FCC: D2C Is Set for Ubiquitous Connectivity
The FCC announced that direct‑to‑device (D2C) connectivity will be a pillar of U.S. communications leadership. It granted AST SpaceMobile full commercial authorization for a 248‑satellite constellation and supplemental coverage in two frequency bands, while dismissing its request for the Echostar S‑Band. SpaceX’s applications for Ligado L‑band and Globalstar frequencies outside the United States were rejected, confining Starlink to FCC‑approved AWS‑4 spectrum. The order also preserves Globalstar’s exclusive rights to the Big LEO band, effectively delineating each operator’s spectrum lane.
Australia’s 1.2 Million Homes Target Has a Delivery Problem. New Zealand Solved It
Australia’s National Housing Accord pledges 1.2 million new homes by 2029, backed by a $10 billion AUD (≈$6.6 bn USD) Housing Australia Future Fund and additional state spending. Yet the National Housing Supply and Affordability Council forecasts delivery of only 938,000 homes, leaving...
Honolulu Speed-Camera Trial Flags 500,000 Speeders but Issues Only 17 Tickets
More than 500,000 drivers were recorded speeding during Honolulu’s five‑month camera trial, but the Hawaii Department of Transportation issued only 17 tickets in the first four months. The agency is now seeking $6.6 million in state aid and has awarded a...
Congressman Wants AI Out of Kids’ Toys After Chatbots Got Weird with Children
Congressman Blake Moore (R‑UT) introduced legislation to prohibit artificial‑intelligence features in children’s toys after a series of unsettling chatbot interactions with minors. While OpenAI, Google, Anthropic, xAI and Perplexity all restrict unsupervised use by users under 13, they license the...
Treasury Chief Says Smarter AML Starts With Better Identity
Treasury Assistant Secretary Jonathan Burke told a House subcommittee that the U.S. AML framework must evolve to keep pace with faster, digital payments and sophisticated fraud. He urged a shift from volume‑driven alerts to risk‑based supervision, emphasizing better digital identity...
Chery's AiMOGA Humanoid Robot Becomes Chinese Traffic Officer
Chery’s AiMOGA Humanoid #Robot Joins Traffic Police in China by @XRoboHub #AI #Robotics #Engineering #Innovation #Technology https://t.co/1dDc1guTgx
Vietnam: Legal Reform Driving Borderless Digital Public Services
Vietnam's 16th National Assembly overwhelmingly approved a revised Civil Status Law, enabling borderless, digitally enabled civil registration. The reform shifts from a request‑based to a proactive service model, decentralising authority and linking registration data with health systems. The government also...
Funding Needed for Software to Rethink Air Traffic Control
.@SecDuffy talks tonight on podcast about the new software he needs funding for to rethink how we control airplanes and deconflict planes before they are in the air https://t.co/OeyAqESXPL
NIST Cyber Center to Launch OT ‘Visibility’ Project
The National Institute of Standards and Technology’s Cybersecurity Center of Excellence is rolling out a new operational‑technology (OT) visibility project aimed at helping critical‑infrastructure owners inventory and monitor legacy assets. The initiative will demonstrate how to achieve OT asset visibility...
Government Experts Gather for Tech Event
Government Cybersecurity & AI 2026 will convene senior federal, state and local officials in Canberra on April 29‑30. The two‑day event brings together CISOs, CIOs, policy makers and cyber experts to discuss responsible AI adoption and emerging security threats. Presentations,...
‘Beneficiary Pays’ Model Gains Traction With Lawmakers
Lawmakers at Data Center World urged Congress to adopt a “beneficiary pays” model, requiring companies that drive demand for new transmission lines—such as data centers—to foot the bill. Rep. Julie Fedorchak (R‑ND) and Rep. Scott Peters (D‑CA) highlighted cost allocation...
Maps, Cameras Help Redlands, Calif., Prep for Wildfires
The Redlands Fire Department is scaling up its wildfire mitigation program for the 2026 season, increasing treated acreage to 80 acres and allocating roughly $1.1 million annually. New measures include surveillance cameras, Esri GIS mapping, and a revived partnership with Cal Fire’s...
New Jersey Admits Defeat on Offshore Wind (at Least for Now)
New Jersey’s Board of Public Utilities has terminated its 2021 transmission agreement with PJM Interconnection, effectively halting the Larrabee Pre‑Built Infrastructure intended to move offshore wind power onto the state grid. The decision follows the collapse of key offshore projects,...
Lawmakers in Turkey Pass Teen Social Media Ban
Turkey's parliament approved a bill on April 22 that bars children under 15 from accessing social‑media platforms. The legislation forces platforms to install age‑verification systems, offer parental‑control tools, and respond quickly to harmful content, with penalties for non‑compliance. The measure...
Little Talk of BEAD at Lutnick’s House Hearing
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick testified before the House appropriations subcommittee on the FY2027 budget, where the $42.45 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program received limited discussion. Lutnick indicated that guidance for states on using the program’s non‑deployment funds is...
States Deploy Desktop as a Service To Standardize Endpoints and Boost Security
State IT leaders in Kansas, Indiana and New Mexico are rolling out Desktop as a Service (DaaS) platforms to centralize device provisioning, patching and security across thousands of endpoints. Kansas is deploying Tanium Endpoint Management on Dell hardware, while Indiana...
Tackling Hybrid IT Infrastructure Challenges in the Government Sector
Federal agencies are wrestling with sprawling hybrid IT environments that combine aging on‑premises systems with cloud services. With an annual $130 billion IT spend, budget constraints—highlighted by 28% of leaders—limit security upgrades and modernization. Only 6% of agencies have completed a...
NTSB Report Shows Communication Lapse Before Fatal LaGuardia Runway Crash
The National Transportation Safety Board’s preliminary report says a LaGuardia firefighter heard an air‑traffic controller’s “stop, stop, stop” warning but didn’t realize it was directed at his truck, a lapse that helped cause the March 22 collision that killed two...
DTA Sounds Alarm on ‘Low‑effort’ AI
The Digital Transformation Agency (DTA) warned that the rush to adopt low‑effort AI tools could undermine inclusive system design and public‑service outcomes. Deputy CEO Lucy Poole urged civil servants to scrutinise AI solutions rather than rely on quick‑fix bots. She emphasized...
UK VPN Group Warns Child‑Safety Plan Could Heighten Online Risks
The VPN Trust Initiative (VTI) has warned that the UK government's "Growing Up in an Online World" consultation, which seeks mandatory age‑verification on social platforms, could backfire by restricting VPNs that protect young users. The industry coalition argues that limiting...
Coast Guard Launches RAS PEO to Unify Uncrewed Systems
The U.S. Coast Guard has created the Robotic and Autonomous Systems Program Executive Office (RAS PEO) to centralize management of unmanned air, surface, underwater and space assets. The new office replaces fragmented, siloed structures with a unified portfolio that mirrors...
Don’t Mention the Government… Microsoft Splashes $25bn on .au .ai
Microsoft announced a $25 billion investment in Australia to build new digital infrastructure, boost national cyber‑defence capabilities, and fund workforce‑skilling programs. The figure, roughly half the projected $50 billion annual cost of the National Disability Insurance Scheme, underscores the scale of the...
Trump Taps Defense Production Act to Address Grid Equipment, Energy Project Bottlenecks
President Donald Trump has invoked the Defense Production Act to accelerate production of critical energy‑infrastructure components, including transformers, substations, pipelines and LNG systems. The White House published the determinations in the Federal Register, authorizing the Department of Energy to apply...
Marine Creates Ride-Hailing App to Combat Impaired Driving Among Service Members
U.S. Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Christian Smellie created GY6Lift, a free ride‑hailing app launched in October 2025 to curb impaired driving among service members and their families. The platform relies on volunteer drivers, currently supporting 56 passengers and 15 drivers...
Nonprofit Launches Forum to Help City Leaders Leverage AI Effectively
The National League of Cities (NLC) has launched an AI and Emerging Technology Forum to help municipal leaders explore and implement artificial intelligence in local government services. The inaugural cohort includes 20 mayors, chief information officers and technology practitioners, with...
San Antonio Military Base Weighs Nuclear Option for Grid Independence
Joint Base San Antonio‑Randolph is slated to host a prototype nuclear microreactor, marking the first commercial atomic power installation in Texas. The Department of the Air Force and the Defense Innovation Unit chose Antares Energy to propose its R1 microreactor...
Search for Clarity on UK Digital ID Leads to Trial Pitch, Consultation Proposals
The UK’s digital identity strategy remains vague, prompting experts to propose a live trial on the Isle of Wight. Authors James Findlay and Jerry Fishenden argue the island’s 140,000 residents and limited entry points make it ideal for a controlled...
Researchers Develop Navigation System for Underground Rescue Teams
A consortium led by TU Graz unveiled NIKE MATE, a navigation system that fuses robot‑collected sensor data with a self‑built ultra‑wideband (UWB) network to map underground rescue sites in real time. The system creates a dynamic map and provides sub‑meter positioning for...
‘Harvest Now, Decrypt Later’ Attacks Push Federal Shift to PQC
Federal agencies are accelerating a shift to post‑quantum cryptography (PQC) after a surge in “harvest now, decrypt later” attacks that could expose today’s encrypted data once quantum computers mature. A June 2025 White House executive order mandates agencies to establish PQC...
Australian Regulators Come Together on Privacy, Online Safety
Australia’s eSafety Commissioner and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner have signed a memorandum of understanding to coordinate privacy and online‑safety enforcement. The MoU formalises information‑sharing on the Privacy Act, Online Safety Act and emerging AI risks, and designates...
Bank of Thailand: Missing Piece in the Country’s Digital ID Stack Is Data Portability
Thailand’s central bank boasts a robust digital ID system with over 30 million users and a PromptPay payments network that processed a record 96 million transactions in a single day, a ten‑fold rise since 2019. Deputy Governor Daranee Saeju warned that without...
The Palantir Problem
Palantir Technologies unveiled a 22‑point manifesto derived from co‑founder Alex Karp’s book, positioning the firm as a political actor rather than a neutral data‑analytics provider. The document frames Silicon Valley as morally indebted to the United States and dismisses consumer‑product...
WA Commerce Webinar: Cool Classrooms on a Budget: How Federal Energy Tax Credits Can Help
Washington’s Commerce Department will host a May 11 webinar on using federal energy tax credits to fund ground‑source heat pump HVAC upgrades in schools. Seattle Public Schools and contractor McKinstry will share implementation insights. The state’s Clean Energy Tax Credit Assistance...
Opinion: Drones Are Making Colorado Springs, Colo., Safer
Colorado Springs reported a 28% drop in homicides and a 42% plunge in auto theft between 2024 and 2025, outpacing the state average by eight points. Police attribute the gains to a focused anti‑theft unit, tougher state penalties, and advanced...
Palantir Employees Are Starting to Wonder if They're the Bad Guys
Palantir’s software is now a core component of the Trump administration’s immigration‑enforcement operations, prompting a wave of employee unease. After the killing of nurse Alex Pretti, staff flooded internal Slack channels demanding clarity on the company’s ICE contract and audit‑log controls....
VA Seeks Industry Ideas for Contact Center Tech Upgrade
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs issued a request for information seeking industry proposals to overhaul its contact‑center technology. The agency currently runs NICE CXOne, Medalia and ServiceNow, but wants to embed conversational AI, multilingual bots, intent‑based routing and predictive analytics....
Melville's Emergency Fleet Goes All‑Electric with Tesla Model Ys
The emergency response fleet of City of Melville in Western Australia, MelSafe, is made up of Tesla Model Ys. Here's why: https://t.co/osDmorereW https://t.co/UAkxkH9VaR
Netherlands Launches ICAO-Compliant Vertical ID Card From IN Groupe
The Dutch Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND) has rolled out a new vertically oriented Type W identity card for asylum seekers, built by IN Groupe’s ID&D unit. The ICAO‑compliant card features a larger laser‑engraved portrait, Lasink Helios DOVID security element, a...
SA Public Sector Urged to Build Trust in AI
South Africa's public sector must build trust in AI through stronger governance, clearer accountability, and focused skills development, as adoption remains limited. At the ITWeb AI Summit 2026, panelists discussed the newly released AI Policy Framework, which calls for transparency,...
Signicat Unveils eID and Wallet Hub to Bridge National eIDs and EU Digital Identity Wallets
Signicat has launched an eID and Wallet Hub that lets businesses access the EU Digital Identity Wallet and more than 35 national eIDs through a single API. The hub offers hybrid sourcing, pulling identity data either directly from a citizen’s...
Kuwait Makes My Identity Mobile App Mandatory for Online Remittance Authentication
Kuwait’s Central Bank has ordered every licensed exchange company to verify customers through the government‑run My Identity mobile app before processing any online international money transfer. The directive requires real‑time identity checks via the app for each transaction and documentation...
Surfing on the Tube
Transport for London awarded neutral‑host Boldyn Networks a 20‑year, $1.35 bn contract to roll out 5G across the London Underground. The project installs fiber, leaky‑feeder cables and base‑station hotels, allowing EE, O2 and Vodafone to share a single DAS infrastructure. To...
The Countdown to Digitisation Is on… the Public Sector Needs to Be Ready
Ireland’s public sector is racing toward the Connecting Government 2030 goal that 90% of core services be delivered digitally by the end of the decade. The strategy highlights the need to replace legacy systems, unify fragmented platforms, and address resource...
DeSantis Pressures House to Pass AI Bill of Rights, References FSU Shooting
Governor Ron DeSantis is pressuring the Florida House to pass the state’s AI Bill of Rights during a special legislative session, citing the recent Florida State University shooting allegedly facilitated by ChatGPT. The Senate already approved the sweeping bill, which...
GSA Announces Latest Cohort of Presidential Innovation Fellows
The General Services Administration announced the 2026 cohort of Presidential Innovation Fellows, selecting 17 top technologists from leading U.S. firms. The fellows will spend a year embedded in ten federal agencies, including CMS, CISA, DOE, State, VA, and the Coast...
UK Launches Inquiry Into Security Risks of Chinese-Made 3D Printing Equipment
Britain’s Defence Secretary has launched an investigation into the British Army’s use of Chinese‑manufactured Bambu Lab 3D printers, which were deployed during a training exercise in Kenya. The inquiry focuses on potential security risks stemming from the printers’ default cloud...
South Africa Planning Big Overhaul of Public Sector IT
South Africa’s Department of Communications & Digital Technologies has formalised a three‑year plan to overhaul the State IT Agency (Sita), with quarterly milestones beginning in 2026 and a draft business model due by March 2027. The overhaul follows an auditor‑general...
DefComm Unveils ‘Fail-Safe’ Secure Comms Tech; Enters Pilot Phase with Nigerian Military
DefComm, a defence‑tech startup, has begun pilot testing its proprietary Secure Communication Device with Nigeria’s Ministry of Defence. The pilot follows earlier deployments on Xshield‑DICON tactical vehicles and showcases fail‑safe retrieval and hardened encryption for network‑centric warfare. The initiative aligns...
Navigating Federal Cloud Adoption
Federal health leaders are accelerating hybrid cloud adoption to boost scalability, security, and mission delivery. Former HHS CISO La Monte Yarborough and CMS infrastructure director Wade Zarriello highlighted how cloud strategies have evolved and outlined the next steps for agencies....
Sri Lanka Launching Digital ID Sandbox, Experience Center
Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Digital Economy is rolling out a SL‑UDI digital ID sandbox and an experience center at the ICTA in Colombo, allowing public and private developers to integrate with the federated authentication layer before the system goes live....