“Ongoing discussions” about Foxconn plans for new manufacturing capacity in Wisconsin (see 1806280053) reflect the company's “continued commitment to the state," said Mark Hogan, CEO of Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. (WEDC). "Foxconn will not qualify for tax credits until, at the earliest, 2020, and then only if the company meets its annual job creation and capital investment requirements.” WEDC's contract specified the company would earn maximum cash incentives only if it hired 13,000 employees averaging more than $53,000 in annual salary. Executives say high costs of manufacturing U.S. advanced large screens could force it to scale back any $10 billion plant there or abandon it. The company didn't comment. Landing the factory was the brainchild of then-Gov. Scott Walker (R), who lost his bid for a third term in November. President Donald Trump at a July 2017 ceremony said the project, under his watch, would mean the return of electronics manufacturing jobs. Display Supply Chain Consultants “heard from equipment companies over the past couple of months to remove this project from our fab schedules,” emailed CEO Ross Young Tuesday of the curtailment.
The Blackfeet Tribe, Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana, Fort Belknap Indian Community, Rosebud Sioux Tribe, Ute Mountain Ute Tribe and United South and Eastern Tribes asked for separate time during oral argument in the tribal challenge to the FCC’s March wireless infrastructure order, in United Keetoowah Band v. FCC, No. 18-1129. “Blackfeet Petitioners request a modest, separate allocation for oral argument on similar grounds upon which they requested and received their separate briefing allocation, which they have used to advance unique arguments to the Court,” the tribes said in a Tuesday filing (in Pacer). The FCC said in a Wednesday filing (in Pacer) it takes no position on the request.
More Super Bowl tech ads were teased this week, reported AdAge, with T-Mobile CEO John Legere tweeting Monday the carrier is “back in the Super Bowl.” A two-second clip shows four football emojis pop up on screen. For Pringles, the star is a generic smart speaker with an Alexa-esque voice, indicating how quickly the chatty devices have become culturally ingrained. A character stacks different flavors of Pringles and his friend wonders aloud how many Pringles taste combinations exist. “Alexa” answers "318,000" and says: “Sadly, I’ll never know the joy of tasting any, for I have no hands to stack with, no mouth to taste with, no soul to feel with. I am at the mercy of a cruel and uncaring,” says the speaker before the taster instructs the device to switch gears and play "Funkytown."
Samsung Electronics North America CEO Tim Baxter will retire June 1, the company confirmed Tuesday. In a statement, a Samsung spokesperson emailed that YH Eom, "who co-led alongside Tim for the past two years, will be taking full leadership of the organization." The company has a "strong management team in place through the region and we will continue to grow our business," the spokesperson said. "Tim is an exceptional business leader who has helped define Samsung as an innovator in the consumer electronics industry. We wish him all the best and thank him for his many contributions to Samsung." Baxter was promoted to CEO in July 2017 (see 1707110023).
FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr touted the FCC's ongoing work to speed deployment of 5G technology, at the State of the Net conference Tuesday. The FCC's first 5G auction recently concluded, but President Donald Trump's administration has faced criticism for its approach to 5G (see 1901250043). Carr cited a need to ensure online values the U.S. prioritizes, including “free speech,” “the rule of law” and “IP protections.” He said he's concerned about China's bid to influence 5G development, noting the DOJ's 13-count indictment against Huawei and Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou on bank fraud, obstruction of justice and other allegations (see 1901280052).
Huawei Technologies fired back at the Telecommunications Industry Association for arguing the National Defense Authorization Act means the FCC can bar use of USF money to buy from companies that “pose a national security threat” to U.S. communications networks or its supply chain (see 1812100045). TIA’s views are “far afield of the actual provisions of law relevant to the Commission’s proceeding,” Huawei said in docket 18-89. TIA “repeatedly conflates distinct provisions of the NDAA; for example, by arguing that ‘Section 889 applies to the USF programs’ without distinguishing between different paragraphs within that section that contain different terms,” Huawei said: It “transparently tries to reframe the issue by characterizing any reading of the statute with which it disagrees as ‘creating a USF exception.’” TIA "stands by our comments and reply comments," a spokesperson said.
Silicon Labs released Bluetooth software with direction-finding down to less than a meter for its wireless IoT portfolio, it said Monday. It's for devices to determine direction of a Bluetooth signal with methods including angle-of-arrival and angle-of departure within 5 degrees.
Apple’s 37 percent U.S. market share in Q4 (vs. 62 percent for Android) fell 2 points from the year-ago quarter, “consistent with Apple’s own announcement of softer sales,” Consumer Intelligence Research Partners reported Monday. Apple peaked in December market share in 2014 (50 percent vs. 45 percent for Android) with the iPhone 6/6 Plus launch; the company typically has a higher share that quarter due to its fall phone launch, said analyst Josh Lowitz. Android (92 percent) and iOS (91 percent) reached their highest loyalty rates per date, measured as percent of activations with the same operating system. That continues a trend over several quarters “as customers have become comfortable with the features and consistency of their" OS, said analyst Mike Levin. “Learning a new operating system takes effort, so fewer and fewer customers have found the need to switch.” He noted quality and reliability of new phones also contribute to longer upgrade cycles. CIRP surveyed 500 U.S. subjects who activated a new or used phone October-December.
New Street Research is watching closely the aftereffects of the first U.S. high-band auction, of 28 GHz spectrum, which ended last week (see 1901250043). “We’ve had a fairly bearish view on the value of mmWave [millimeter-wave] due to the unfavorable economics,” it wrote investors Monday. “This has been supported by anemic investment in the mmWave to date.” The 28 GHz auction “was a highly imperfect yardstick for value given several issues with the spectrum being auctioned, but it did not indicate a more positive view of mmWave emerging,” the firm said. “The 24GHz spectrum about to be auctioned isn’t a perfect yardstick either (it has some modest sharing requirements), but it is a better one than the 28GHz auction.” Verizon owned most of the 28 GHz spectrum, “and the licenses being auctioned only covered about one-fourth of the country, so the results were unlikely to be large in terms of dollars or important in terms of changing the competitive dynamic,” emailed Blair Levin, New Street analyst: “The 24GHz auction could prove far more interesting since it is greenfield for the carriers.”
Groups led by Public Knowledge asked the FCC to reconsider a 3-1 decision in December clarifying text messages are a lightly regulated Communications Act Title I service (see 1812120043). The order’s reasoning “is fallacious and fails to support its outcome,” the petition said. “Events since the order was issued confirm the need for the Commission to reconsider its action -- specifically, controversies concerning the privacy of customer location data and whether carriers will hinder the ability of schools and teachers to use third-party tools to stay in touch with students and parents.” The Benton Foundation, Common Cause, Consumer Federation of America, Greenlining Institute, National Digital Inclusion Alliance, Open Technology Institute and The Utility Reform Network were among signers, in docket 08-7. The FCC didn't comment.