The nominee for ambassador at large-cyberspace and digital policy told Senate Foreign Relations Committee members Wednesday he intends to “try to expand” the number of nations signed on to the Declaration for the Future of the Internet that the U.S., EU and more than 60 other countries signed in April (see 2204280043). Nate Fick said during the committee hearing he supports deploying funding included in the Chips and Science Act (HR-4346) to develop secure 5G technology and believes the U.S. needs to promote open radio access networks and other technologies to ensure telecom infrastructure security. Fick, if confirmed, would also head the State Department’s new Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy (see 2206070047).
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) issued an executive directive telling her state's departments and agencies to take advantage of resources to be provided by the recently passed Chips and Science Act (see 2207280060). Tuesday’s directive said state bodies should designate a person to facilitate interdepartmental coordination and outreach with the private sector, higher education and others, and to do workforce development geared toward the semiconductor industry. “The ongoing chip crisis is having a stark impact on Michigan,” said Whitmer. “We need to move fast.”
Intel was “thrilled to see the bipartisan vote in the Congress” to pass the chips package (see 2207280060), said CEO Pat Gelsinger on a Q2 earnings call Thursday. “We have been integrally involved in moving this groundbreaking legislation forward. This progress, combined with the strong momentum in Europe, will reshape our industry and bring us toward a geographically balanced, resilient supply chain that we are uniquely positioned to enable and benefit from.” Gelsinger personally had lobbied heavily for the chips package, threatening at one point to delay Intel’s $20 billion investment to build two semiconductor fabs in Ohio if Congress failed to pass the legislation before leaving for the August recess. "Literally since World War II, there might not have been a more important piece of industrial policy that’s came forward through Congress," said Gelsinger of the chips package. "This is great for the semiconductor industry," he said. "We see this as an accelerant to our strategy and something that will give us the capacity" to meet Intel's product needs, plus the needs of its foundry customers, he said. "This is powerful and something that we are thrilled to have come across the line just today."
Industry officials welcomed FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel’s announcement that the commission is considering a notice of inquiry proposing to update the national broadband standard from 25/3 Mbps to 100/20 Mbps (see 2207150065). Some said the proposed increase may show an even greater number of unserved or underserved households throughout the country.
The FCC’s final scheduled 5G auction, of 2.5 GHz spectrum, opened Friday at $103.5 million after one round of bidding. Two more rounds are scheduled for Monday. Industry analysts tell us T-Mobile looks likely to dominate, filling in gaps in its 2.5 GHz holdings, with some smaller carriers likely to jump in if they see the opportunity for a bargain. Verizon, AT&T and Dish Network qualified to bid but appear unlikely to make much of a play, analysts said. T-Mobile already has 159 MHz of 2.5 GHz spectrum nationwide.
Global semiconductor revenue growth is expected to slow to 7.4% in 2022, down from 2021's actual growth of 26.3%, and lower than the 13.6% growth in 2022 that Gartner had projected in previous forecasts, reported the research company Wednesday. Though the chip shortages are abating, the global semiconductor market “is entering a period of weakness, which will persist through 2023 when semiconductor revenue is projected to decline 2.5%,” said Gartner Vice President Richard Gordon. “We are already seeing weakness in semiconductor end markets, especially those exposed to consumer spending. Rising inflation, taxes and interest rates, together with higher energy and fuel costs, are putting pressure on consumer disposable income. This is affecting spending on electronic products such as PCs and smartphones.” Gartner reduced its 2022 semiconductor revenue forecast by $36.7 billion from its previous outlook, to $639.2 billion, as economic conditions are expected to worsen through the year. “Memory demand and pricing have softened, especially in consumer-related areas like PCs and smartphones,” said Gartner.
Democratic leaders on the House and Senate Commerce committees aren’t fully discounting the possibility the panels could devote some time to evaluating the newly filed Net Neutrality and Broadband Justice Act during the remaining months of this Congress, but some acknowledge any serious consideration of the measure will likely have to wait until 2023 at the earliest. Democratic leaders bristled at some Republicans’ view that lawmakers unveiled the measure as a reaction to FCC nominee Gigi Sohn’s stalled Senate confirmation process (see 2206230066).
The House passed chips legislation Thursday in a 243-187-1 vote, sending the long-awaited science and technology package to President Joe Biden’s desk (see 2207270061). Twenty-four Republicans voted in favor, and zero Democrats voted against.
FCC appoints Allen Hill, from the General Services Administration’s Federal Acquisition Service, chief information officer … Minnesota Office of Broadband Development hires Hannah Buckland, from the Minnesota Department of Education, to lead state’s digital equity efforts.
Senate backers of the Chips and Science Act package of U.S. semiconductor incentives and tech competitiveness initiatives and House leaders voiced strong optimism Wednesday that the measure will make it through Congress before the lower chamber recesses Friday for the six-week August break.