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🌎 What’s Happening on Earth

🪐 What’s Happening in Space

🤖 Enabling AI

🍳 This and That!

💡 Lean About..

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What’s Happening On Earth?

Final BEAD Alternative Broadband Technology Policy Notice - NTIA sought feedback from the public from August 26, 2024 to September 10, 2024 on the BEAD Alternative Broadband Technology Policy Notice to provide additional guidance to Eligible Entities regarding the use of Alternative Technology to serve unserved and underserved locations within their jurisdiction. NTIA thanks the 138 stakeholders that filed comments.

My Take: Will this appease the incoming administration? I read the document, or rather, I tried to read it. My decoder ring was broken, so it was a little hard to follow. Here’s what my lawyer, Chad Jeeptee, told me.

Eligibility and Use

1. Eligible Locations:

• LEO Capacity Subgrants are intended for project areas where no Reliable Broadband Service (RBS) is available at or below the Extremely High Cost Per Location Threshold (EHCPLT).

• The subgrants can fund the reservation of capacity on LEO networks to provide last-mile broadband services to unserved and underserved locations.

2. Technical Requirements:

• LEO networks must meet BEAD’s minimum technical requirements:

• Speeds of at least 100 Mbps download and 20 Mbps upload.

• Latency of less than or equal to 100 milliseconds.

• Subgrantees must certify the ability to provide service within 10 business days of a request.

Conditions for Subgrants

1. Deployment Timelines:

• Recipients must begin providing broadband service no later than four years from the date of the subgrant.

• Broadband availability must be certified for all covered locations within the project area.

2. Performance Period:

• Subgrantees must continue to offer service for a minimum of 10 years from the certification date of broadband availability.

3. Cost and Reimbursement:

• Costs for reserving LEO capacity must be reasonable and include any customer premises equipment needed to meet low-cost broadband requirements.

• Subgrantees may be reimbursed based on the number of locations served, subscriber milestones, or a combination of both.

4. Federal Interest:

• NTIA will not take a federal interest in equipment or property acquired under LEO Capacity Subgrants, unlike other broadband infrastructure subgrants. (I’m still not clear on this one)

Financial and Monitoring Requirements

1. Audited Financial Statements:

• LEO providers are encouraged to submit audited financial statements to demonstrate financial capacity, simplifying the subgrantee qualification process for Eligible Entities.

2. Clawback Provisions:

• Subgrants include clawback provisions to recover funds if subgrantees fail to meet service obligations.

• Subgrants are issued on a reimbursable basis to ensure funds are used as intended.

3. Matching Funds:

• Subgrantees must provide matching funds of at least 25% of project costs unless a waiver is granted for high-cost areas.

Additional Considerations

• Eligible Entities are encouraged to use fixed-amount subawards for LEO Capacity Subgrants to streamline administration.

• NTIA will provide technical assistance to evaluate the reasonableness of costs for LEO subgrants.

• LEO providers may also apply for Alternative Technology subgrants if they do not meet the criteria for existing service providers in the area. (huh?)

Overall, they now have a policy for alternative broadband providers under BEAD. Maybe people will stop complaining that the satellite providers are stealing grant money and awards from other fiber-based proponents.

Can the US Power Industry Meet AI’s Steep Energy Demands? - Delivering power to homes and companies is supposed to be a boring and predictable business. While it’s true that the US population has been increasing and electrifying more things as it does, that growth in power use has been offset by energy savings as buildings, factories and appliances become more efficient. Indeed, electricity consumption in the US has changed little since the start of the 21st century. Until now.

My Take: “US power demand is expected to climb almost 16% over the next five years, more than triple the estimate from a year ago, according to Washington, DC, consulting firm Grid Strategies.” .. and people think they will just plug in their EV’s, and all will be well?

Net neutrality rules blocked by appeals court in blow to Biden admin - A three-judge panel of the Cincinnati-based 6th US Circuit Court of Appeals said the FCC lacked authority to reinstate the rules initially implemented in 2015 by the agency under Democratic former President Barack Obama but then repealed by the commission in 2017 under Republican former President Donald Trump.

My Take: I’ve always said that I think net neutrality hinders innovation. “Back in the day” when peer-to-peer traffic was being managed, even though no one would admit it, some were toying with the idea of prioritizing certain content over other content to the service provider’s advantage - especially if they had a commercial relationship with the content owner. Why can’t that be a consumer differentiator? What about an optimized gaming experience with specific platforms? Or a provider who is adult-content and gambling-free? (you get the point)..

T-Mobile US’s CEO Mike Sievert on the Future of Connectivity - At the end of 2012, T-Mobile US was not in a good place. With a market cap of less than $6 billion, it was in distant fourth place relative to competitors like AT&T and Verizon. The company’s trajectory changed in 2013, when it rebranded as the “un-carrier,” seeking to distinguish itself from competitors by offering simplified pricing structures, more flexible contracts, and a host of other customer perks. Thanks to these and other shrewd moves—notably its 2020 merger with Sprint, which gave it access to mid-band spectrum, crucial for 5G networks—today, T-Mobile has a market cap of over $200 billion and more than 100 million customers, making it one of the largest and most valuable mobile carriers in the world.

My Take: “I came to realize, if you made me choose between my power and heat or my connectivity, I’d choose connectivity.”. Self-healing networks, AI, better customer experience, proactive and predictive actions, etc. Good read. Hopefully, they turn into a case study for others to model.

2024: A Year in Review for Fixed Broadband (and what's next in 2025) - I’ve been tracking the broadband market for longer than I am willing to disclose – let’s just say since before the turn of this century.  This provides a long-term view on broadband adoption rates of not only speed but technology transitions, as well as providing a great perspective on the changes over time in not only the vendor space, but the service provider space as well. 

My Take: Teresa does a great job summarizing what was and what could be. Except she didn’t talk about the non-terrestrial providers, the inevitable convergence of services and the need for SPs to start to figure it all out.

Canadian telecom companies had a very bad year. Will 2025 be any better? - While the overall S&P/TSX Composite Index rose by about 18 per cent over the year, the five-company telecom index fell by more than 20 per cent – and the performance of two of the largest telcos was worse than in 2008, when the global financial crisis pummelled markets around the world.

My Take: Yea, well, when you sell 1.5Gbs for $55/month and give away mobile data plans, that’s what happens. The race to zero, well under way. What will they all sell off to support their new market postures? Do we need another mobility provider? Have any of these folks innovated consumer services beyond competitive pricing strategies?

Sizing up the top 2024 M&A deals - Whether to gain a more significant network foothold in more markets, add more elements to an existing product line, or reset focus on serving a market segment like fiber-based broadband, vendors and service providers actively pursued new M&A deals to meet these goals.  In case you missed any, these are our top M&A stories for 2024.

My Take: I forgot about a number of these..

Starlink: Changing the Game for Canada, No Matter What Critics Say - The Carleton University professor said he spent this year looking into Starlink’s booming presence in Canada. “I think that Starlink has proven to be a decent option for Canadians. But the more that we see of Musk, the more serious red flags are waving around him as an individual and his business enterprises,” Winseck wrote in his report.

My Take: The big concern is that Mr. Musk could just flip the “OFF” switch one day. Is it good for Canada? Sure, where there is no other option. There are some Canadian companies benefiting from awards for Starlink as well, so there’s that.. and many indigenous and truly remote communities are seeing connectivity.

Subsea Cables & Internet Infrastructure - Blog is devoted to educating readers about the subsea cable industry with a particular focus on recent events and new submarine cable projects. Ideal for those in the industry who wants breaking news on outages, new projects, and general industry trends. Roderick Beck worked as a sales contractor for Hibernia Atlantic and helps buyers procure capacity and providers make sales.

My Take: I think I’m getting close to adding “What Happening Under The Sea” as a new section due to the recent activity and focus on subsea connectivity.

There Is Not Much NATO or the FCC Can Do To Secure Submarine Cables - It makes great headlines when the FCC and the NATO announces they will secure submarine cables around the world. But the ground level reality is quite different given that the submarine cable industry is quite unique with its own sets of challenges and issues. Let me explain.

My Take: There’s a lot of what won’t work outlined here, net of political remedies. And yes, backup satellite capacity won’t/can’t replace 100% of the connectivity today, but it can certainly provide aggregated capacity to support critical applications. It shouldn’t be wholly dismissed.

Christmas Day Cable Cuts in the Baltic Sea - In less than 14 months, submarine telecommunications cables connecting Estonia, Finland, Germany, Lithuania, Russia, and Sweden have been cut nine times in the Baltic Sea. In addition, an underwater electricity cable and a gas pipeline have been cut by a ship anchor. These damages occurred in three separate incidents all involving a foreign commercial ship dragging an anchor on the seafloor for over a hundred kilometres.

My Take: Very detailed article that I didn’t fully read. Either way. seems fishy. Get it?

The Most Important Subsea Cables Going Live In 2025: Firmina - Firmina is a spatial division multiplexing 16 fibre pair cable with initial design capacity of 320 Tbps. It is named after a Brazilian abolitionist, Maria Firmina dos Reis, who was Brazil's first novelist. Google is the owner. Telxius has acquired a fibre pair on the system as part of a complex deal that involves providing landing and backhaul in Brazil. Right now Google is selling fibre pair and spectrum capacity to recoup its capex. Cirion Technologies has also purchased a pair. Stonepeak Investments, an infrastructure investor, purchased Lumen's South American assets which operate today as Cirion.

My Take: As I said, a lot of attention and investment in subsea as of late.

Clear market decision is to deploy fiber broadband - As 2024 comes to a close, I am proud to say we have completed the best year in the Fiber Broadband Association’s history. Our industry set a record in fiber deployment, passing 10.3 million homes in 2024; surpassing the 2023 record deployment of 9.1 million homes. We now have 76.5 million unique U.S. homes passed with fiber, with a total of 88.1 million fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) connections, including homes with more than one fiber passing. After 18 months of slow sales on the supply side of our membership, service provider fiber and fiber-related equipment inventories have now normalized.

My Take: With almost 50% estimating that construction will begin in Q1/2 of 2026 - DOGE notwithstanding 😉 - I guess that would mean very late 2025 supply-side acquisitions?

See the entire CEO 4Q24 Fiber Broadband Association Update in the attached file.

What’s Happening In Space?

What’s in Space This Week?

Kessler syndrome: How crowded satellite orbits could lead to a runaway space debris problem - As the number of satellites in Earth orbit increases, so too does the risk from space debris — and some experts warn certain orbits could already be getting dangerously crowded.

My Take: Holy moly - “The mass of debris in Earth orbit totals nearly 7 million kilograms, and it ranges from obsolete satellites to tiny flecks of paint.” Seven million kilograms is 15.4 million pounds for you American folks. The more collisions there are, the more debris is created, and then that junk can cause even more crashes. The problem can keep compounding. The phenomenon is known as Kessler syndrome.

SpaceX launch surge helps set new global launch record in 2024 - There were 259 orbital launch attempts in 2024, a 17% increase from the previous record of 221 orbital launch attempts in 2023, based on SpaceNews analysis of open source records. That figure does not include suborbital launches, such as four SpaceX Starship/Super Heavy test flights or two launches of the HASTE suborbital variant of Rocket Lab’s Electron.

My Take: Any bets on 2025?

Viasat’s 2024 accomplishments: A look back - Viasat is a business rooted in technological leadership and this year was no exception. We made significant strides in increasing the breadth and scale of our connectivity solutions. As we continue to embrace multi-orbit optionality, our customers will now have access to a diverse set of orbits, spectrum, and constellations to provide the best possible connectivity experience.

My Take: You don’t hear a lot of about ViaSat in the news. They’re into Aviation, Maritime, Enterprise, Energy and Government. Read the article to learn more.

Spacecoin deploys first satellite for decentralized space connectivity - Spacecoin said it is successfully communicating with its recently launched debut connectivity satellite, designed to test technology for a decentralized space-based network shared by multiple investors.

My Take: This is like the democratization of nation satellites through blockchain. Kind of interesting, actually.

NASA’s Artemis program needs a new public relations angle - These are questions that we are once again facing as NASA’s Artemis program lurches forward and our return to the moon is increasingly framed as a new space race against China. But the societal elements that existed in the 1960s, ones that created the Space Race that pitted the U.S. against the Soviet Union, simply don’t exist today. 

My Take: Delays. delays and more delays, but it’s not a race this time.

Starlink’s Satellite Broadband Hits Capacity Limit in South East England - Customers in the South East of England who may be looking to sign-up with SpaceX’s popular Starlink service, which offers ultrafast broadband connectivity via a global mega constellation of satellites in Low Earth Orbit (LEO), may have to wait a bit longer as the network in that area is now “at capacity“.

My Take: That’s why there’s a facility to contract for capacity, I suppose. Having said that, if there’s nothing to reserve, it really doesn’t matter.

The Year in Space: Amazon’s Project Kuiper revs up to join the megaconstellation market - But the year ahead promises to bring heightened competition: Like Starlink, Project Kuiper aims to offer high-speed internet access from the skies for hundreds of millions of people around the world who are currently underserved.

My Take: They have to have ½ of the constellation launched before the end of 2026, so watch what happens in the market in the second half of 2025.. I think.

Why Satellite Phones Are Making a Comeback in 2025? - Their increasing accessibility is the main reason for the resurgence of satellite phones. These devices were expensive and bulky, so historically have been used only in certain industries. Modern satellite phones are however much smaller and more economical, making them appealing to everyday consumers. The latest bridge between the satellite and smartphone is the convergence to integrate satellite connectivity into smartphones, thus leading to the elimination of secondary devices without disrupting attempts to communicate.

My Take: If this article doesn’t scream “ChatGPT”, then I don’t know what does. In Conclusion, and all.

Satellite manufacturer for Chinese megaconstellation secures $137 million funding - Shanghai Gesi Aerospace Technology, also known as Genesat, announced the more than 1 billion yuan (approximately $137 million) funding round Dec. 30. The main investors include China’s National Manufacturing Transformation and Upgrading Fund, China Development Bank Science and Technology Innovation, Guosheng Capital, SIMIC Capital and Shanghai FTZ Fund.

My Take: They want satellites 14,000 in space.

Four-satellite Astranis launch signals shift toward scaled GEO deployments - SpaceX successfully launched four Astranis-built broadband spacecraft toward geostationary orbit Dec. 29, marking the first time a single commercial manufacturer has flown four of its own satellites on one mission to GEO.

My Take: Still lots of stuff going in the GEO broadband space.. space.

Starlink’s Four-Year Progress Report - A third of humanity remains offline, and many more only have basic connectivity, which is often slow, intermittent, and unaffordable. Starlink is working hard to close the digital divide by quickly expanding access to high-speed internet all around the world, especially for those in rural and remote areas.

My Take: This report is full of some really interesting information about technology and the markets and applications they serve.

OneWeb outage underscores value of multi-orbit connectivity - On 31 December 2024, Eutelsat experienced a “temporary, 48-hour outage” of its Eutelsat OneWeb Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite service, the Paris-headquartered satellite operator reports this morning.

“The root cause was identified as a software issue within the ground segment,” Eutelsat says in a statement.

My Take: Redundancy in Space. Stuff happens, clearly.

Enabling AI

If 2024 is an indicator, AI will be huge for fiber in 2025 - There were several big news announcements in 2024 about AI driving demand for fiber broadband. The biggest news item was Lumen’s win of a fiber broadband contract with Microsoft. It's likely we'll see a lot more activity in 2025 to serve the insatiable needs of AI

My Take: Yea, it’s all about the fiber to connect all the AI-enabling data centres being built. I still think that bubble will burst in saturated areas.

The Year Of Humanoid Robots - In areas from humanoid coworker bots to AI robot brains, startups developing some of the most scifi-esque applications of the technology scored the year’s largest rounds. Big deals skewed early stage as well, indicating the cycle is likely just getting started.

My Take: Yea, AI and Robots. That’s what’s up for this coming year. I’d suggest that will include the first human death by a robot, unintentional, of course. So cynical. I know.

Will we ever trust robots? - If most robots still need remote human operators to be safe and effective, why should we welcome them into our homes?

My Take: “humanoids are often cumbersome and creepy. Overcoming that lack of trust will be the first hurdle to clear before humanoids can live up to their hype.”

What is embodied AI? - Embodied AI enables robots and autonomous drones to interact with the real world, but how does it work?

My Take: It works by changing the locks in your home, cancelling your credit cards and assuming your identity. Other than that..

Learn About

Nothing this week. Here’s a great gluten-free, dairy-free banana bread recipe instead ;)

Ingredients:

• 2 large eggs, at room temperature (see note 1)

• 1/4 cup nut milk, at room temperature (I used @‌malkorganics almond milk)

• 1/4 cup avocado oil

• 1/2 cup coconut sugar (see note 2)

• 1 tsp vanilla

• 2 cups over-ripe bananas, mashed (about 4 large bananas)

• 1 1/2 cups gluten-free flour blend (see note 3)

• 2 tsp baking powder

• 1 tsp baking soda

• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

• 1/4 tsp salt

Directions:

• Preheat your oven to 350

• Grease a 1 lb loaf tin (mine is 8.5 in x 4.5in) and set aside

• To a large mixing bowl, add the eggs, nut milk, avocado oil, coconut sugar, and vanilla and whisk or beat with a hand mixer until well combined

• Stir in the mashed banana

• To a small mixing bowl, add the gluten-free flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt, and stir gently until just combined

• Add the dry ingredients to your wet mixture (I like to sift them in to avoid lumps but this is optional), mixing until just combined and there are no dry lumps remaining (you will still have lumps from the banana)

• Pour the banana bread into your prepared loaf tin (optional: lay a thin slice of banana on top - see note 4) and bake for 50-60 minutes until the outside has deepened in colour and a toothpick inserted comes out clean (I bake mine for the full 60 minutes even though a toothpick typically comes out clean around 50 minutes).

• After baking, allow the bread to cool on a wire rack. Once cool enough to handle, remove the bread from the loaf tin and continue cooling completely (see note 5)

• Enjoy!!

Courtesy of Olivia Adriance

Maybe I should replace Learn About with Bake This..

This and That!

U.S. Treasury says its computers were hacked by a Chinese 'threat actor' in a 'major incident' - The U.S. Treasury Department said a state-sponsored Chinese hacking operation was able to access third-party software to tap into desktop computers of Treasury employees in what the department is calling "a major incident."

My Take: Perhaps spending time looking into sideways threats - the security posture of your partners and their systems - is an area where many should focus. China denies involvement, of course. Probably not the type of PR that BeyondTrust is looking for.

15 Customer Experience Predictions For 2025 - This year, 208 different leaders in the service and experience space submitted 396 different predictions, which represents a nearly 50% growth in both the number of people who have participated in the process and the number of predictions they have submitted compared to last year’s predictions.

My Take: “Voice as a customer engagement channel will make a big comeback: The pendulum is swinging back in the direction of phone calls/voice as a dominant customer engagement channel. Even younger consumers, who have been more likely to opt for chat or self-service portals, will be turning to voice in greater numbers.” - perhaps because people have a lousy experience with bots and don’t get satisfactory resolution?

..And a bunch of AI, blah, blah, blah.. Seems the pendulum is swinging, but with AI in tow.

10 amazing technology developments in 2024 - From strange drone-fueled UFO sightings to supersonic maglev trains, technology has had a busy year. Here are our top 10 tech stories of 2024.

My Take: AI, AI and more AI.. And a maglev train, a robot and some quantum thing.

How to Start (and Keep) a Healthy Habit - It's almost that time of year. Everyone you know will soon be hitting the gym, smiling while eating broccoli, or crushing out a last cigarette. For some, the gym really will become a new part of life, and that really will be the last cigarette they smoke. But most of us have probably experienced the letdown—perhaps even self-loathing—of failing to stick to a New Year’s resolution.

My Take: Do 52 of something. It becomes a habit.

A Billion Pixels a Second: I Got a Rare Look Inside Apple's Secret iPhone 16 Camera Labs - Here's how Apple took the iPhone 16 Pro's video capture and playback to another level with 4K 120fps slow-mo recording, spatial audio and new Audio Mix editing tools.

My Take: Had to look up “an·e·cho·ic.” It means “Free from Echo.” And don’t tell me you already knew that ;)

6 AI-Related Security Trends to Watch in 2025 - AI tools will enable significant productivity and efficiency benefits for organizations in the coming year, but they also will exacerbate privacy, governance, and security risks.

My Take: Seems to all boil down to trust-related things when it comes to AI - the people who use them and how much autonomy they are given.

Infographic Of The Week

My Take: Environmental factors, along with nutrition and access to healthcare—which is often better in wealthier countries—plays a part.

Podcast Recommendation

The Rise of HAPS, Competition for LEOs and Promise of Connectivity Everywhere

While LEOs may be receiving most of the attention, an emerging technology is rising to the stratosphere in the form of High Altitude Platform Stations (HAPS).

HAPS have the potential to unlock the Earth's stratosphere and enhance global connectivity, offering significant opportunities across various industries, including telecommunications, high-resolution Earth observation, weather prediction, and modeling.

Though both LEOs and HAPS are used for communication, surveillance, and data collection, they differ greatly in design, functionality, and use cases.

To share insights into the similarities and differences between LEOs and HAPS, we are joined by Russ Van Der Werff, Vice President of the HAPS Alliance and VP of Stratospheric Solutions at Aerostar.

Listen Here!

Movie/Streaming Recommendation

The Six Triple Eight

IMDb: 6.7/10

JMDb: 8/10 (..because it’s based on a true story)

Tyler Perry's "The Six Triple Eight" sheds light on the remarkable story of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, the only all-Black, all-female unit to serve overseas during World War II. The film follows Lena Derriecott (Ebony Obsidian), who joins the Women's Army Corps after losing her boyfriend in the war. Under the leadership of Major Charity Adams (Kerry Washington), the battalion faces racism and challenging conditions as they tackle an overwhelming backlog of mail for U.S. soldiers.

While the film succeeds in highlighting this overlooked piece of history, it falls short of its full potential. Perry's direction often feels heavy-handed, with dialogue that can be stilted and overly expository. The performances, particularly from Washington and Obsidian, are commendable, but the supporting characters lack depth[5].

Compared to similar films like "Hidden Figures," "The Six Triple Eight" lacks the nuance and critical acclaim of its predecessors. However, it still manages to deliver an inspiring story of perseverance and patriotism.

Despite its flaws, "The Six Triple Eight" serves as an important reminder of the contributions made by Black women during WWII. While it may not reach the heights of other historical dramas, it remains a worthwhile watch for those interested in untold stories of American history.

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Until Next Time

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 welcomed. Message me on LinkedIn or contact me at [email protected]