Agenda

Electricity demand is becoming the clearest measure of the AI industry's extraordinary expansion and a test of how long that pace can last. The huge amount of energy required for AI is raising questions about whether the industry's push toward ever-larger models is producing benefits that justify these growing resource demands. In recent interviews, top sustainability executives at tech companies didn't directly answer if they would reconsider growth in the face of environmental concerns. The potential for AI to improve people's lives and c

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr announced the agenda for the FCC August Open Commission Meeting. The agenda includes:

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) at the Department of Commerce is making up to $53 million available to accelerate the development, testing, and commercialization, of secure, American-led AI‑enabled Radio Access Network (RAN) architecture consistent with its statutory responsibilities under Section 9202(a)(1) of the William M.

The Communications Workers of America (CWA) is adding its voice to those calling on the NTIA to release BEAD winners' performance testing results to the public, with a stated concern that "some providers" may not be able to meet their commitments. The labor union's request came in the form of a letter to Arielle Roth, NTIA chief administrator, dated Tuesday, July 14.

Satellite Direct-to-Device (D2D), also called Direct-to-Cell (DTC), is an emerging complement to terrestrial wireless networks, extending basic connectivity to areas where tower construction is not practical. While promising, D2D is not a replacement for traditional cellular infrastructure—it serves as a fallback option for remote and emergency use. This white paper provides in-depth analysis of (1) the state of satellite connectivity; (2) technical and performance limits; and (3) satellite’s role in the wireless ecosystem.

Artificial intelligence could transform the economy faster than any previous technology, and policymakers must move equally quickly to figure out how to respond, a group of economists and researchers are warning. The statement, titled “We Must Act Now,” was signed by nearly 200 people, including 15 Nobel laureates and the chief economists of two of the leading A.I. labs, Open AI and Anthropic.

What I’ve realized is that responsible A.I. governance may really come down to something resembling a First Amendment approach. Large language models, to me, are simply artifacts: objects made from the language expressed by tens of millions of people. And Anthropic, to me, is a software publisher. I do not see Claude as a living thing; I see it as a reference work prone to glitching, a surreal encyclopedia with wild side effects.

The Federal Communications Commission has approved plans by a start-up company to test a satellite that would use a 60-foot mirror to reflect sunlight back to Earth after dark, as part of a project the company says would power solar farms, provide light for rescue workers, and illuminate city streets. In a license issued on July 9, the FCC gave the green light for Reflect Orbital of Hawthorne (CA) to launch its Eärendil-1 satellite into low Earth orbit.

Players in the broadband industry are increasingly concerned about the impact that SpaceX’s Starlink could have on their businesses. Recently, New Street Research (NSR), working with Recon Analytics’ data, found that SpaceX’s Starlink continues to get close to half of its gross adds from small rural broadband providers and customers that are new to broadband. “New customers” refers to subscribers who say they have not had broadband in the past. NSR Analyst David Barden said, “So far, we haven’t seen any major impact on the wired broadband operators in the U.S.