Companies can be hard to read, so I’m not clear on exactly what spurred AT&T Inc. (T) to bring 5,000 outsourced high-tech jobs back to the U.S. But whether this is simply a PR move, something AT&T expects to otherwise meet its interests, or an act of goodwill and patriotism, this seems to be a move in the right direction.

Clearly, the U.S. needs more jobs now, whether that means creating new positions or bringing home existing ones. And perhaps this move by AT&T could be a sign of things to come. I sure hope so.

As I recently reported, outsourcing tech work abroad is taking a hit despite the savings it can promise companies during this time of economic tumult. Outsourcing deals of this type were at their lowest in six years during the third quarter of 2008. That’s attributed largely to companies’ general uncertainty and caution due to the economy.

CIMI Corp. analyst Tom Nolle recently told me we could see a general move away from offshoring by U.S. companies.

“The backlash against the support that’s provided by offshore call centers has been so radical and so horrible that a lot of companies are saying ‘we cannot afford, at a time that consumer spending and business spending is constrained, to piss everybody off. So we’re going to have to figure out a way to do this in house,’” said Nolle. “And I think they think the labor market is going to be more open, and they’ll have more opportunities to do that here. So I think that in the call center area you’re definitely going to see more activity to do more on-shore call centers in the U.S., be they run in house or by a service provider.”

If this is indeed a trend, I hope it also extends to U.S. companies hiring folks here rather than relying so much on individuals with H-1B visas.

If companies are proactive in making such moves, perhaps the government won’t feel the need to make such moves for them.

It’s really not funny, I know, but when I read the headline, “Nortel Refines Focus of Carrier Business” on the press release, I had to laugh. Hey, I’m taking entertainment where I can get (and afford) it these days.

But the PR folks are obviously doing their jobs of putting a good face on things over at Nortel, so I have to give them that.

Anyway, what this headline was getting to is the fact that

Nortel (NT) is pulling out of the mobile WiMAX business and, therefore, curtailing its strategic agreement around WiMAX with Alvarion (ALVR).

The long-suffering Nortel, which recently filed for Chapter 11, did this so it could focus its resources on existing customers, it said. Alvarion says it’s disappointed, but still in OK shape; we’ll hear more during their Feb. 4 financial call.

The House of Representatives this week killed the bill to delay the transition to digital TV. The debate on this in Washington isn’t over, but it’s a good first step.

Despite a lengthy and costly campaign to inform citizens about the DTV transition, neither the government nor the citizenship is completely ready for it. But it’s rare that everyone involved in a change of this size is ready, so at some point you just need to more forward.

While that might create some challenges, it will also bring more certainty both to the transition itself and those companies planning on using the White Space opened up for new broadband wireless services.

There’s so much uncertainty right now, so rather than mess with the Feb. 17 DTV transition date, regulators should leave it as is so folks at least have some idea of what to expect on that front.