• New US export rules on AI tech are widely condemned
• Open RAN vendors bank more US funding
• The UK wants to be a global AI powerhouse

In today’s industry news roundup: Biden is exiting the White House with a barrage of abuse from the tech sector; the NTIA hands out $117m to Open RAN tech developers; the UK government has a new AI plan; and much more!

As expected, US President Joe Biden has tightened restrictions on tech exports during his final days in office with the release of the Interim Final Rule on Artificial Intelligence Diffusion which, according to this White House announcement, “streamlines licensing hurdles for both large and small chip orders, bolsters US AI leadership, and provides clarity to allied and partner nations about how they can benefit from AI. It builds on previous chip controls by thwarting smuggling, closing other loopholes, and raising AI security standards,” noted the Biden administration in the White House statement made on 13 January. The industry knew the ruling was coming, with Nvidia lashing out at the move even before the details were unveiled, dubbing it a “misguided” act that will “undermine America’s leadership” and potentially “squander America’s hard-won technological advantage” – see Nvidia slams Biden’s parting AI tech sanctions plan. Naturally, Biden and his team don’t see it that way, arguing the importance of keeping cutting-edge AI technology out of the hands of “countries of concern” – namely China, Iran, North Korea and Russia – that have the potential to use AI to “exacerbate significant national security risks, including by enabling the development of weapons of mass destruction, supporting powerful offensive cyber operations, and aiding human rights abuses, such as mass surveillance”. The new interim rule, according to the White House, “streamlines licensing hurdles for both large and small chip orders, bolsters US AI leadership, and provides clarity to allied and partner nations about how they can benefit from AI. It builds on previous chip controls by thwarting smuggling, closing other loopholes, and raising AI security standards.” Only 18 countries are free of restrictions: They are – Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Republic of Korea, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan and the United Kingdom. There has been further negative reaction since the publication, including a statement from the European Union saying it is “concerned about the US measures adopted today restricting access to advanced AI chip exports for selected EU member states and their companies”, and commentary from the Washington, DC-based Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), which described the restrictions as “onerous”. SIA president and CEO John Neuffer noted: “We’re deeply disappointed that a policy shift of this magnitude and impact is being rushed out the door days before a presidential transition and without any meaningful input from industry. The new rule risks causing unintended and lasting damage to America’s economy and global competitiveness in semiconductors and AI by ceding strategic markets to our competitors. The stakes are high, and the timing is fraught. We stand ready to work with leaders in Washington to chart a path forward that protects national security while allowing us to do what America does best – compete and win globally.” Meanwhile, US national security advisor Jake Sullivan told Bloomberg that while it’s possible the incoming Trump administration may tweak the parameters of the restrictions, he expects the core pieces of the rule to remain unchanged. “Obviously it’s going to be up to them how they want to proceed, and they may have internal debates the same way we had internal debates about exactly how to calibrate the rule, but I would be surprised sitting here today if, after 120 days, they looked at the landscape as we’ve looked at it, and said, ‘You know, we really don’t need this at all’.” 

The US government has been doling out more Open RAN funding in a bid to stimulate the domestic telecom infrastructure sector. The US Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), which is responsible for distributing Wireless Innovation Fund grants, has awarded more than $117m in the second batch of grants from the Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Fund’s second Notice of Funding Opportunity. (The first tranche of grants in this round of funding was awarded in December 2024 to various companies, including Nokia, engaging in Open RAN radio unit research and development activities and amounted to more than $273m.) This time, the $117m was spread amongst nine recipients to “support projects focused on open radio unit innovation and commercialisation. Applicants were required to partner with a mobile network operator to help produce products that will be commercially viable,” noted the NTIA. “Our awards today are tackling a major wireless network expense head-on with support to bring more open radio units to market,” stated Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information and NTIA administrator Alan Davidson. “These projects will shore up the hardware supply chain and create new opportunities for companies from the US and its allies along the way,” he added. The nine recipients of grants this time are: Airspan Networks, with $42.7m; Analog Devices, $9.98m; DeepSig, $9.99m; EpiSys Science, $8.17m; New York University, $9.96m; Otava, $9.97m; Rampart Communications, $9.97m; SecureG, $6.47m; and Skylark Wireless, $10.12m. 

Following the efforts of the previous Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who put himself at the heart of the AI Safety Summit that was held in November 2023, the UK is taking another run at being one of the world’s AI leaders with the publication by the UK government of its AI Opportunities Action Plan. A press release issued by the government doesn’t hold back on the hyperbole. “Today’s plan mainlines AI into the veins of this enterprising nation – revolutionising our public services and putting more money in people’s back pockets. Because for too long we have allowed blockers to control the public discourse and get in the way of growth in this sector. The plan puts an end to that by introducing new measures that will create dedicated AI Growth Zones that speed up planning permission and give them the energy connections they need to power up AI. The UK occupies a unique place in the world. We can learn from the US’s and EU’s approach – delivering the dynamism, flexibility and long-term stability that we know businesses want.” The government pointed out that its aspirations are being backed by the plans and investments of private companies, and noted that “three major tech companies – Vantage Data Centres, Nscale and Kyndryl – have committed to a £14bn investment in the UK to build the AI infrastructure the UK needs to harness the potential of this technology and deliver 13,250 jobs across the UK. That’s on top of the £25bn in AI investment announced at the International Investment Summit.” And the foundations for success exist, it seems. According to Peter Kyle, who is the secretary of state for science, innovation and technology in Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour government, the UK is currently “the third-largest AI market in the world”. “We are home to an extraordinary array of global talent and pioneering AI firms like Google DeepMind, Arm and Wayve. But despite our record of scientific discovery – from Alan Turing on algorithms and general-purpose computing to Tim Berners-Lee’s World Wide Web – the UK risks falling behind the advances in artificial intelligence made in the USA and China,” he noted in this announcement. “In this next phase of AI development, we want Britain to step up; to shape the AI revolution rather than wait to see how it shapes us. Because we believe Britain has a particular responsibility to provide global leadership in fairly and effectively seizing the opportunities of AI, as we have done on AI safety,” he added. Read more.   

Telenor says it now has more than 25 million IoT SIM cards deployed around the world, a target achieved through international expansion, product diversification, expanded local network access in markets where roaming is restricted, the deployment of more regional points of presence, and a focus on customer relationships. “We’re proud to have earned the trust of new and existing customers,” stated Mats Lundquist, CEO of the operator’s IoT division, Telenor Connexion. “We see endless opportunities in the coming years with the market that is expected to grow 11% in revenue and 15% in connections from 2023-28 globally, excluding China. We will continue to bring new technology, services and solutions to the market, with the main goal being to help our customers grow, innovate and build new business around connected products – simply to continue to be the first choice for IoT.” Read more. 

News of another top table change at European network operator Tele2, which has operations in Sweden, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The operator has experienced a lot of change in the past year, with Xavier Niel’s Iliad Group emerging as a major investor at the beginning of 2024, the subsequent appointment of Iliad CEO Thomas Reynaud as chairman and, in October 2024, the appointment of a new CEO in the form of Jean Marc Harion, previously the head of Iliad’s operations in Poland. Shortly after Harion settled into the hot seat, Yogesh Malik suddenly stepped down from his role as the telco’s CTIO, and now chief operations officer Kim Hagberg, who has been a member of Tele2’s executive management team for more than five years, is leaving the company with immediate effect. No successor has been named. News of Hagberg’s departure comes less than a week after Tele2 announced that Jenny Garneij, executive VP of people and change, was also leaving with immediate effect.   

– The staff, TelecomTV