- Nathan Simington left the FCC last summer and has now taken a job at Ericsson Federal
- He spoke with Fierce about Ericsson possibly working with the U.S. government to stabilize the telecom network in Venezuela
- He also shared some thoughts about the situation in Greenland
Former Republican FCC Commissioner Nathan Simington left the FCC in June 2025, and now finds himself fielding questions related to telecommunication networks and regulation in the U.S., Venezuela, China, Sweden and even Greenland.
Simington recently became the director of policy and strategy for Ericsson Federal Technologies business. This week, he talked with Fierce Network about the telecommunications situation in Venezuela. From there, the conversation flowed to include other countries around the world in today's volatile political landscape.
Simington said Ericsson Federal Technologies is set up to work with the U.S. government directly. The business group looks for ways that radio access network (RAN) equipment might be used by the U.S. government, whether it’s for manufacturing, national defense or communications security.
Fierce asked how a Swedish company can be central to U.S. government telecommunications, particularly at a time when supply chain security and domestic manufacturing are under intense scrutiny.
“That's an interesting point," Simington said. "Since Lucent got sold, there hasn't been a clear international leader in RAN manufacturing coming out of the United States. So, the real question is, what does it look like to work with the friends and allies of the United States to try and meet those needs?”
Venezuela's telecom infrastructure under scrutiny
One of the most immediate geopolitical flashpoints discussed was Venezuela, where the U.S. has recently inserted itself into the country’s governance. Simington said Ericsson is hopeful it could be enlisted to help stabilize Venezuela’s telecommunications infrastructure if the U.S. government moves forward with network modernization efforts.
Like many South American countries, Venezuela has relied heavily on telecom equipment from the Chinese companies Huawei and ZTE. The latter worked closely with the Venezuelan government to run programs such as the nation’s ID card system, which contains private information about citizens. Venezuela also contracted with ZTE to provide video surveillance of individuals and industrial corporations.
He questioned whether telecom equipment from China could “phone home” after surveilling communications in Venezuela. And this is especially concerning for the U.S. now that it has involved itself in the country.
“I think the takeaway here is that Chinese national law makes it very difficult for any China-based company to not have an element of civil-military fusion,” said Simington.
How Ericsson Federal could assist
How would Simington’s group at Ericsson help the U.S. government overhaul the telecommunications infrastructure?
He said, “There are innumerable ways in which telephone weaknesses can undermine the national interests or the business interests. So, there are a lot of directions for us to engage with the United States government.”
When asked if Ericsson is currently working with the U.S. government in Venezuela, he said, “I don't think anyone's working with the United States government yet. I mean, you know, it's been two weeks.”
But he said his group at Ericsson is working internally to determine priorities for telecommunications in Venezuela. He said the country’s telecom infrastructure is woefully outdated, having only installed 4G wireless since 2017. Ericsson is determining the top population centers and major industrial locations, which would be priorities if the U.S. government enlists it for help.
He added that the Huawei and ZTE equipment deployed in Venezuela currently is “antagonistic to American security needs and antagonistic to the fundamental interests of the Venezuelan people.”
Global politics and Greenland
Another sticky situation is that Ericsson is headquartered in Sweden, a Scandinavian country. Currently, the Trump administration is demanding that Denmark, another Scandinavian country, sell Greenland to the U.S. So, we asked Simington how Ericsson reconciles President Trump's tactics toward its neighbors with its desire to work with the U.S. government?
“I mean, there are always stories in the news,” said Simington. “But Ericsson is extremely pervasive throughout American markets. I think the security relationship between the United States and Europe is just growing stronger with the expansion of NATO. And at the end of the day, these are what we might call ‘family disagreements.’”
Still, Denmark has characterized the situation with Greenland as more serious than a "family disagreement." Denmark was a founding member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and its membership includes Greenland. The two most recent members of NATO are Sweden and Finland, and transatlantic relations face increasing strain amid global political volatility.