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NTIA Awards Grants for Wireless Network Development
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NTIA Awards Grants for Wireless Network Development

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration has invested $19.4 million in two projects focused on the advancement of wireless networks.

The agency said Friday the development of open and interoperable wireless networks, supported by the $1.5 billion Wireless Innovation Fund, are intended to strengthen global supply chain resilience and drive competition.

Latest NTIA Grants

The final batch of grants from the second Notice of Funding Opportunity will support projects involving open radio unit innovation and commercialization. The selected companies will collaborate with a mobile network operator to commercialize their projects.

DeepSig received an estimated $10 million for its AI-Enhanced O-RU Massive MIMO project, which enables Open Radio Unit and chipset vendors to implement advanced AI functions. Recon RF secured $9.4 million in funds to work on its project called Ultra-Efficient Front-End-Modules for 5G/6G Open Radio Units, which aims to build Front-End Modules for next generation 5G/6G open radio units.

“Wireless innovation is a major driver for U.S. competition and leadership globally,” said U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. “The Biden-Harris Administration’s investments in open and interoperable wireless networks will help secure global leadership and increase competition in the wireless market.”

NTIA Administrator Alan Davidson, the assistant secretary of commerce for communications and information, added, “Our awards today are tackling a major wireless network expense head-on with support to bring more open radio units to market. These projects will shore up the hardware supply chain and create new opportunities for companies from the U.S. and its allies along the way.”

Join the Potomac Officers Club’s 2025 5G Summit on Feb. 27 to learn more about how 5G and FutureG will enhance national security and public safety. Register here.

NTIA Awards Grants for Wireless Network Development
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Sen. Marco Rubio Confirmed as Secretary of State
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Sen. Marco Rubio Confirmed as Secretary of State

The Senate on Monday voted 99-0 to confirm Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., as the current administration’s secretary of state, Reuters reported.

Rubio’s confirmation came just hours after President Donald Trump was sworn in for his second presidential term.

The newly confirmed secretary of state is a long-term member of the Senate Intelligence and Foreign Relations Committees.

During his confirmation hearing, the Republican senator said the U.S. should make dramatic changes to avoid becoming more dependent on China and that ending the war in Ukraine would involve concessions from Russia and Kyiv.

Rubio, an advocate for Israel, also called for a robust foreign policy that would prioritize the core national interests of the U.S.

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DOD Issues PPBE Reform Implementation Report
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DOD Issues PPBE Reform Implementation Report

The Department of Defense has released a report providing an overview of the implementation of 26 planning, programming, budgeting and execution, or PPBE, reform initiatives.

DOD said Friday the PPBE Reform Implementation Report replaces the department’s March 2024 implementation plan for the recommendations outlined in the interim report of the Commission on PPBE Reform.

Strategic Framework Objectives 

According to the department, the reforms are organized around four strategic framework objectives: strengthen and simplify strategy to budget to capability; modernize and simplify information sharing; modernize and simplify financial management defense business systems; and invest in today’s and tomorrow’s workforce.

The first objective, for instance, seeks to reinforce the alignment between budgeting, strategy and capability to ensure that resource allocation directly supports DOD’s strategic priorities and advances the delivery of mission-critical capabilities.

What Are Framework Objective 1’s Reform Initiatives?

Objective 1 encompasses 11 reform initiatives, including strengthening defense planning guidance’s analytical underpinnings; mitigating problems caused by continuing resolutions; adjusting below threshold reprogramming, or BTR, levels based on fiscal year 2023 funding amounts; and reviewing and consolidating budget line items.

What Does the PPBE Process Aim to Express?

For over six decades, the PPBE process has been foundational to resource allocation, decision-making and execution at DOD.

The process underpins how the department supports the current and future National Defense Strategy.

FedRAMP Announces New RFC Landing Page, Other Website Updates
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FedRAMP Announces New RFC Landing Page, Other Website Updates

The Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program has unveiled its updated Requests for Comments landing page as part of its increased focus on delivery and efforts to enhance engagement with stakeholders.

New RFC Landing Page

Through the new landing page, FedRAMP said Friday it is soliciting public comments on several draft policies and directives, including the Boundary Policy, Review Initiation Checks and Proposed Revisions to FedRAMP 3PAO Requirements.

On Jan. 16, FedRAMP released the draft Boundary Policy for public comment.

According to the program, the draft policy opens discussion on clarifications with regard to the documentation and assessment of the FedRAMP boundary and the reuse of FedRAMP-authorized service offerings by cloud service providers.

The comment period for the FedRAMP Boundary Policy will close on Feb. 17.

Other Website Updates

FedRAMP noted that it added a new page to its website to provide information on the current status of the program’s guidance and policy development efforts.

Other updates are the addition of dedicated sections in the Updates and Priorities menu and the creation of a Changelog Page.

DOC Awards 3 Companies Grants for Semiconductor Production
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DOC Awards 3 Companies Grants for Semiconductor Production

The Department of Commerce has awarded a total of $143 million in direct funding to three companies to boost the domestic production of critical semiconductors.

The department said Friday Corning, Edwards Vacuum and Infinera received funds amounting to $32 million, $18 million and $93 million, respectively, for the enhancement of their commercial fabrication facilities.

How the Funding Will Be Used

Corning will utilize the funding to enhance its Canton, New York manufacturing facility, boosting the production of Corning High Purity Fused Silica and EXTREME Ultra Low Expansion Glass and helping strengthen the lithography supply chain. An estimated 130 manufacturing and 175 construction jobs will be created for the project.

Edwards Vacuum will build a manufacturing facility in Genesee County, New York for the production of dry vacuum pumps. This project will potentially create 100 construction and 500 production jobs.

Infinera aims to construct a new fab in San Jose, California and an advanced test and packaging facility in Bethlehem. The investment should help boost the company’s domestic manufacturing capacity and generate 500 manufacturing jobs and 1,200 construction jobs.  

The Commerce Department also amended the award received by GlobalFoundries. The additional $75 million in funds will be used to expand the company’s facility in Malta, New York.

Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said, “The semiconductors that will be manufactured in the United States are foundational to our technological and economic leadership of the 21st century.” 

Wendell Weeks, Corning chairman and CEO, stated. “This investment and our continued commitment in Canton will enable us to expand the next-generation manufacturing capabilities necessary for producing critical materials for lithography tools that create the world’s most advanced microchips, reinforcing our commitment to advancing semiconductor manufacturing, technology and job creation in the United States.” 

Infinera CEO David Heard added, “This funding will accelerate delivery of U.S. photonic semiconductor innovations to meet the demands of critical network infrastructure in the era of AI.” 

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Report Details Accuracy, Reliability of DHS Facial Recognition Tech
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Report Details Accuracy, Reliability of DHS Facial Recognition Tech

Fully operational face recognition and face capture, or FR/FC, technologies such as traveler ID checks at various U.S. ports of entry worked over 99 percent on average, according to a recently released report by the Department of Homeland Security.

The agency said Friday that the report tackles how it uses FR/FC technologies — which are artificial intelligence-powered capabilities — and how it governs them. It also details the results of performance tests carried out on such technologies by the DHS Science and Technology Directorate, program teams and the Maryland Test Facility, which is home to experts in biometric research and evaluation.

FR/FC Test Findings

In addition to the operational reliability of FR/FC technologies, the report goes on to note that no performance issues were found across any demographic group when it came to the use of Credential Authentication Technology, a tool used by the Transportation Security Administration at checkpoints to authenticate IDs and flight reservations.

Concerning TSA PreCheck’s prototype Touchless Identity Solution, its face detection algorithm’s accuracy was found to vary between 88 percent and 97 percent. Face matching worked well but face detection on a photo sometimes failed. A manual photo capture step had been added by TSA as a corrective measure while work is in progress to evaluate new algorithms.

For FR/CR applications in U.S. Customs and Border Protection use cases, face matching was found to perform well, with the lowest success rate for any demographic group being recorded at 97 percent. DHS said it would continue monitoring the situation because the test that was used to evaluate the technology was designed to detect performance differences of 5 percent or higher.

The report also pointed out that while people interacted with various FR/FC processes within seconds, individuals aged 61 years and up tended to take a few seconds longer. Though the issue was described as being “not a cause for immediate concern,” work will nevertheless be carried out to ensure system usability across all age groups.

Excellent FR/FC Performance Across Demographics

On the whole, DHS Chief Information Officer and Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer Eric Hysen said the technologies “performed extremely well for diverse demographic groups” and that “when minor issues were identified, we acted swiftly to address them.”

“We’re not perfect, but this report highlights how FR is delivering real value for the public and supporting critical law enforcement missions—while maintaining our commitment to transparency, accountability, and responsible AI use,” Hysen further commented.

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DOE Adds New Signatories to Quantum in Space Collaboration Program
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DOE Adds New Signatories to Quantum in Space Collaboration Program

The Department of Energy has added five new signatories to the Quantum in Space Collaboration program, which seeks to explore quantum technologies to advance national security and improve the U.S. economy.

The new partners include Boeing, Axiom Space, the Universities Space Research Association, Vescent and Qrypt, joining the first round of signatories announced in late 2023, the DOE said Friday. Their support highlights the public and private sectors’ commitment to promoting disruptive quantum capabilities and building a space economy.

Developing Quantum Applications

The collaborative effort provides opportunities to develop and deploy quantum applications to advance space exploration and scale space manufacturing, according to Rima Oueid, a senior commercialization executive at the DOE Office of Technology Transitions. “We are excited to support a quantum-enabled space economy for the revitalization of Earth,” she added.

Under the partnership program, the participating organizations will work on feasibility assessments and demonstrations to build the foundation of a secure network of data centers for delivering hybrid quantum computing capabilities. The planned mesh network will be enhanced by quantum sensing, powered by nuclear energy and connected by secure quantum communications.

Using Quantum to Secure a Space Economy

In November 2023, the DOE launched the Quantum in Space Collaboration project, with the Department of Defense, NASA, Infleqtion, Nebula Space Enterprise and Accenture Federal Services as initial participants. Through the program, the agency envisions studying the use of quantum to secure a space economy.

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NASA Launches Challenge for Climate Resilience
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NASA Launches Challenge for Climate Resilience

NASA has announced it is seeking companies and organizations that will participate in its Sustainable Business Model Challenge.

The agency said Friday the challenge is intended to empower the participants to utilize its Earth system science data to address critical climate issues. Ten selected teams will receive $10,000 and will be allowed to participate in a 10-week capability development training program that should help them with future projects.

Sustainable Business Model Challenge

The Sustainable Business Model Challenge is intended to promote innovation by encouraging enterprises to develop sustainable business models supporting climate resilience and informed decision-making.

NASA seeks to establish an ecosystem of sustainable enterprises that can utilize climate insights in developing tangible, market-ready services. The ultimate goal is to enhance the resilience of vulnerable communities and businesses.

The challenge invites new businesses to get involved with NASA’s Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer programs. These programs help in the expansion of technological advancements that help in subduing climate change and promoting sustainability.

Jason Kessler, program executive for the NASA SBIR/STTR program, remarked, “Creative, outcome-driven entrepreneurs are the lifeblood of our country’s economy, and we’re excited to see the sustainable climate solutions they’re able to come up with when working closely with NASA’s vast resources and data.”

Interested parties have until June 13 to let NASA know of their intent to participate.

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Army Uses Data-Sharing Tool to Address Weapons Supply Chain Issues
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Army Uses Data-Sharing Tool to Address Weapons Supply Chain Issues

The U.S. Army has developed the Army Materiel Command Predictive Analysis Suite, or APAS, to facilitate easier information exchange with the Defense Logistics Agency and address supply chain issues.

APAS, which became operational in December 2024, enables the Army to track DLA’s timeline for parts delivery and the agency’s acquisition budget, Defense One reported Friday. The data-sharing tool allows the service to better manage parts inventory to ensure that its weapons systems remain operational.

Enhanced Supply Chain Management

At a Wednesday news briefing, Richard Martin, director of supply chain management at Army Materiel Command, noted that APAS provides the information that DLA needs to make procurement decisions for the Army. “It lets DLA recognize what we are ultimately consuming,” he explained.

Following the suite’s introduction, the Army and DLA started a data-sharing working group and implemented the system with application programming interfaces, or APIs, that allow the organizations to view supply needs and availability. Kristin French, deputy director of logistics operations at DLA, said APIs enable the agency to predict the Army’s future acquisition requirements.

Using Data Performance Metrics

Data-sharing helps the Department of Defense address sustainment and logistics, according to Steven Morani, the acting secretary of defense for sustainment. Currently, the agency employs ADVANA, a data analytics platform, which accelerates its ability to deploy weapons systems performance data into a shared environment. The DOD will use data performance metrics to understand consumption rates and supply materiel to military forces in advance, said Morani, who will speak at the Potomac Officers Club’s 2025 Defense R&D Summit on Jan. 23.

POC - 2025 Defense R&D Summit

Join the Potomac Officers Club’s 2025 Defense R&D Summit on Jan. 23 to hear key DOD officials discuss the development of advanced defense tech, such as unmanned systems. Register now to attend this important event!

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Commerce Department Issues AI Guidebook for Data Accessibility
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Commerce Department Issues AI Guidebook for Data Accessibility

The Department of Commerce released on Thursday a guidebook to drive its units’ efforts in making public datasets more accessible to generative artificial intelligence tools. 

Titled “Generative Artificial Intelligence and Open Data: Guidelines and Best Practices,” the 79-page roadmap offers actionable steps, such as maximizing documentation availability and accessibility and providing human and machine-readable data documentation. 

Additionally, the guidebook suggests that its agencies adopt the appropriate use of open-source software and formats. It also urges them to publish structured and extensive data and metadata. 

Future Updates to Expect

The guidance is a first version and will be updated periodically, the department said. Future work identified in the guidebook includes focus on exploring digital signatures to protect data integrity and security, particularly for datasets for developing AI models. Metrics or pointers on evaluating AI-readiness of data assets is another area to be looked into.

A working group composed of the department’s AI and data experts was formed by the Commerce Data Governance Board to initiate the drafting of the guidebook in late 2023. The department issued a request for information on the guidance in April and also announced in May four department-wide draft publications on safe AI development.

Register for the Potomac Officers Club’s 2025 Artificial Intelligence Summit on March 20 to hear more about cutting-edge AI innovations from industry and government experts.

Commerce Department Issues AI Guidebook for Data Accessibility
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