Telecom infrastructure vendors in mature 5G markets like North America will face "a critical pivot" this year, as operators' capital spending plateaus because of completed 5G rollouts, ABI Research said Tuesday. In a white paper, ABI said vendors also will find themselves competing with specialized AI companies for operators' technology budgets. The result will be strategic partnerships between infrastructure companies and AI-focused firms, offering telecommunications network expertise with AI capabilities. ABI said AI-enhanced personal computers will become the new normal in 2025, moving from premium to a standard market feature. In addition, the U.S. and Europe will realize this year that onshoring their semiconductor manufacturing and building self-sufficient local supply chains will require far more time and resources than initially projected. 2025 will become an inflection point for multi-protocol adoption in smart home devices, with manufacturers learning that no single wireless technology can address modern connected home requirements. Companies like Samsung, Apple, and Amazon will expand their whole-home coverage strategies, embedding combinations of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth into mainstream devices like TVs, soundbars and displays. But don't expect to see industrial IoT users flocking to private 5G in 2025. Instead, they will rely on 4G or noncellular connectivity technology, ABI said. It predicted 2025 will see the launch of Amazon's Kuiper commercial service, providing competition for SpaceX, and the 3rd Generation Partnership Project's Release 19 should come out this year, enabling new satellite communications technologies.
President Joe Biden on Tuesday signed an executive order aimed at fast-tracking the buildout of large-scale AI infrastructure in the U.S. Meanwhile, during an Analysys Mason webinar, industry officials said the telecom industry remains in the very early stages of figuring out how it will use AI.
The Bureau of Industry and Security's upcoming export controls on advanced AI semiconductors will introduce hurdles that could push U.S. allies closer to China, a technology think tank and a semiconductor industry group said this week. Both the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation and the Semiconductor Industry Association urged President Joe Biden's administration to reverse course. ITIF said it should “immediately” rethink the "overdesigned, yet underinformed" restrictions, which are expected to be published as an interim final rule before Biden leaves office. SIA, "deeply concerned by the unprecedented scope and complexity" of the potential regulation, asked the government to instead issue the restrictions as a proposed rule -- which would allow for industry feedback and possible revisions without a set effective date -- or allow the new Trump administration to decide how to move forward.
ARIA Sensing announced on Monday the launch of what it says is a “groundbreaking” ultra-wideband radar system-on-chip (SoC) offering 3D beamforming with programmable bandwidth up to 1.8 GHz. “The ‘Hydrogen’ SoC introduces advanced waveforms supporting both single-pulse and pulse-compression capabilities, delivering unparalleled precision in radar sensing application,” the Italian company said. Beamforming is a technology that improves the signal-to-noise ratio of received signals, more accurately directing a wireless signal toward a specific receiving device.
Backers of the revised AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act (HR-8449) signaled Wednesday they want to move swiftly on the proposal next year after congressional leaders didn't reach a deal to include it in a continuing resolution that extends federal appropriations through March 14. The CR released Tuesday night includes language from the NTIA Reauthorization Act (HR-4510) and several other telecom and tech bills. Meanwhile, the Senate voted 85-15 Wednesday to pass the FY 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (HR-5009) with language that would authorize the AWS-3 reauction to offset $3.08 billion in funding for the FCC’s Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program (see 2412070001).
A continuing resolution to extend federal appropriations through March 14 released Tuesday night includes language from the NTIA Reauthorization Act (HR-4510), Tools to Address Known Exploitation by Immobilizing Technological Deepfakes on Websites and Networks Act (HR-8989/S-4569) and several other telecom bills. The CR meanwhile omits the revised AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act (HR-8449) despite its backers’ push to pass the measure before year’s end.
Jessica Campbell, FCC's deputy division chief-Wireline Bureau’s Telecommunications Access Policy Division, announces she's leaving Friday to join DOJ's National Security Division, working in the Foreign Investment Review Section ... Browser security company Conceal appoints Eric Cornelius, ex-Ghost Security, as CEO ... McAfee appoints Joe Manna, ex-Experian, as chief product and engineering officer ... Telecom and technology services provider Fortress Solutions promotes Dan Lakey to chief revenue officer ... Valens Semiconductor appoints Gili Friedman, ex-Sony, as senior vice president-head-cross industry business, effective Feb. 16.
Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo warned Saturday that “rhetoric” on China is no substitute for the hard work of making the U.S. a stronger competitor in areas like semiconductor chips, which are critical to the U.S. wireless and other industries. “Today, more than ever, national security requires technological security, requires the United States to lead … all of our competitors in technology, particularly in AI and semiconductors, and requires secure supply chains,” she told the Reagan Defense Forum in California. Raimondo was asked about President-elect Donald Trump's comments, made during the campaign, that he opposes subsidies in the Chips and Science Act of 2022 and that the act was a bad deal for the U.S., Responding to calls for overturning the act, Raimondo said, “It’s a horrific idea. It’s a reckless idea. ... Sometimes you say things on the stump, and I can only hope that was something to be said on the stump and won’t be acted out.” In November, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., noted interest in having the House repeal the Chips Act but reversed course following a bipartisan outcry (see 2411040062). Raimondo noted that 100% “of leading-edge chips used in fighter jets, AI technology, nuclear simulation, drones” are made in China and Taiwan. By the end of the year, the department expects to complete $35 billion of the $39 billion allocated in awards to 26 companies to build plants in the U.S. In addition, it expects it will award nearly all $11 billion targeted for research funding. “We’re getting the job done,” she said. "It has been brutally difficult.” Taiwan’s TSMC makes 100% of the world’s most sophisticated chips and people said the company would never expand in the U.S., Raimondo said: “Wrong -- they’re doing it” and TSMC is building three facilities in Arizona. “It’s an incredible thing, and you’re all safer because of it.” Raimondo said ultimately the U.S. will need to invest more to compete with China. She noted that China is now building 21 semiconductor factories. Permitting reforms are critical, she noted. “It can’t take two years to go through permitting in order to build a factory -- that is not competitive."
Expect to see U.S. deregulatory efforts focus on reducing environmental and bureaucratic hurdles for sectors like cryptocurrency, while space, AI and quantum research benefit from bolstered funding, Access Partnership said Monday in a series of 2025 tech policy predictions. It predicted that while cybersecurity will remain a priority, key agencies in the sector could nonetheless see restructuring or budget cuts. Access said there's a risk of increasingly fragmented technology ecosystems due to trade tensions, with other nations erecting defenses in response to the U.S., which could lead to localized data requirements, non-U.S.-aligned certification standards and preferences for indigenous technologies. The U.S. could lose influence if it doesn't remain engaged in multilateral efforts on such issues as AI, cybersecurity and open telecom standards like open radio access networks. Access said there will be increased decoupling from China, which will drive investment in restoring critical technologies such as semiconductors.
The incoming Donald Trump administration "could ... significantly scale back, or even dismantle" programs funded under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Chips Act, along with routine government expenditures, Pillsbury lawyers blogged Wednesday. They said it's likely the Trump White House will try diverting appropriated funds toward preferred policy priorities. In addition, the incoming administration might refuse to spend funds Congress appropriated and so "'starve' disfavored agencies or offices and further cost-cutting initiatives."