Jessica Rosenworcel, chair of the Federal Communications Commission, issued a Notice of Inquiry for her proposal to make broadband networks affordable and accessible to everyone in the country.

The updated notice calls for a higher fixed broadband standard, as well as a future national goal of 1 Gigabits per second for download and 500 Megabits per second for upload, the FCC announced Tuesday.

The proposal was drafted in compliance with Section 706 of the Telecommunications Act, as well as requirements under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

The 25/3 Mbps download/upload standard, which has not been updated since 2015, will increase to 100/20 Mbps if FCC’s recommendation is approved.

“In today’s world, everyone needs access to affordable, high-speed internet, no exceptions,” Rosenworcel commented. “It’s time to connect everyone, everywhere. Anything short of 100% is just not good enough.”

Michael Bloomberg, chair of the Department of Defense Innovation Board, said that DOD is lagging behind the private sector in the technology race because of its antiquated acquisition system.

In an opinion piece published Tuesday on Defense News, Bloomberg noted that the government must learn from commercial companies’ practices in order to advance to the forefront of technological innovation.

The former New York City mayor highlighted the private sector’s “fail fast” principle, a trial-and-error approach to newly developed ideas in order to quickly determine if they should be pursued or reevaluated from the beginning.

He also mentioned a proposed bill entitled “Rapid Response to Emergent Technology Advancements or Threats,” which would authorize the secretaries of the different military branches to acquire new capabilities as needed, even before Congress approves a final budget.

Bloomberg called for the expansion of spending authority to DOD acquisition officials, asserting that they should be given more flexibility in procuring state-of-the-art equipment and technology at a faster pace, before the products become obsolete.

The Department of Defense’s office of the undersecretary for acquisition and sustainment has released an updated guide on other transaction agreements.

The document outlines lessons learned related to planning, solicitation, evaluation, award and administration of production and prototype OTs and offers information on the three types of OTAs: prototype, research and production.

According to the guide, OTs seek to provide DOD access to novel technology platforms from traditional and nontraditional defense contractors through potential teaming arrangements, support dual-use projects and encourage flexible project design and implementation.

The document provides pre- and post-award information, processes and best practices, as well as additional resources—including myths, approval thresholds and other facts related to OTs.

DOD also addresses the use of consortia in production and prototype OTAs in the updated guide.

The Senate on Tuesday voted 91-6 to pass as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act a bill that would screen U.S. investments in national security industries in foreign countries of concern, such as Russia, China, North Korea and Iran.

The Outbound Investment Transparency Act introduced by Sens. Bob Casey, D-Pa., and John Cornyn, R-Texas, would direct U.S. companies to inform the Department of the Treasury 14 days before making certain types of investments in artificial intelligence, advanced semiconductors and microelectronics, quantum information science and technology, hypersonics, networked laser scanning systems with dual-use applications and satellite-based communications.

“This bill would increase the visibility of these investments, which will help the U.S. gather the information needed to better evaluate our national security vulnerabilities, confront threats from our adversaries, and remain competitive on the global stage,” Cornyn said in a statement published Tuesday.

The proposed legislation would direct the Treasury to develop a process for receiving notifications of covered activities.

The measure would also require the U.S. government to coordinate with allies and partner countries on the implications of a notification process and advance the implementation of a screening process for outbound investments in partner countries.