Issue #117

Vendors hit hardest by FCC rules | Fiber is being revalued as core infrastructure | Starlink threatens traditional broadband providers | Telcos evolve into core AI infrastructure layer | Artemis 2 tests next-gen lunar mission tech | Starlink satellite breakup raises debris concerns | Space-based data centers raise legal uncertainty | Leaked AI model rattles cybersecurity markets | New report tracks digital infrastructure market trends | Solar radiation risks raise questions for Artemis II and more!

Author

Jason Presement
April 03, 2026

In partnership with

The Gold Standard for AI News

AI keeps coming up at work, but you still don't get it?

That's exactly why 1M+ professionals working at Google, Meta, and OpenAI read Superhuman AI daily.

Here's what you get:

  • Daily AI news that matters for your career - Filtered from 1000s of sources so you know what affects your industry.

  • Step-by-step tutorials you can use immediately - Real prompts and workflows that solve actual business problems.

  • New AI tools tested and reviewed - We try everything to deliver tools that drive real results.

  • All in just 3 minutes a day

Broadband / Telco

FCC's Router Ban Quietly Places an Expiration Date on Home Internet Security - As it stands, the FCC is only permitting software updates to consumer foreign-made routers until March 1, 2027. The big question is how it'll rule on the issue in the coming months.

Here are the Top Vendors Affected by the FCC’s New Router Rules - The rules raise questions about the routers installed across the U.S. This is what Speedtest data reveals about the equipment currently in American homes, including those routers using older generations of Wi-Fi.

My Take: Two parts to this - the s/w and the h/w. The software won’t be disabled, it just won’t be upgradeable. On the hardware side, “Foreign manufacturing cannot easily be relocated since it is typically based on long-term contracts with foreign manufacturing entities. Such contracts will be costly to terminate.” - and reconstruct in North America. Is anyone panicking yet?

🇨🇦 Rogers and Fido Confirm Data Breach Affecting Customer Information - According to a report by The Globe and Mail, the breach specifically compromised customer names, contact details, account numbers, and language preferences. Rogers clarified that more sensitive data, such as social insurance numbers, dates of birth, passwords, and financial information, was not affected.

My Take: “the statement avoided addressing whether the breach was linked to recent layoffs within their in-house IT support team or how the stolen account numbers could be used to help future phishing attacks by scammers.”

🇨🇦 Bell to divest land mobile radio networks business to Motorola for $675 million - Michael Martin, president of Motorola Solutions Canada Networks Inc., says the acquisition will “protect the long-term resiliency and security of the country’s land mobile radio communications for the Canadian communities that rely on them every day.”

My Take: “Land mobile radio is a push-to-talk voice communication system involving two-way radio transceivers, used both commercially and by public safety officials, such as law enforcement, fire and EMS.” - Stable, legacy assets are getting sold off so capital can move into higher-growth areas like fiber, wireless, and AI infrastructure.. and it offloads $7B in assets and reduces Bell’s overall debt.

6G and integrated sensing: What comes next for ISAC - Integrated sensing and communications (ISAC) is one of the most touted prospective features of future 6G networks. But when and where ISAC applications will be supported is still very much up in the air.

My Take: “Mainstream deployment of cellular ISAC is expected to occur long after 2030 and it will not likely be included in the initial 6G rollouts,” (ISAC = Integrated Sensing and Communications)

The Valuation of Fiber Is Changing — And Most of the Market Hasn’t Caught Up Yet - Most fiber networks are still being evaluated as cash-flow businesses. But the market is starting to treat them differently as long-duration infrastructure assets with strategic control value.

My Take: With AI driving massive demand for data centers, energy, and connectivity, fiber is becoming core infrastructure, not just a service. Control of routes and proximity to demand is key.

🇨🇦 Broadband Access is a Defining Issue for Rural Canada’s Future - Broadband connectivity took centre stage during the Coalition for a Better Future’s Scorecard Reporting Event on March 26, as speakers emphasized that reliable, high-speed internet is now foundational to rural economic growth, community well-being, and Canada’s broader ambitions in technology and resource development.

My Take: Rural Canada is being asked to power the digital economy without fully sharing in the benefits. If that imbalance isn’t fixed, the push for AI and infrastructure will run into real resistance. Rural regions are expected to host AI data centers and infrastructure, meaning they supply the land, water, and energy, but may not fully benefit from the economic upside.

Starlink feared as emerging threat to broadband service providers - 'I think every fixed broadband operator should be very worried,' says CableLabs' Hans Geerdes. He calls satellite broadband 'basically the second coming of fixed wireless, but at much better economics.'

My Take: Coverage isn’t the issue. Price and scale is. With growing capacity, aggressive pricing, and next-gen satellites, it’s expanding into suburban and even urban markets. Industry experts now see it as a direct threat to cable and fiber providers, with the potential to capture meaningful market share. Good enough is good enough for many.

🇨🇦 Bram Abramson to the CanWISP Annual Conference - Good morning, everyone. I want to start off with some introductions, as I’m not here alone. With me from the CRTC are Matthew Tosaj from our research, economics and industry relations team; Philippe Nadeau, from dispute resolution, who some of you have had a chance to meet for mediation or arbitration; Justin Ngan, a geomatics and mapping specialist from our broadband team; Luke Smith, from the consumer & social policy team responsible for initiatives like the Internet and Wireless Codes and relations with the CCTS; and Lynn McDaniel from our registration and Data Collection System team.

🇨🇦 CRTC commissioner teases future proceedings on shift away from traditional telephone network - Canada’s telecommunications regulator will soon launch a consultation into shutting down elements of the country’s telephone network, according to CRTC commissioner Bram Abramson.

My Take: Aside from the contacts, which are great, here are the takeways'

  • Telecom is at a major pivot point, moving from copper and landlines to internet-based systems.

  • Competition is getting tougher with big incumbents, global players, and fewer barriers.

  • Satellite is becoming a third core network alongside cellular and WiFi.

  • Too much regulation can reduce competition by pushing out smaller providers.

  • Regulators are trying to cut red tape and reduce burden on smaller players.

  • Bundling (internet, mobile, TV) is reshaping how services are sold and regulated.

  • Government funding is being used to support smaller providers and maintain competition.

AT&T's 'OneConnect' puts cable in the crosshairs - AT&T claims that customers can sign up for the new, simplified offering, which includes fiber speeds up to 1 Gbit/s and bundles in connectivity for wearables and tablets, in "under five minutes." The mobile side of the bundled subscription includes unlimited voice, text and data, and supports a bring-your-own-device model using eSIM technology.

My Take: Is the real value in here the “frictionlessness” of the whole experience, in addition to the bundle?

🇨🇦 Friend or foe? Satellite companies pitch ISPs on partnerships, while Starlink and Amazon loom - As Starlink’s satellite offerings become increasingly popular in the country’s rural regions, low earth orbit (LEO) wholesalers are proposing a ‘made in Canada’ approach to eliminate the digital divide. 

My Take: Why does it have to be one or the other? See my comments below in the Space section. There is no viable and economical “made in Canada” solution right now.

Most companies have a security stack. Almost none of them have a governance conversation.

There's a difference. A big one.

I sat down with a fractional CISO who's spent 25 years responding to breaches - not selling products, not demoing dashboards.

💡 Actually cleaning up the mess after things go wrong. What he told me about third-party risk, AI governance, and why most executive teams are flying blind on this stuff is worth your time.

The part that stuck with me: the biggest security threat to your organization right now might be your vendor. If they get breached and they're holding your data, that's your liability. Your board call. Your regulator conversation.

And the AI angle? He's been rewriting AI governance policies for enterprise clients for the past two years. The note-taker that shows up uninvited to your board meeting? That's not a minor IT issue anymore.

Spotify - https://lnkd.in/g9DZkePM

Regulatory

Canada just mandated that every voice service provider participate in call traceback systems to hunt down illegal robocallers, a move that will force carriers to invest in technical infrastructure but should help address the tsunami of spam complaints hitting their support lines. More significantly, ISED wrapped up its residual spectrum auction covering PCS, AWS, 2.3 GHz, and 3.5 GHz bands, reshuffling the competitive deck for 5G deployment, and simultaneously opened an Indigenous priority window for cellular and PCS spectrum that could create new regional competitors and reduce available inventory for incumbents. The CRTC also clarified how government-funded SWIFT broadband projects interact with wholesale access rules, which matters for operators trying to figure out their obligations on subsidized networks. Watch whether the Indigenous spectrum window actually produces meaningful new entrants or just becomes a resale opportunity for existing players.

The FCC opened up the entire 900 MHz band for broadband with three licensing options (narrowband, 3x3 MHz, and 5x5 MHz), handing utilities and private network operators a significant new capacity option that's been locked up in narrowband uses for decades. Even bigger for incumbent carriers: the Commission proposed ditching legacy intercarrier compensation entirely in favor of bill-and-keep, which would eliminate a major revenue stream for some operators but massively reduce regulatory overhead and accelerate the shift to all-IP networks. The FCC also moved forward with rules targeting offshore call centers and foreign robocall operations, potentially forcing carriers to implement new international call screening that could affect interconnection costs. Meanwhile, NTIA continues soliciting input on reallocating saved BEAD funds and developing Open RAN certification standards, though these feel more like process steps than imminent policy changes. The intercarrier compensation shift is the sleeper issue here—it fundamentally rewires how carriers pay each other and could force renegotiation of hundreds of interconnection agreements.

Ofcom published its annual security report to government detailing telecoms operators' compliance with network security duties, along with routine quarterly complaint rankings that continue to show wide variance in customer satisfaction across broadband and mobile providers. The regulator also released its Online Safety Act report on technology notices used to remove terrorism and child sexual abuse content, though this has limited direct impact on traditional telecom operators unless they're running user-generated content platforms. Most of the week's UK activity consisted of scheduled data releases—affordability tracking, market sizing statistics, and consumer research on everything from podcast usage to suspicious calls—useful for understanding market trends but containing no new regulatory requirements. The security report is worth monitoring to see if Ofcom starts using its enforcement powers more aggressively, but for now it reads like a compliance check rather than a warning shot.

Fiber Optic Sensing

Optical fibre sensing of critical infrastructures - By exploiting the intrinsic sensitivity of optical fibres to strain, temperature, vibration, and acoustic signals, optical fibre sensing (OFS) technologies can provide distributed, real-time monitoring over long distances. When integrated into existing telecommunication infrastructure, these systems enable early detection of anomalies such as structural degradation, mechanical stress, or external disturbances. This convergence of communication and sensing transforms optical networks into powerful tools for infrastructure integrity, safety, and resilience.

My Take: I don’t know what this is from. It surfaced as part of my weekly scraping, but the message and content are good!

What’s Happening In Space?

NASA Artemis 2 technology explained: SLS rocket, Laser comms, Organ-on-a-chip powering 2026 Moon mission - NASA’s Artemis 2 mission, planned to launch on April 1, 2026, will test the powerful SLS rocket, Orion spacecraft, high-speed laser communications, manual rendezvous capabilities, and advanced radiation research with human “organ-on-a-chip” avatars.

My Take: There’s a lot of cool shiite in there, including some lab-grown tissue digital-twin sort of stuff. And this — “For the first time on a lunar crewed mission, NASA will test a high-speed laser communications system with the Orion Artemis II Optical Communications System (O2O). Unlike the traditional radio waves used in the Apollo missions, O2O uses infrared lasers to beam data back to Earth at up to 260 megabits per second, which is fast enough to stream multiple 4K video feeds from the Moon in real time. This technology will allow astronauts to send high-resolution images, live video, mission data, and even personal messages home with higher efficiency. If O2O is deemed successful, it could change the way for communications on future deep-space missions to Mars and beyond.”

Musk’s SpaceX Files to Go Public in One of the Biggest IPOs Ever - The company, which launches satellites and is building an AI business, is aiming to raise between $40 billion and $80 billion in an offering

My Take: Raise capital to fund massive infrastructure bets, including satellite networks and space-based data centers for AI. And the Moon. And Mars.

My Take: Starlink = mass consumer scale. Eutelsat = high-trust, government + enterprise. This split could define the market long-term.

Inside Eutelsat’s global LEO network – the only live alternative to Starlink - Eutelsat operates the world’s only active LEO constellation besides Starlink, with 31 GEO and more than 600 LEO satellites

My Take:

The Streaming Wars Are Taking to the Skies - Airlines like United are bringing high-speed internet to planes through Starlink, and reimagining in-flight entertainment in the process.

My Take: Let the people watch what they want. The concern here around control, which I don’t understand.

Space data centers: Starcloud, SpaceX and Project Suncatcher explained - Momentum is growing behind orbital data centers. Starcloud just raised millions at a $1.1 billion valuation, helping it compete with SpaceX and Google's Project Suncatcher. Key questions around the economic viability of such plans remain

My Take: The idea is to use constant solar energy in space to power AI workloads more efficiently than on Earth. But while the vision is compelling, some argue the economics remain unclear, with current estimates showing that space-based compute is far more expensive than terrestrial alternatives… for now.

🇨🇦 Canada Charts a New Path in Space, and With the U.S. - Canada will send its first astronaut to the moon on a joint mission with the United States, but back on Earth, the relationship between the two countries is fraying.

Why won't NASA's Artemis 2 astronauts land on the moon when they get there? - Artemis 2 is an ambitious mission, sending four astronauts on a 10-day loop around the moon and back to Earth. But it's not too ambitious: The quartet won't touch down on the lunar surface.

My Take: “The first moon landing of the Artemis program is expected to take place on Artemis 4, no earlier than 2028. That's because, simply put, the Artemis program isn't built to put Artemis 2 on the moon. The Orion spacecraft the astronauts will use has no landing capability, and NASA is taking a staged testing approach before committing to a moon landing.” The launch was cool. Godspeed, Artemis II crew, and especially 🇨🇦 Jeremy Hansen 😉 🧑🏽‍🚀

Starlink reports satellite anomaly, says no risk to space station or Artemis II - A Starlink satellite experienced an anomaly on Sunday, resulting in loss of communications with the spacecraft at approximately 560 kilometers above Earth, the company said on X Monday. Starlink satellite 34343 lost contact following the on-orbit event. The company’s latest analysis indicates the incident poses no new risk to the International Space Station, its crew, or to NASA’s upcoming Artemis II mission, scheduled to launch Wednesday.

My Take: A “fragment creation event” into “tens of objects” sounds like some large junk floating around. What do you do with that!??

Is SpaceX buying GlobalStar? - The companies aren’t confirming anything, but new buzz suggests SpaceX is the frontrunner to acquire Globalstar. The deal could strengthen SpaceX’s position in satellite-to-phone services and deepen ties with partners like Apple . It’s all speculation at this point – and the AWS-3 auction adds more intrigue  

My Take: My LinkedIn musing on the topic today..

Amazon wants to buy Globalstar.

Net of some pesky issues with Apple and MSS spectrum rights, it would support their growth and D2D aspirations (along with their internal smartphone "Transformer" program ) as they march toward world domination ;)

Their value proposition is clear on the commercial side, where they seem to be initially focused -- private network, direct connect to AWS, ability to offer L2VPN-type services out of the gate, etc.

I started thinking about what the whole ecosystem brings to the residential side, as they won't be able to offer a "premium" connectivity experience (depending on how that's defined), but let's assume they come to market with best effort 400/50, bundled with PRIME, as an add-on for $50/month.

Margins probably suck (when you're spending billions to build and replenish infrastructure), but look at what else could support the residential user "experience" and prop up margin, or even just change the entire financial model altogether.

Ad-subsidized free/cheap tier. $68B ad business could fund discounted or free internet, like ad-supported TV

Smart home starter kit. Bundle Echo, Ring, Fire TV with service; sold at cost to lock you into the ecosystem

Alexa+ as network manager. Pause kids' devices, run speed tests, prioritize Zoom calls, all by voice. "Hey, Alexa - why is my WiFi so slow?"

Amazon Sidewalk for rural properties. Extend connectivity to barns, sensors, and gates beyond the home WiFi range

Telehealth included. One Medical + RxPass pharmacy bundled; massive for rural customers with no nearby doctors

Entertainment stack. Luna gaming, Prime Video, NFL/NBA/Masters, all QoS-prioritized on their own network

Grocery delivery. First broadband for rural homes = first access to Amazon Fresh/Whole Foods delivery

0% hardware financing. No upfront dish cost, financed through Amazon Pay/Affirm

SpaceX has none of this. Yet. (but they do control a huge portion of the capacity to even get into orbit, which is part of Amazon's problem.. today)

Some of the bug guys use "Internet" as a loss-leader Trojan horse to get into the home to acquire a customer for service upsell.

If Amazon becomes "the big guy," they will either clobber everyone (capacity to do so? probably not..), or hopefully force a new cycle of innovation and competition that everyone will benefit from

QUICK HITS:

Data Centres

Solar Power Satellites and Orbital Data Centers—International Space Law Implications - In 2011, I published an article in the Boston University Journal of Science & Technology Law examining space-based solar power (SBSP) and the issue of property rights in space, and more specifically, in geostationary orbit (GEO), under the current regime of international treaties and policies.  Today, as the demand for computing power grows, that question is not only important; it is imminent.

My Take: The idea is simple: put data centers in orbit where energy is abundant and continuous. But the problem is that current space laws, built decades ago, aren’t designed for commercial infrastructure, ownership disputes, or AI systems operating in space.

Seminole Nation Becomes First Indigenous Group to Ban Planet-Cooking Data Centers From Its Land - At the meeting, dozens of Tribal members and their non-Indigenous neighbors expressed their concerns with data centers and their staggering environmental footprint. That’s a widely popular sentiment throughout the US, including among non-Indigenous rural Oklahomans. According to a recent poll, 39 percent of Americans said data centers were “mostly bad” for the environment, compared to just 4 percent who believe the opposite.

My Take: If more communities start saying no, where does all the AI infrastructure actually get built? On the Moon, that’s where. See last week’s newsletter 😁

AI data centres: From boom to backlash - As the public becomes aware of the downside of AI data centres in their community, the need to tightly regulate the industry is becoming unavoidably clear

My Take: Governments and communities once welcomed companies like Amazon Web Services and Microsoft, but now backlash is growing due to concerns about energy use, water consumption, and lack of transparency.

Why Iran targeted Amazon data centers and what that does – and doesn’t – change about warfare - Before dawn on March 1, 2026, Iranian Shahed drones struck two Amazon Web Services data centers in the United Arab Emirates. A third commercial data center in Bahrain was hit, though it is less clear whether it was deliberately targeted. Iran has also indicated that it considers commercial data centers to be targets.

My Take: This is a preview of where conflict is heading. Data centers might look civilian, but they now power everything that matters, which makes them targets whether we like it or not.

Enabling AI

Anthropic's Secret Model Just Leaked. Cybersecurity Stocks Crashed.- Internal documents describing Anthropic's next flagship AI surfaced last week after a configuration error left thousands of unpublished assets in a publicly accessible data store. Among them was a draft blog post revealing a model called Claude Mythos and a new tier called Capybara that sits above Opus.

My Take: The leak of Anthropic’s Claude Code shows where AI assistants are heading next. It reveals hidden features like:

  • A persistent AI agent (Kairos) that keeps working in the background

  • A memory system that remembers users across sessions

  • An “AutoDream” system that organizes and cleans up memories

  • An “Undercover mode” where AI contributes to code without revealing its AI

  • A “Buddy” assistant that acts like a Clippy-style companion. Eww. Clippy.

This matters because it shows AI tools are moving from simple assistants to always-on, proactive systems that act more like digital coworkers. Trust issues loading……..

Nvidia bets $2 billion on Marvell as rising AI adoption fuels competition - Nvidia has invested $2 billion in Marvell Technology as part of efforts to ​make it easier for customers to use the custom artificial intelligence ‌chips that the smaller company designs with Nvidia's networking gear and central processors.

My Take: The goal is simple.. make it easier for custom AI chips (like the ones Marvell helps design) to work inside Nvidia-powered data centers.

CNBC’s The China Connection newsletter: China’s AI race enters a new phase - Alibaba.com, a platform that connects millions of small businesses in the U.S. and Europe with China-based suppliers, is looking to partner with U.S. AI models to handle the legal, financial and dealmaking aspects of doing business around the world.

My Take: The U.S. is still leading in foundational models, but China is moving fast in commercialization. They are focused on use cases, integration, and speed to market, not just model performance.

OpenAI abandons yet another side quest: ChatGPT’s erotic mode - The proposed “adult mode,” which CEO Sam Altman first floated in October, had inspired considerable backlash from tech watchdog groups as well as from OpenAI’s own staff. In January, a meeting between company executives and its council of advisers got heated, with one of the advisers cautioning that OpenAI could be in the process of developing a “sexy suicide coach,” The Wall Street Journal previously reported.

My Take: Probably a good thing that they let this one go?

This and That!

UK joins global push to rein in children's screen use with national guidance - Britain has told parents to curb young children's screen time, advising no screens for under-2s and up to an hour a day ​for 2- to 5-year-olds because prolonged solo use can disrupt sleep and ‌displace play and exercise.

Swiss back tougher social media rules for minors, survey finds - The vast majority of Swiss want stronger protection for children and teenagers on social media, ​according to a survey published on Sunday, ‌as governments and courts worldwide intensify scrutiny of Big Tech over its impact on young users.

My Take: So if you start with “don’t use screens,” then perhaps protecting children from social media gets easier. Or maybe the smarts live in the device, and it decides what should and should not be shown to the user based on their compliance.

This room temperature quantum computer could change everything - Quantum Brilliance has built quantum hardware that overcomes one of the technology's key challenges. The next step is to sort quantum error correction algorithms that would make the system commercially viable. Quantum computers won't hit the market in earnest for "a while," a Quantum Brilliance exec said.

My Take: Well, that’s good, I think.

Pardal Ventures - We're publishing our first quarterly Digital Infrastructure Market Intelligence note today. - Q1 2026 saw more than US$120 billion in deal activity across fibre and data centres in Canada, the US, and the UK. We've tracked 12 transactions, benchmarked CPHP and EV/EBITDA across all three markets, and examined how governments are structuring risk in public-private broadband programmes. The UK altnet picture is particularly sobering.

My Take: Link to the full report available in the post. Some very interesting insights! It reads a little AI-ish, but that’s OK.

Astronauts can face 'nearly lethal doses' of solar radiation — so why launch Artemis II during the sun's peak of activity? Space scientist Patricia Reiff explains.- NASA's Artemis II flight around the moon will expose astronauts to space weather. Space scientist Patricia Reiff tells Live Science how solar flares and radiation will impact the lunar mission.

My Take: “Interestingly, the maximum allowable lifetime dose for an astronaut is higher than the maximum allowable lifetime dose for an airplane pilot because it's by its very nature a much more dangerous job, and it's a risk that they sign up for.” .. but the food is probably better in space, so…

Infographic Of The Week

My Take: Holy Billions, Microsoft.

Movie/Streaming Recommendation

IMDb: 6.6/10

JMDb: 🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿/10

Tommy Shelby cannot outrun his demons.

Set in the bombed-out ruins of Birmingham in 1940, Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man is a brooding, atmospheric World War II noir that serves as both a swan song for one of television's most iconic antiheroes and a surprisingly coherent standalone thriller.

Four years after the series finale left Tommy riding off into ambiguity, director Tom Harper and series creator Steven Knight finally answer the question fans have been asking: what happens to a man who was always too dangerous to die?

Until Next Time

Jason’s Industry Insights is produced by Verity Aptus.

Want to sponsor us and get your message in front of thousands of telecom professionals? Get in touch!

Comments here are my own and do not represent the opinions, views or thoughts of any person, company or organization that I may be associated with.

Feedback, comments and ideas are welcome. Message me on LinkedIn or contact me at j[email protected]

Want to support this newsletter? Feel free to buy us a coffee to show your support!

This site may contain links to affiliate websites, and we receive an affiliate commission for purchases made by you on the affiliate website using such links.

Thinking about a newsletter of your own? Check out beehiiv!

Reply

or to participate.