Amazon Prime Air explores drone radar systems
[caption id="attachment_4119522" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Amazon Prime Air VP David Carbon speaks at a company event in Sumner, Washington on Oct. 18, 2023. (Photo: Jason Redmond/AFP/Getty Images)[/caption]
More than a decade after Jeff Bezos first teased drone package delivery as a not-so-far-off reality, Amazon filed an application with the FCC to gain two-year access to a radar frequency band not currently used by drone operators.
Amazon Prime Air, the application reads, “is interested in testing the performance of radars operating the 9.3-9.5 GHz band to monitor the air traffic around Amazon facilities and drone operating areas.”
The U.S. Coast Guard, NASA, and other federal agencies utilize this frequency band for uses such as identifying distressed vessels, weather-tracking radar systems, and avian detection.
Amazon spokesperson Av Zammit told Fortune that the locations identified in the application—one in Seattle, and another in Pendleton, Oregon—don’t refer to places where Amazon has plans to soon begin drone delivery operations for customers.
Amazon began same-day drone deliveries in the US in 2022, starting in College Station, Texas, before expanding to the Phoenix, Arizona metro area in 2024. Items five pounds or less can be delivered by drone to eligible homes in these areas. Walmart also makes drone deliveries in some US markets like Dallas-Forth Worth in partnership with drone companies Wing, Zipline, and DroneUp. —Jason Del Rey
Fearing Trump visa crackdown, immigrant tech workers cancel overseas trips
Several companies, including Amazon, have warned foreign workers to return from any international travel before Trump takes his oath of office, Fortune has learned.
For some workers, that means delaying or cancelling vacations and trips to see family overseas, leaving many anxious and uncertain about their futures.
One tech employee showed Fortune a memo sent last month to one of his friends who also works in tech. The memo “highly recommended” that employees who have international travel planned return to the U.S. before the new U.S. government’s administration takes office, “out of an abundance of caution” except for urgent situations or emergencies related to health or business matters.
Other workers shared similar communications from their employers with Fortune.
Shortly after taking office in his first term, Trump issued an executive order blocking the immigration of people born in seven predominantly Muslim countries. The decision created immediate chaos at airports and led to visas for up to 60,000 people being provisionally revoked.
This time around, immigration is again in Trump’s crosshairs. One of the temporary worker visa programs, the H-1B, designed for skilled workers, came under fire in recent weeks as Trump supporters debated whether tech companies exploit the program to prioritize lower-paid foreign employees over hiring Americans.
Although Trump recently voiced support for such programs, he has also promised mass deportations. Well aware of Trump’s unpredictability, many companies are deciding to play it safe. —Sharon Goldman
So, about that TikTok-Elon Musk story
TikTok yesterday derided a Bloomberg report that said it could be sold to Elon Musk, as “pure fiction”. Now there’s a Financial Times report that offers quite a different read on the situation.
The piece says Beijing is considering using the multi-mogul as a “broker” in its last-minute dash to prevent being banned in the U.S. In other words, they’re hoping Musk can persuade incoming President Donald Trump not to implement the divest-TikTok-or-we’ll-ban-it law that passed last year, giving Chinese owner ByteDance quite the dilemma.
The Chinese Communist Party does not want the country to lose its global social-media hit. Trump once floated a TikTok ban before it was cool, but is these days more likely to argue against it, so he may be amenable.
Meanwhile, it seems many U.S. TikTok users believe the ban is coming on Jan. 19th and, in a somewhat bizarre twist, are decamping to the Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu, also known as RedNote.
As Fast Company reports, it’s a Pinterest-meets-Instagram-and-TikTok platform with social-shopping features. Maybe U.S. Big Tech really is now losing its influence on the kids. —David Meyer
More data
—A new Biden executive order on AI directs departments to lease land to companies building “frontier AI infrastructure.”
—Intel Capital to split off from parent. A standalone fund with a new name in H2 2025.
—Meta cuts 5% of staff, or about 3,600 people, to “move out lower performers faster.”
—SEC sues Elon Musk…again. He allegedly failed to disclose his growing stake in Twitter in 2022.
—Blue Origin is back at it. The Bezos-owned space outfit could launch its New Glenn rocket as early as Thursday.
—Amazon CEO Andy Jassy has a new shadow advisor. And no, it’s not AI.
—Microsoft initiates hiring freeze in U.S. consulting operation in a bid to cut costs.
—DJI removes geofence around U.S. “No Fly Zones.” A warning will replace it.
—Can Malaysia maintain its optimism with Trump 2.0? Defending global trade amid tariff threats.
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