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Priority Open Recommendations: National Telecommunications and Information Administration

GAO-25-108178 Published: Jul 14, 2025. Publicly Released: Jul 21, 2025.
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Highlights

What GAO Found

In July 2025, GAO identified 11 priority recommendations for the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). This includes two recommendations addressed to NTIA that GAO previously included in a letter listing priority recommendations to the Department of Commerce. Specifically, in a June 2024 letter to the Secretary of Commerce, GAO identified three priority recommendations for NTIA. Since then, NTIA implemented one of those three recommendations to clarify and further identify shared goals or outcomes for spectrum-management activities that involve collaboration. GAO identified nine additional priority recommendations for NTIA.

These 11 priority recommendations involve the following areas:

  • managing the radio-frequency spectrum,
  • managing cybersecurity risks and IT, and
  • managing federal broadband programs.

NTIA's attention to these recommendations could lead to significant improvements in government operations.

Why GAO Did This Study

Priority open recommendations are the GAO recommendations that warrant priority attention from heads of key departments or agencies because their implementation could save large amounts of money; improve congressional and/or executive branch decision-making on major issues; eliminate mismanagement, fraud, and abuse; or ensure that programs comply with laws and funds are legally spent, among other benefits. Since 2015 GAO has sent letters to selected agencies to highlight the importance of implementing such recommendations.

For more information, contact Andrew Von Ah at vonaha@gao.gov.

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Topics

Government Operations
BroadbandCybersecurityFederal assistance programsHigh-risk issuesRadio frequency spectrumRisk managementSpectrum managementSpectrum sharingBest practicesTelecommunications