Fierce

If you know anything about Brightspeed, it’s been all about building fiber broadband.

President Donald Trump is less than a month into his second term but has wasted no time imposing a 10 percent tariff on goods from China, sparking concern from the telecommunications industry.

As Secretary of Commerce, Howard Lutnick will have powers over many commerce-related areas, and he may play a role in the big issue of tariffs. But of most interest to the broadband community, he would be the boss of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), which oversees the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program. The Senate Commerce Committee held Lutnick’s confirmation hearing on January 29, where Senators were able to question the nominee. Some Senators—from both parties—expressed concerns about any dramatic changes to BEAD.

The wireless industry, namely CTIA, recently cheered Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr’s move to launch a Notice of Inquiry (NOI) into the upper C-band—meaning more licensed spectrum being pumped into the pipeline for wireless carriers. But analysts say it’s too early to celebrate. That’s because Elon Musk’s SpaceX is eyeing the same spectrum for shared satellite use and it’s not at all clear where this will eventually land.

The U.S.

There’s a new sheriff in town for the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program. Arielle Roth, policy director of telecommunications on the U.S.