War on the Rocks – The global telecommunications network is increasingly owned and maintained by entities that can be manipulated against the United States. And America and its allies have dropped their deserved lead as innovators in this industry. For the United States, regaining a technological and strategic lead in telecommunications is an urgent necessity for national security. That’s what I will try to convince you of here: The United States used to dominate in this sector. It does not anymore. It is critical that American industry focuses on the next deep horizon, specifically in optimization, private networks, and free space optics, with a lot of help from the U.S. Department of Defense. It’s also a great opportunity for investment. Both public and private sector players can work now to meet this challenge and should, before it’s too late to re-establish dominance.