FCC Auction Power Returns Putting Wi-Fi Spectrum at Risk | Tech Field Day News Rundown: July 16, 2025

A new law restores the FCC’s authority to auction spectrum and requires at least 800 MHz to be sold, potentially pulling it from the 6 GHz and CBRS bands currently used for Wi-Fi and rural broadband. While mobile carriers like AT&T and Verizon support the move for 5G expansion, critics warn it could slow Wi-Fi and harm small ISPs that rely on those bands. The law reverses earlier efforts to protect 6 GHz for unlicensed use and reflects growing pressure from the wireless industry, now backed by former FCC Chair Ajit Pai, who leads a major telecom lobby. This and more on the Tech Field Day News Rundown with Tom Hollingsworth and Alastair Cooke.Time Stamps: 0:00 - Cold Open0:27 - Welcome to the Tech Field Day News Rundown1:38 - Rowhammer gives NVIDIA GPU a headache5:59 - Aviatrix Launches Cloud-Native Security Fabric9:04 - Is Your AI Coding Assistant Slowing You Down?11:51 - FCC Auction Power Returns, Putting Wi-Fi Spectrum at Risk16:50 - Akka Launches High-Performance Suite for Building Agentic AI Systems20:27 - Silk Typhoon Hacker Arrested in Italy for U.S. Cyberespionage23:57 - Google Snaps Up Windsurf Talent After OpenAI Deal Collapses27:26 - Futurum Releases New Data Intelligence and Analytics Reports31:13 - The Weeks Ahead34:06 - Thanks for Watching the Tech Field Day News RundownFollow our hosts ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Tom Hollingsworth⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Alastair Cooke⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Stephen Foskett⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Follow Tech Field Day ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠on LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠X/Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Bluesky⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Mastodon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Microsoft laid off 9,000 employees, about 4% of its workforce, even as it invests billions in AI technology. Company leaders say AI will eliminate many routine jobs but also create new opportunities in advanced areas. While thousands of tech workers were displaced, demand for AI experts soared, with companies offering high salaries to attract top talent. This and more on the Tech Field Day News Rundown with Alastair Cooke and guest host Gina Rosenthal. Time Stamps: 0:00 - Cold Open0:30 - Welcome to the Tech Field Day News Rundown1:54 - AI Impersonation Scams Target Global Officials in Growing Threat3:52 - CoreWeave Acquires Core Scientific for $9 Billion6:46 - VMware's VeloCloud Acquired by Arista Networks8:53 - Ransomware Attack Hits Ingram Micro12:11 - Researchers Find Language Loopholes to Bypass AI Guardrails16:03 - OpenAI makes a big deal with Oracle19:43 - Microsoft Cuts Jobs as Part of Their AI Restructure26:07 - The Weeks Ahead27:41 - Thanks for Watching the Tech Field Day News RundownGuest Host: Gina Rosenthal, Founder of Digital Sunshine SolutionsFollow our hosts ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Tom Hollingsworth⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Alastair Cooke⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Stephen Foskett⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Follow Tech Field Day ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠on LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠X/Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Bluesky⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Mastodon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

The US Department of Justice has announced a settlement in their lawsuit agains the proposed HPE acquisition of Juniper Networks. The release says that in order for the deal to move forward, HPE must sell off the Instant On line of HPE Aruba Networking access points. Additionally, Juniper must auction a license for third parties to use Juniper AIOps for Mist. The details of the auction are complicated. Up to two companies can win the rights to the license through the bidding process and Juniper must make up to 55 employees available to be hired by one of the winners to work on the product, including incentives from Juniper for them to move companies. Time Stamps: 0:00 - Cold Open0:18 - Welcome to the Tech Field Day News Rundown1:44 - Building AI destroys books and promotes stealing of books5:32 - Cisco ISE Hit with RCE Flaws8:51 - Remote management vulnerability hits servers12:49 - Microsoft Looks to Lock Windows Kernel17:28 - Hammerspace Supercharges AI and HPC on Oracle Cloud with Tier 0 Data Platform21:20 - US Nabs IntelBroker24:46 - A Closer Look: DOJ Clears Way for HPE/Juniper Deal37:11 - HPE / Juniper Networks Update 38:46 - The Weeks Ahead31:31 - Thanks for Watching The Tech Field Day News RundownFollow our hosts ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Tom Hollingsworth⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Alastair Cooke⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Stephen Foskett⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Follow Tech Field Day ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠on LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠X/Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Bluesky⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Mastodon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

At AWS re:Inforce 2025, AWS introduced key security upgrades, including expanded identity tools, enhanced code and threat detection with Inspector and GuardDuty, and easier deployment through improved WAF and firewall features. New CISO Amy Herzog emphasized identity security, while AWS reinforced its focus on automation, secure development, and ecosystem collaboration.Time Stamps: 0:00 - Cold Open0:24 - Welcome to the Tech Field Day News Rundown1:36 - Simbian Launches First LLM Benchmark for SOC Performance6:33 - Record-Breaking 7.3Tbps DDoS Attack Hits Cloudflare Client11:56 - Qualcomm Acquires Alphawave15:51 - QuantumCTek Unveils Affordable 1,000+ Qubit Control System21:12 - Teradata Brings AI Platform to On-Premises Data Centers26:08 - Chinese Hackers Build Hidden Network Using Fake LAPD Certificates30:01 - AWS re:Inforce 2025 Highlights Security, Identity, and Automation38:55 - The Weeks Ahead42:08 - Thanks for Watching the Tech Field Day News RundownFollow our hosts ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Tom Hollingsworth⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Alastair Cooke⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Stephen Foskett⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Follow Tech Field Day ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠on LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠X/Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Bluesky⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Mastodon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Cisco Live was last week and the opening keynote was dripping with AI. Cisco's product lineup for the rest of the year and into the future is going to embrace AI agents and information for networking operations and security as well. CEO Chuck Robbins and Chief Product Officer Jeetu Patel talked all about the integration of AI into their offerings. From dashboards to NVIDIA networking technology Cisco is pushing AI into the infrastructure. One of the big discussions was around AgenticOps, the Cisco term for agent-based network operations. They also discussed how they would help build the AI data centers for the future with pod-based architectures and more. Time Stamps: 0:00 - Cold Open0:27 - Welcome to the Tech Field Day News Rundown1:23 - Google Cloud Breaks the Internet5:48 - IonQ Acquires Oxford Ionics for $1.08 Billion10:27 - Synopsys & Plug and Play Democratize Chip Design Tools14:41 - Microsoft and CrowdStrike Unite to Simplify Threat Names19:01 - Cribl Copilot Automates Telemetry Normalization23:55 - Todd Nightingale Named COO at Arista28:19 - Cisco Bets it All On AI At Cisco Live39:56 - The Weeks Ahead40:46 - Thanks for Watching the Tech Field Day News RundownFollow our hosts ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Tom Hollingsworth⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Alastair Cooke⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Stephen Foskett⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Follow Tech Field Day ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠on LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠X/Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Bluesky⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Mastodon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

At Microsoft Build 2025, Microsoft focused on agentic AI, making it central to their developer strategy. CEO Satya Nadella introduced the “agentic web,” where AI takes a bigger role in software creation. Key updates included evolving GitHub Copilot into a programming partner, new features for managing AI agents, and giving them identities and security controls. Microsoft also backed open standards like Agent2Agent and MCP. The event highlighted how AI will reshape developer roles, adoption challenges, and productivity gains, while noting the shift is still early. Success depends on real-world use, openness, and developer trust.Time Stamps:0:00 - Cold Open0:40 - Welcome to the Tech Field Day News Rundown2:22 - Crunchy Data acquired by Snowflake5:27 - Broadcom Launches Ultra-Fast Chip for AI Data Centers9:46 - EU Group Urges Action on Broadcom’s VMware Licensing14:27 - IBM Adds New Data Platform Capabilities18:27 - Amazon Investing $20 Billion in Pennsylvania for Cloud and AI Infrastructure22:44 - IBM Plans 'Starling' Quantum Computers by 202927:51 - Microsoft Centers Agentic AI Strategy around Development Community at Microsoft Build 202537:49 - The Weeks Ahead39:31 - Thanks for Watching The Tech Field Day News RundownFollow our hosts ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Tom Hollingsworth⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Alastair Cooke⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Stephen Foskett⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Follow Tech Field Day ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠on LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠X/Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Bluesky⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Mastodon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

New global tariffs are making it more expensive and complicated for enterprises to manage their cloud services across regions. These changes are causing unpredictable costs and creating challenges for global cloud strategies. To stay ahead, companies need to improve visibility, automate processes, and tailor governance to each region.Time Stamps:0:00 - Welcome to the Tech Field Day News Rundown1:12 - AI Application Delivery: Same Old, Slightly Smarter4:29 - Is the Site Down? It's a Secret to Everyone7:43 - Is AI Inferencing the Edge’s Long-Awaited Killer App?10:21 - VMware Unregisters Lowest Partner Tier13:21 - Walmart’s Smart AI Agent Strategy Could Lead Enterprise Automation15:38 - RSA Encryption Closer to Quantum Breakthrough19:25 - Tariffs hit Enterprise Cloud26:34 - The Weeks Ahead28:10 - Thanks for Watching the Tech Field Day News RundownGuest Host: Brad Gregory, Principal and Cloud Networking Strategist, MCN StrategiesFollow our hosts ⁠⁠⁠⁠Tom Hollingsworth⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠Alastair Cooke⁠⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠⁠Stephen Foskett⁠⁠⁠⁠. Follow Tech Field Day ⁠⁠⁠⁠on LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠, on ⁠⁠⁠⁠X/Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠, on ⁠⁠⁠⁠Bluesky⁠⁠⁠⁠, and on ⁠⁠⁠⁠Mastodon⁠⁠⁠⁠.

OpenAI has announced its largest acquisition to date, agreeing to acquire io, an AI device startup founded by former Apple executive Jony Ive, in an all-equity deal worth approximately $6.5 billion. The acquisition includes OpenAI’s existing stake in io. As part of the merger, Jony Ive will assume significant creative and design responsibilities across both OpenAI and io. Despite the merger, Ive’s design firm, LoveFrom, will continue to operate independently.Time Stamps: 0:00 - Cold Open 0:40 - Welcome the Tech Field Day News Rundown1:39 - AT&T Acquires Century Link4:43 - VAST Data Reveals their AI Operating System8:51 - Salesforce to Acquire informatica for $8 Billion12:01 - Red Hat’s Linux Push for Smart Vehicles14:49 - Google's New Approach to AI Infrastructure19:01 - Datadog Broadens Its Observability Platform Vision22:16 - OpenAI Acquires io for $6.4 Billion27:16 - The Weeks Ahead28:25 - Thanks for Watching the Tech Field Day News RundownGuest Host: Kori Rongey, Founder of TotalPacketsFollow our hosts ⁠⁠⁠Tom Hollingsworth⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Alastair Cooke⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠Stephen Foskett⁠⁠⁠. Follow Tech Field Day ⁠⁠⁠on LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠, on ⁠⁠⁠X/Twitter⁠⁠⁠, on ⁠⁠⁠Bluesky⁠⁠⁠, and on ⁠⁠⁠Mastodon⁠⁠⁠.

The US government signed a new act into law that has opponents concerned about the ramifications of what it will be used to do. The Take It Down Act was proposed to allow for the rapid takedown of non-consensual intimate images, or NCII, from the Internet. The law requires social media platforms to remove identified content within 48 hours and people convicted of violating the law could face up to three years in prison. What's the catch? According ot the EFF and other freedom organizations, the law has been written so broadly as to let it apply to a broad range of content, including political speech. The law also could be used to pressure companies into weakening encryption and security to allow for easier detection of content being shared. This and more on the Tech Field Day News Rundown. Time Stamps: 0:00 - Welcome to the Tech Field Day News Rundown1:08 - ZT Systems Acquired by Sanmina4:15 - Arista Networks Rumored to Buy Velocloud from Broadcom9:19 - Microsoft open-sources Windows System for Linux12:35 - Palo Alto Networks and T-Mobile Team Up for SASE15:46 - Salesforce buys Convergence for more agentic AI18:48 - Charter to Buy Cox Communications for $21.9 Billion23:41 - HPE integrates Morpheus with Greenlake27:12 - US Signs Take It Down Act37:31 - The Weeks Ahead40:16 - Thanks for WatchingHosts: Tom Hollingsworth: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/networkingnerd/⁠Stephen Foskett: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/sfoskett/⁠Alastair Cooke: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/alastaircooke/⁠Follow Tech Field Day: Website: ⁠https://techfieldday.com/ ⁠LinkedIn:⁠ https://www.linkedin.com/company/tech-field-day/⁠X/Twitter: ⁠https://x.com/TechFieldDay ⁠Bluesky: ⁠https://bsky.app/profile/techfieldday.com

Last week saw the release of a big new report from the Futurum Group around cybersecurity. The research says that the market is going to grow by 11.6% per year for the rest of the decade. By then it should be worth almost $300 billion. Fernando Montenegro states that cybersecurity is a cornerstone of the boardroom and key part of the enterprise risk management strategy. Additionally there are some great suggestions about which areas of security need to be addressed by organizations in the coming years. This and more on the Tech Field Day News Rundown. Time Stamps: 0:00 - Cold Open0:37 - Welcome to the Tech Field News Rundown1:25 - Magic Kill Switch law for AI chips5:13 - Broadcom wants those patches back9:20 - Nutanix adds more NVIDIA to enterprise AI 12:50 - Cisco Unveils Quantum Networking Advances17:10 - Economic uncertainty is taking IT jobs20:47 - sudo Replace This Command24:58 - Futurum Group Foresees Cybersecurity Futures32:04 - Upcoming Tech Field Day Events33:08 - Thanks for WatchingHosts: Tom Hollingsworth: https://www.linkedin.com/in/networkingnerd/Stephen Foskett: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sfoskett/Alastair Cooke: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alastaircooke/Follow Tech Field Day: Website: https://techfieldday.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/tech-field-day/X/Twitter: https://x.com/TechFieldDay Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/techfieldday.com