Former FCC Commissioner Nathan Simington weighs U.S. telecom role in Venezuela and beyond

Former Republican Federal Communications Commissioner Nathan Simington left the FCC in June 2025, and now finds himself fielding questions related to telecommunication networks and regulation in the U.S., Venezuela, China, Sweden, and even Greenland. Simington recently became the director of policy and strategy for Ericsson Federal Technologies business. Simington said Ericsson Federal Technologies is set up to work with the U.S. government directly. The business group looks for ways that radio access network equipment might be used by the U.S. government, whether it’s for manufacturing, national defense, or communications security. When asked how a Swedish company can be central to U.S. government telecommunications, particularly at a time when supply chain security and domestic manufacturing are under intense scrutiny, Simington said, “That's an interesting point. Since Lucent got sold, there hasn't been a clear international leader in RAN manufacturing coming out of the United States. So, the real question is, what does it look like to work with the friends and allies of the United States to try and meet those needs?”