Industry attorneys expect USF reform and think BEAD efforts will soon speed up, they said in a webinar Thursday hosted by Incompas CEO Chip Pickering. The panel also discussed convergence between wired and wireless broadband and the movement of power away from the FCC in the wake of recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings against agency authority. “From Incompas’ perspective ... we think a lot will shift to Congress, to the administration and to the states,” said Pickering.
Steps that EU countries are taking to protect data have major implications for the telecom sector, software provider CSG's Sean Casey said Thursday during a Mobile World Live webinar. Other speakers said geopolitical considerations are playing a big role in how carriers manage their move to the cloud and regulators are forced to pay more attention to where data is stored.
As greater numbers of satellites are launched, the FCC is making progress trimming its backlog of satellite and earth station applications, FCC Space Bureau Chief Jay Schwarz said Tuesday as the Satellite Industry Association released its 2025 state of the satellite industry report. A record 11,539 operational satellites were in orbit as of the end of 2024, up more than 1,900 from year-end 2023, SIA said.
What the Trump administration's tariffs will mean for the communications sector remains murky (see 2504030056). On Thursday, the administration announced a deal with the U.K., the first of what it said will be multiple trade agreements.
Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Maria Cantwell of Washington and other Democrats used a Thursday confirmation hearing for deputy commerce secretary nominee Paul Dabbar to restate their concerns about the Trump administration’s commitment to the Commerce Department doling out appropriated broadband and semiconductor funding. Cantwell and Senate Commerce Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas, also emphasized their diverging views on repurposing DOD airwaves for commercial 5G use, an issue that’s been a major sticking point in negotiations to include a spectrum title in a coming GOP-sought budget reconciliation package (see 2504180027).
The private sector can't take all the responsibility for safeguarding against and responding to major cybersecurity events like the Salt Typhoon data hack of communications networks, House Communications and Technology Subcommittee members heard Wednesday. Putting Salt Typhoon blame solely on industry ignores the government's failure to share information with the private sector, Technology Industry Association CEO David Stehlin said during the roughly 2.5-hour hearing about protecting communications infrastructure. The session also saw communications and national security experts lay out a variety of recommendations for improving U.S. communications network security, from uniform ways to report cyber incidents to actually punishing nations that tamper with U.S. subsea cables.
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr names Joseph Calascione, ex-Akin Gump and FCC, Wireline Bureau chief, replacing acting Chief Trent Harkrader ... Vonage promotes Seckin Arikan to COO; Christophe Van de Weyer, formerly Proximus Group, replaces him as president and head of business unit API … Changes at TowerCom: George Davis promoted to CEO; Matt Richard to CFO, replacing Dave Olson, a board member; Chip Bulloch to senior vice president-East, a new position; John Stevens, ex-Boingo Wireless, joins as regional vice president-West, replacing Chris Colton, deceased ... Correction: Trent Harkrader, who has stepped down as acting FCC Wireless Bureau chief, has been at the agency since 1999 (see 2504280019).
The House voted 409-2 Monday night to approve the Senate-passed Tools to Address Known Exploitation by Immobilizing Technological Deepfakes on Websites and Networks Act (S-146), which President Donald Trump is likely to sign into law. In addition, the House cleared five other tech and telecom bills Monday night on voice votes: the Removing Our Unsecure Technologies to Ensure Reliability and Security Act (HR-866), Foreign Adversary Communications Transparency Act (HR-906), Rural Broadband Protection Act (HR-2399), Future Uses of Technology Upholding Reliable and Enhanced Networks Act (HR-2449) and the Secure Space Act (HR-2458). The chamber earlier Monday passed two other measures (see 2504280055): the Securing Semiconductor Supply Chains Act (HR-2480) and NTIA Reauthorization Act (HR-2482).
The House passed the Securing Semiconductor Supply Chains Act (HR-2480) and NTIA Reauthorization Act (HR-2482) Monday on voice votes. HR-2480 and its Senate Commerce Committee-approved companion (S-97) would direct the Commerce Department’s SelectUSA program to work with state-level economic development organizations on strategies to attract investment in U.S. semiconductor manufacturers and supply chains (see 2503120069). HR-2482 would renew NTIA's mandate through the end of FY 2026 and elevate the NTIA administrator's role to also be a Commerce Department undersecretary. Rep. April McClain Delaney, D-Md., a deputy NTIA administrator during the Biden administration, was among the lawmakers who backed HR-2482 on the floor Monday.
The House plans to vote as soon as Monday night on the NTIA Reauthorization Act (HR-2482) and eight other telecom and tech bills that the Commerce Committee advanced earlier this month (see 2504080070), the office of Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., said Friday. Also on the House’s agenda: the Senate-passed Tools to Address Known Exploitation by Immobilizing Technological Deepfakes on Websites and Networks Act (S-146), Informing Consumers About Smart Devices Act (HR-859), Removing Our Unsecure Technologies to Ensure Reliability and Security Act (HR-866), Foreign Adversary Communications Transparency Act (HR-906), Rural Broadband Protection Act (HR-2399), Future Uses of Technology Upholding Reliable and Enhanced Networks Act (HR-2449), Secure Space Act (HR-2458) and Securing Semiconductor Supply Chains Act (HR-2480). The House Commerce Committee advanced S-146’s identical House companion (HR-633) earlier this month. Previous versions of all nine measures on the House agenda were part of a scuttled December continuing resolution (see 2412180033).