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A federal judge on Friday dismissed charges of financial fraud against Meng Wanzhou, Huawei's chief financial officer.

Why it matters: The move concludes a yearslong dispute involving the Justice Department's 2019 indictment, which accused Meng of violating Iran trade sanctions. 

Driving the news: U.S. District Judge Ann Donnelly dismissed Meng's indictment with prejudice, which means it cannot be brought again in court. 

Meng entered a deferred agreement with federal prosecutors last year in which she acknowledged having made false statements about Huawei's Iran business.

The DOJ agreed to dismiss all charges when the deferral period ends as long as Meng is not charged with a crime during that time.

Our thought bubble, via Axios' Hope King: The case strained U.S.-China relations, but its conclusion does not seem like it would impact ongoing U.S. crackdowns on Chinese tech giants.

The FCC just last week adopted new rules banning U.S. sales and imports of new Huawei and ZTE equipment out of national security concerns.

TikTok, owned by Chinese parent company ByteDance, is currently in negotiations with CFIUS to remain operational in the U.S.

The big picture: The DOJ alleged in its charges that Meng, the daughter of Huawei's founder, attempted to skirt sanctions by lying about Huawei's ownership of the Iranian business Skycom.

Meng was arrested in Vancouver in 2018. The U.S. formally asked Canada to extradite Meng in 2019, but she remained there under house arrest until Donnelly approved her deferred agreement with the U.S. 

Meng flew home to Shenzhen on the day it was approved. Shortly after, the Chinese government released two Canadians who had been imprisoned for over 1,000 days, as well as two American siblings who had been barred from leaving China for three years.

Go deeper: Huawei arrest marks escalation in the U.S.–China fight over 5G

Financial fraud charges against Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou dismissed

The move concludes a yearslong dispute involving charges that accused Meng of violating Iran trade sanctions.

Photo of Meng Wanzhou speaking from a podium on a stage

Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou attends Huawei 2021 Annual Report Press Conference on March 28, 2022 in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province of China. Huawei released its 2021 Annual Report on Monday. Photo: Chen Wen/China News Service via Getty Images

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China

After a record economic expansion, the coronavirus pandemic sent the U.S. economy into a recession as unemployment soared to staggering heights. The country now faces urgent questions about how much stimulus is needed for reeling consumers and businesses, and what a recovery might look like.

Economy & Business

From the Valley to D.C., Big Tech players like Facebook, Google and Amazon are under more scrutiny than ever as new technology develops and privacy and antitrust concerns grow in lockstep with companies’ ambitions.

Technology

China is becoming the most formidable rival America has faced, and the risk of confrontation with Russia, North Korea or Iran still looms. Authoritarians are rising, the chaotic Afghanistan exit revealed the limits of U.S. power, and the pandemic, climate change and other critical challenges continue to pose grave threats.

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President Biden has made the COVID-19 crisis and a post-Trump return to national unity and traditional democratic ideals his top priorities. From vaccinations to stimulus to schools, Biden is seeking bipartisan compromise while showing a willingness to use executive authority and bare Democratic majorities in the U.S. House and Senate to implement his policies. Republican leaders are navigating deep party divisions over if and how to move beyond former President Trump.

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The CEO of Semtech doesn't mind that you have never heard of his chip company, but hopes the low-power wireless technology it is pushing will soon be on everyone's radar.

Why it matters: The technology, known as LoRa, has the potential to connect billions of devices without simultaneously inflicting further harm on the planet, Semtech CEO Mohan Maheswaran told Axios.

Technologies such as 5G and Bluetooth can also connect a wide range of wireless devices but consume considerably more power. That costs more and is also rougher on the environment.

Catch-up quick: LoRa, named for long-range radio, is a wireless technology developed by another company that Semtech later purchased. 

Its initial applicationlong-range is to connect sensors and small devices in the Internet of Things (IoT) market for home automation, industrial systems and similar uses. 

Semtech makes the chips that enable devices to use LoRa technology, while the standard itself is managed by an independent organization.

LoRa is designed for carrying small amounts of data over a long distance and without using much power.

It runs in unlicensed spectrum and sends signals that can travel as far as several miles before connecting to another type of network. In a house, that could be a Wi-Fi network, while in rural areas it could be 5G or satellite. 

State of play: Though still in the early stages of adoption, early applications of LoRa today include in devices that monitor water use and track items that companies own. Amazon has also combined LoRa and Bluetooth as part of its Sidewalk network for IoT uses.

Between the lines: Today's smart city projects, Maheswaran says, sometimes founder because they rely on costlier, more power-hungry technologies.

Maheswaran points to one in his native India that connects lights, traffic signals and trash cans. It relies on cellular and wi-fi connections and consumes way too much power. That's especially problematic in a country where power grids are easily strained and outages frequent.

What's next: Semtech is in the process of buying Sierra Wireless, a Canadian maker of wireless components, in a $1.2 billion deal, its largest-ever acquisition. The deal, expected to close later this year, is set to add 1,000 people to Semtech's existing 1,400-employee workforce and roughly double the company's revenue.

Maheswaran said Sierra brings capabilities that Semtech lacks, including cloud-based skills to manage networks of LoRa devices.

The bottom line: While Maheswaran has outlined the economic benefits of the deal to Wall Street, he also describes it as a way to connect billions of devices in a way that could literally save the planet.

"I have four grandchildren," he said. "I want to give them hope."

A new kind of wireless aims to connect the planet and save it, too

LoRa is a low-power wireless technology that can connect sensors and devices across miles.

Photo Illustration of Semtech CEO Mohan Maheswaran with geometric shapes

Photo Illustration: Natalie Peeples/Axios. Photos: courtesy of Semtech

Wireless networks

Column / Signal Boost

It has taken months longer than expected, but Dish Network plans later today to commercially launch its homegrown 5G cell service to consumers in Las Vegas.

Why it matters: Dish Network has relied on T-Mobile's network to power its Boost prepaid wireless service, but has been working to build out its own nationwide 5G network and service. It also owns huge swaths of wireless airwaves purchased in government auctions.

Driving the news: Later today, Dish will begin allowing anyone in Las Vegas to sign up for its homegrown 5G service, a source told Axios. 

The service, dubbed Project Genesis, uses OpenRAN, a new type of cellular networking gear based on standard computing technology. 

Project Genesis has been in closed beta for several months and, even with the launch, Dish is aiming for tech-savvy early adopters rather than mainstream consumers.

Dish is starting with a single phone, the Motorola 5G Edge+, but plans to quickly add support for more devices.

Between the lines: The executive cited a number of reasons for the delayed launch, including the novel technology that powers it, as well as Dish's decision to add a roaming agreement with AT&T on top of one with T-Mobile.

The big picture: U.S. regulators approved T-Mobile's Sprint purchase in 2020 in part because of an agreement to establish Dish as a new fourth nationwide competitor. T-Mobile sold the Boost prepaid business to Dish, while allowing Dish the ability to resell service on T-Mobile's network as it built up its own service.

Dish's relationship with T-Mobile has become fraught since T-Mobile announced its plans to shut down Sprint's older CDMA wireless network, a service still being used by a significant number of Boost customers. 

Dish has complained to regulators, while T-Mobile insists it has given Dish more than the required notice of its shutdown plan.

What's next: Dish plans to have service available in 125 cities by June, a rapid expansion it says is possible because the cellular towers are in place and the computing infrastructure to support the service runs in Amazon's cloud. 

A map on the Project Genesis site indicates some of the cities where service is planned, including Salt Lake City, Dallas and Stockton, Calif.

"Getting Vegas working was the hard part," the source said. "We finally got over that hump."

Exclusive: Dish Network to launch commercial 5G service in Las Vegas

A map of where Dish hopes to soon offer 5G service

Screenshot: Axios via Project Genesis website.

A bipartisan Senate bill expected to be introduced Tuesday would require federal regulators to more thoroughly vet internet service providers seeking government money.

Driving the news: The Rural Broadband Protection Act, from Sens. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), shared exclusively with Axios, would require the FCC to develop rules to make sure funding goes to companies that have the technical capability to deliver the broadband service they promise.

The FCC vets companies that are set to receive broadband subsidies, but the lawmakers say the scrutiny should come earlier in the funding process.

Capito has previously raised concerns about the ability of internet service providers to meet their funding obligations in her rural state.

Context: A group of lawmakers last year called on the FCC to thoroughly scrutinize the providers who received funding from the $9 billion Rural Digital Opportunity Fund program.

What they're saying: "By verifying that providers can actually deliver on the promises made to bring high-speed internet to specific areas, we can maximize the influx of broadband dollars coming to West Virginia and move closer toward our goal of closing the digital divide in communities of all sizes across our state," Capito said in a statement.

Exclusive: New bill aims to strengthen internet funding safeguards

The Rural Broadband Protection Act would scrutinize federal funding to internet companies.

Digital divide

AT&T's planned shutdown of its 3G network Tuesday has sparked fears that home security systems, medical alert monitors and a range of other devices will stop working.

Why it matters: Carriers have previously retired networks, but this transition is proving more complicated because the pandemic hindered companies that rely on 3G services from making upgrades. Plus, there are just more devices to manage.

AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon are all planning to shut down their 3G networks this year to support new 5G services. 

Driving the news: AT&T, which first announced plans to sunset its 3G network in 2019, says less than 1% of its mobile data traffic runs on that network.

The company has offered customers free and discounted 4G LTE phones to help them upgrade, totaling about 2 million replacements.

What to watch: AT&T says phone coverage will not be affected, but it's not just phones that use the company's 3G network.

3G-connected cars — including some that are only a few years old — may require software or hardware upgrades, or could lose automatic crash notifications and other features entirely.

As much as 10% of all public school buses across the country will lose GPS and communications services, according to a filing from AASA, The School Superintendents Association.

San Francisco warned bus riders that more than 650 prediction display systems at bus shelters that rely on AT&T's 3G service will stop displaying real-time information.

Details: An alarm industry group says roughly 2 million devices powering burglar intrusion systems, fire alarms and personal emergency alerts will go offline.

The Alarm Industry Communications Committee said the pandemic hindered technicians' ability to get into homes to upgrade devices and source materials, and has asked the Federal Communications Commission to force AT&T to delay its plans.

The FCC has not acted on the group's request. Committee spokesperson John Brady told Axios the industry has taken its concerns to the White House, which intervened in a dispute between AT&T and Verizon and the airline industry over 5G signals last month.

"I basically told the White House that you were worried about planes falling out of the sky. How about people dying in their homes? Because that's what's going to happen," said Brady, who is also COO of Connect America, which provides personal alert devices. "They're going to think that their device works, they're going to hit the button, and it's not going to go anywhere."

What they're saying: "We are heading to alarmaggedon," Harold Feld, senior vice president of tech policy group Public Knowledge, told Axios. 

"If you roll the dice, maybe nobody has a problem in the first day or the second day or the third day," Feld said. "But eventually someone's going to have a problem where they will need that alarm."

A senior Biden administration official told Axios the White House is "closely tracking carriers' 3G transition plans and shares concerns about the potential impact of these plans on the function of home security and medical alert devices."

The other side: AT&T says it has built a plug-in device to automatically connect 3G alarm service devices to its LTE network, and is using roaming options to help bridge the transition for many connected devices.

AT&T has argued the largest alarm company, ADT, was able to upgrade its devices and other companies have focused on new installations rather than upgrades. 

Meanwhile, FCC chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, a Democrat, said the agency worked with AT&T to ensure there are roaming agreements in place for devices that rely on its 3G network.

"I think we are on course for this transition to take place with limited disruption," Rosenworcel told reporters at a press conference Friday. 

Republican commissioner Brendan Carr told reporters he worries about further delays to 5G service: "I think it is very important that we get our groove back when it comes to 5G and continue to move forward."

What's next: T-Mobile will sunset its 3G service on July 1, and Verizon plans to end its service by the end of  the year.

Ending 3G service sparks fears of an "alarmaggedon"

Security alarms, medical alerts and other devices could fail once the older wireless services cuts off.

Illustration of a mushroom cloud in the shape of the 3G symbol

AT&T

AT&T, Verizon extend 5G delay over airline panic

The CEOs of leading airlines warned of catastrophic disruption to flights if AT&T and Verizon deployed 5G this week.

The CEOs of leading U.S. air cargo and passenger carriers on Monday warned the Biden administration there could be "catastrophic disruption" after AT&T and Verizon deploy a new 5G service this week.

Driving the news: They said in a letter to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and other top federal officials ahead of the C-Band 5G service's deployment Wednesday that "the nation's commerce will grind to a halt" and "could potentially strand tens of thousands of Americans overseas."

They're calling on the Biden administration's "immediate intervention" in the matter to "avoid significant operational disruption" and ensure "that 5G be implemented everywhere in the country except within the approximate 2 miles of airport runways" at affected airports, according to the letter, first reported by Reuters.

"Unless our major hubs are cleared to fly, the vast majority of the traveling and shipping public will essentially be grounded," states the letter, from CEOs of firms including American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and Southwest Airlines.

For the record: The Federal Aviation Administration cleared about 45% of the U.S. commercial fleet to perform low-visibility landings "at many of the airports where 5G C-band will be deployed on Jan. 19," per an FAA statement.

Context: There's been an ongoing dispute between wireless carriers and the aviation industry over the 5G service, Axios' Margaret Harding McGill notes.

The FAA has warned previously that potential interference from 5G signals, especially in bad weather, could cause flight cancellations or force planes to divert to different airports.

The other side: Verizon and AT&T have previously committed to creating buffer zones around certain airports for six months to reduce interference risks, along with other safety measures.

They also delayed the planned deployment of the services following a request from Buttigieg to address airline industry concerns.

Representatives for Verizon and AT&T and the Biden administration did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment.

Airlines call for Biden admin's "immediate intervention" in 5G deployment

They're urging "immediate intervention" from Pete Buttigieg and other federal officials ahead of Wednesday's deployment.

 Airplane runway covered with snow at Newark Liberty International Airport on January 7, 2022 in New Jersey, United States as massive snow storm hits the east coast.

Photo: Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg duringa news conference earlier this month in Long Beach, California.

It's been long known that trees can slow down some 5G signals. A recent federal study aims to figure out just how much, in order to create more accurate signal strength prediction models.

Why it matters: 5G has the potential to supercharge wireless networks, but its rollout has revealed a range of complex challenges.

What they found: Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology measured the strength of signals that rely on the high-frequency millimeter wave spectrum through different types of trees during different seasons of the year.

Researchers have known that obstacles like foliage or even rain could reduce millimeter wave signal strength, but the NIST team wanted to more precisely measure the impact trees have.

The researchers conducted measurements on seven types of trees at their campus in Gaithersburg, Maryland.

As expected, the leafier the tree, the more strength the signal lost, Nada Golmie, chief of NIST’s wireless networks division in the Communications Technology Laboratory, told Axios.

The research, which is part of an ongoing project, aims to provide more precise measurements of that signal loss, which Golmie says NIST is sharing to help make modeling more accurate.

What they're saying:  "By providing measurements, and methods to measure, we're enabling others to more accurately, precisely assess the loss so that it can be overcome," Golmie said. "We believe it can be overcome."

The big picture: Verizon already uses millimeter wave spectrum for some of its 5G services, but both it and AT&T plan to use airwaves at a lower frequency known as the C-band to expand 5G service.

Spectrum at that lower frequency can better penetrate obstacles, but the C-band comes with its own set of controversies amid concerns from the aviation industry about potential interference. (T-Mobile isn’t using C-band for its 5G services and has avoided the drama.)

What's next: With more services crowding airwaves, Golmie says using millimeter wave spectrum — and overcoming its limitations — will be necessary.

Overcoming 5G's tree problem

5G coulsupercharge wireless networks, but its rollout has faced a range of complex challenges.

Illustration of a tree trunk with a Wifi symbol in place of leaves

An Alphabet-backed company wants to rethink how 5G services are delivered to ensure communities don't fall into a wireless digital divide.

Why it matters: The internet has become necessary infrastructure during the pandemic, but ubiquitous 5G service has been slow to fully develop in the U.S.

Driving the news: Sidewalk Infrastructure Partners (SIP) said Tuesday it will invest $100 million to both acquire wireless infrastructure company Dense Air and use its small cell technology to build a "borderless classroom."

SIP, which was spun out of Google-parent Alphabet, intends to work with an as yet unnamed city to build a private wireless network for a school district so students can connect to the same network whether they're in the classroom, on the school bus or at home, SIP co-CEO Jonathan Winer told Axios.

"The idea behind it would be to create a single wireless network that would be administered actually by the school district itself —they could set how often the kids would use it, what they could see," Winer said.

The big picture: Given the capital-intensive process of building better, faster internet networks, new companies are looking to rethink the business model for internet access.

Community infrastructure company Underline began building its first open-access fiber network in Colorado earlier this year, with the goal of operating a fiber network that multiple service providers use to offer high-speed internet to customers. 

How it works: Building ultra-fast 5G networks in cities involves deploying equipment known as small cells to densify wireless networks, as opposed to the large towers that covered wide swaths of areas in earlier wireless evolutions.

Instead of companies each deploying their own equipment, which can take thousands of cells, SIP envisions changing that model, where they or municipalities share the Dense Air small cells to extend networks to underserved areas.

For example, rather than deploying three different small cells from three carriers over and over, a city might say, "couldn't we build a small number of total small cells but include a bunch of communities that don't have access to wireless?" Winer said.

Reality check: While wireless companies have come around to sharing space on the same big towers, they will likely be reluctant to share network equipment in this way.

And carriers already are deploying small cells that are serving a huge number of wireless customers.

Winer acknowledged the potential hesitation, but said cable companies that want to get into the wireless space, or cities that want their own networks, are more likely customers.

Of note: Google, and parent company Alphabet, have a long history of pushing alternatives to the traditional provision of internet and telecom services, from backing municipal WiFi efforts to establishing Google Fi and Google Fiber.

Yes, but: It's not clear if these new types of models of sharing fiber or small cell networks to extend broadband access will succeed.

New Street Research advisor Blair Levin, a former FCC official, said the models generally involve delivering a similar service, and it's not apparent there's a cost structure advantage.

"If it works, it's huge, but the odds of it working out are not high," Levin told Axios.

State of play: The major wireless carriers have rolled out 5G deployments over the past few years despite the pandemic, but as Axios' Ina Fried has noted, the full impact of faster speeds and new uses has yet to be felt.

What they're saying: Winer said Dense Air's first U.S. project will be a pilot with a municipality willing to be a "co-creator" and work with the company as it navigates this new model.

"Like all our projects at SIP, it's about taking technology that we think can have a huge impact and proving it out," Winer said. "And the only way you can figure this out is you're going to put it in the field to see what you can deliver."

First look: A different 5G business model

The internet has become necessary infrastructure, but 5G service has been slow to develop in the U.S.

Illustration of a close up of a cell phone showing the largest reception bar breaking off the screen.  

Back in 2018, White House National Security Council official Gen. Robert Spalding wrote a controversial PowerPoint deck on how the U.S. government could play a greater role in building 5G networks. Now Spalding has left government and military service and landed $20 million to bring some of his vision to life via a private company.

How it works: The startup, Sempre, aims to offer a more secure, smarter alternative to the traditional cell tower, adding computing power at the edge and making the cell tower itself more resilient to attacks.

Details: Spalding tells Axios most of the $20 million in funding comes from the private offices of wealthy individuals. The round was led by Goff Capital, the family office of John Goff, a Texas real estate investor.

Between the lines: It's early days for the company, which is still looking for "anchor tenants" for a network of such towers.

Sempre is still figuring out how best to work with the existing players, including tower companies and wireless carriers, as well as where it can work directly with military, government agencies and businesses to offer private 5G networks.

 The company has also won a bid for an early trial with the military and is exploring other ideas for working with first responders and other governmental agencies.

The big picture: Spalding says Sempre aims to offer its customers added computing power by placing a mini-data center at the tower, as well as protection from electromagnetic pulses caused by nuclear attack or solar flare. 

Commercial carriers are also working to place data centers closer to the edge of their networks.

This "edge computing" approach can minimize delay and speed app performance.

Growing competition with China and an increase in cyberattacks are among the motivations for building a more secure network. "Data really defines who we are in the digital economy today," Spalding says.

Yes, but: 5G networks are rolling out fast in the U.S., and it's unclear what kind of broad demand there might ever be for Sempre's "hardened tower" approach.

Flashback: In 2018 — as Axios first reported — Spalding's PowerPoint presentation was circulating through the White House listing a series of ways that the government could foster creation of a more secure 5G network by playing a bigger role in its creation. 

The idea was widely criticized by those who saw the commercial industry already well on the way to establishing their own 5G networks.

Spalding insists he was never trying to nationalize 5G. Rather, he saw an opportunity for the government to play a broader role in securing next-generation networks, or perhaps by spurring the major wireless players to work together.

"Nobody told me to do it," Spalding said. "I did it on my own."

Spalding left the White House shortly after the 5G presentation became public and went back to the Pentagon, where he began the process of retiring from the Air Force. While other retiring officers were making plans for golf or fishing, Spalding said he was making plans to launch a tech company.

"This is my passion," Spalding recalls telling his wife. "It’s not something that people are really working on."

What they're saying: Rhydon Lee at Goff Capital, which led the financing round, says Sempre fits with his focus on sectors of the economy that will see increased investment due to competition with China, areas like space, national security, climate tech and quantum computing.

"There is now an incentive for innovation in some of these areas," Lee told Axios. Lee said he was attracted both to Sempre's product ideas as well as to Spalding himself.

Exclusive: Retired general nabs $20 million for secure 5G tower plan

Sempre aims to offer a smarter, more secure alternative to the traditional cell tower.

Coronavirus-related economic disruption and uncertainty could yet slow the pace of 5G deployment in the U.S. — but for now, the major carriers say they're moving full speed ahead.

Why it matters: The pandemic has highlighted the importance of connectivity as businesses shift to remote work and schools move classes online, making network performance more vital than ever.

What's happening: The major wireless carriers say the coronavirus has not altered the pace of their 5G rollouts, but industry observers and federal officials question how long that will remain true. 

"As a logical matter, I would expect a slowdown," said former Federal Communications Commission official Blair Levin, now a policy adviser for New Street Research.

Levin cited concerns about construction crew members working close to each other; disruptions to supply chains; and consumers' ability and willingness to pay for pricey 5G plans and new phones amid staggering unemployment rates.

Companies may say they're moving ahead, Levin said, "but we’re really early into it, and the notion that consumers are going to pay a premium in an economic downturn is counterintuitive to me."

There may also be fewer 5G-ready devices as a result of the pandemic.

Only a tiny fraction of the phones bought last year supported 5G networks. This year, most new high-end phones were (and still are) expected to support 5G. But with fewer people buying new phones amid the pandemic, that could still mean fewer 5G-ready devices this year.

The big wild card is Apple. The company had been gearing up to launch a 5G phone this year, but things could yet change, says industry consultant Chetan Sharma. The largely Chinese-based supply chain should be ready for the usual fall launch, but Sharma said Apple might decide to delay things if it doesn't see a big enough market for a 5G-capable iPhone.

FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel said she's pleased that U.S. carriers are moving forward with their 5G plans right now.

"But we need to keep in mind that a mix of factors — delayed standards, deferred [airwaves] auctions, and supply chain issues — could slow this in the future," Rosenworcel said in a statement. "Still, for the long haul I’m optimistic because this crisis is accelerating the digitization of everything and we are counting on connectivity for so much more in modern life."

The FCC pushed back the start of an upcoming wireless spectrum auction to July due to the pandemic.

5G rollout advances despite pandemic, but hazards loom

Supply chain disruptions and a broader downturn hitting wireless sales are among several potential pitfalls.

5G

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