Officials with the 12 GHz for 5G Coalition remain hopeful that FCC action in coming months will allow use of the lower 12 GHz band for fixed-wireless deployments, they said in interviews. In addition, should the FCC act soon, the band could still play a part in some state proposals under the broadband equity, access and deployment (BEAD) program, the officials said. The coalition had hoped for action early in 2024 (see 2312270045).
The EU isn't on track to meet its 2030 digital transformation targets, the European Commission said in its second report on the state of the digital decade. It found gaps in investment at EU and national levels in digital skills, high-quality connectivity, AI take-up and data analytics by enterprises, semiconductor production and startups. The report pressed EU governments to "be more ambitious," saying reaching digital decade goals is critical for the bloc's continuing prosperity and social cohesion. In addition, the report found 5G networks reach just 50% of the EU's territory and don't perform well enough to deliver advanced 5G services. Other concerns include European companies' uptake of AI, cloud and/or big data are well below the target of 75%, and that the spread of digital technologies is limited outside big cities. Moreover, the report noted, digital skills targets "are still far from being achieved, with only 55.6% of the EU population having at least basic digital skills." EU members have until Dec. 2 to adjust policies to align with the targets of the digital decade program.
Jeffrey Strenkowski, previously Uniti Group, joins Troutman Pepper as partner-energy practice, with telecom focus ... Mythic, AI processor company, taps Taner Ozcelik, ex-Luminar Technologies, also former On Semiconductor and Nvidia, as its new CEO ... Core4ce, cybersecurity contractor, expands the role of co-founder Todd Harbour to chief technology officer for newly branded innovation incubator The Forge and hires Kim Kok, ex-Human Security, as vice president-sales and emerging technology and Michael Sass, ex-C3 AI, as head-data engineering and analytics ... Primer Technologies, an AI and machine learning company, names Instabase’s Erin Hawley as chief revenue officer and Joe Chang, ex-Uber, as chief technology officer.
Newly promoted at AST SpaceMobile, space-based cellular broadband network: Chief Strategy Officer Scott Wisniewski assumes additional role of president; Chief Accounting Officer Shanti Gupta moves to chief operations officer; and Chief Legal Officer Andrew Johnson assumes additional role of chief financial officer ... Cox Enterprises promotes Cody Partin to president-Cox Family Office, succeeding Sandy Schwartz, retiring at year-end ... Flo Networks, digital infrastructure solutions and connectivity services provider, promotes Hugo Nava to chief information officer and elevates Chief Product Officer Rocio Martinez to replace him as chief operating officer ... Congruex, digital network services provider, hires Charter Communications’ Shane Portfolio, also former Comcast, as chief technology officer ... Sumo Logic, AI-powered cloud-native log analytics platform, hires John Visneski, ex-Amazon, as chief information security officer, and Lyndsey Filantres, ex-Accolade, as senior vice president-growth.
Revisions to the Spectrum and National Security Act (S-4207) last week (see 2406140062) have at least solidified Democrats' support for the measure ahead of a planned Tuesday Senate Commerce Committee vote, lobbyists told us. The more doubtful wild card is whether any Republican panel members publicly back the measure Tuesday despite Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., making revisions that reflect their desire to protect military interests, lobbyists said. Several believed there was still a strong chance Senate Commerce would again postpone a vote on S-4207 after already yanking it from the agenda three times (see 2406110079). The panel’s meeting is set to begin at 10 a.m. in 253 Russell.
A revised substitute version of the Spectrum and National Security Act (S-4207) circulating Friday jettisons the bill’s mandate for the FCC to sell licenses on the 12.7-13.25 GHz band by the end of 2027, as some lobbyists expected (see 2406120058). The revisions, filed as a substitute amendment to S-4207, reflect changes the Commerce Department, DOD and Joint Chiefs of Staff sought in exchange for their endorsement of the measure last week. S-4207’s supporters hope the changes will help ease the bill’s path forward after Senate Commerce postponed three past markups of the measure since early May (see 2405010051). The amount of future auction proceeds S-4207 to be allocated to a range of telecom projects remains the same in the substitute amendment, including lending the FCC $7 billion to fund the expired affordable connectivity program in FY 2024 and $3.08 billion for the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program. The substitute amendment would reapportion $700 million in additional Chips and Science Act money that S-4207 previously allocated to National Institute of Standards and Technology research programs. Instead, it will go to the National Science Foundation for science, technology, engineering and mathematics education grants and other research. Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., will seek a vote on the substitute amendment as part of a Tuesday markup session on S-4207. That meeting will begin at 10 a.m. in 253 Russell.
Big mainstream demand for ATSC 3.0-enabled TVs is coming, but it's a couple of years out, with a lack of widespread consumer familiarity causing the delay, CTA Senior Director-Business Intelligence Richard Kowalski said Friday during the NextGen Broadcast Conference in Washington. CTA anticipates a big leap in set availability, starting in 2026. Meanwhile, broadcast and emergency alert system advocates talked about integrating ATSC 3.0 into the emergency alerts ecosphere.
A Senate Commerce Committee spokesperson said Tuesday afternoon the panel remains on track to mark up the Spectrum and National Security Act (S-4207) Wednesday, but negotiations between leaders signaled the situation remained extremely fluid, lobbyists told us. Senate Commerce postponed two May markups of S-4207 amid strong opposition from top committee Republicans (see 2405010051). The measure would restore the FCC’s spectrum auction authority through Sept. 30, 2029. It would lend the commission more than $10 billion in FY 2024 funding for the expired affordable connectivity program and fully pay for the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program. The Senate Commerce meeting will begin at 10 a.m. in 253 Russell.
Beacon Global Strategies, public policy strategic advisory firm, adds Divyansh Kaushik, ex-Federation of American Scientists, as vice president-global technology practice, and Ben Schramm, ex-Maxar Intelligence, as vice president-national security technology practice ... Semtech, semiconductor, IoT systems and connectivity service provider, taps current board member Hong Hou as president-CEO, succeeding departed Paul Pickle; Hou is former president of Brooks Automation’s semiconductor group, and previously was general manager of Intel’s cloud and edge networking group ... Curve, U.K.-based digital wallet, promotes Senior Vice President-Corporate Development Nancy Yaffa to U.S. CEO, and adds Silverfern Group co-founder Reeta Holmes to its board ... Cybersecurity company Securonix names Dev Singh, ex-ForgeRock, head-sales, Southeast Asia region.
Incompas CEO Chip Pickering and others from the group met with FCC Commissioners Brendan Carr and Nathan Simington to seek action on allowing fixed-wireless use of the lower 12 GHz band. Incompas and other proponents had hoped for movement early in 2024 (see [Ref:2312270045). Incompas also met with aides to Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, a filing posted Friday in docket 20-443 said. “Taking immediate action to make 500 megahertz of spectrum available in the lower 12 GHz for fixed wireless service offers the promise of reliable and affordable connectivity for U.S. consumers and increases the ability of the Commission to address the digital divide as it will allow current license holders offering fixed wireless solutions to apply for federal broadband deployment programs, like NTIA’s Broadband Equity Access and Deployment Program,” Incompas said.