improving tribal access to broadband, are "on the margins ... [but] combined they can have tremendous impact," Reynolds said. He also said the model cities public notice being worked on with the FCC is "very close" to completion.