Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., will meet with ranking member Roger Wicker, R-Miss., Monday afternoon for renewed privacy negotiations, a committee member told us last week.
NTIA released notices of funding opportunity Friday for applicants interested in its broadband, equity, access and deployment, middle-mile grant, and state digital equity planning grant programs funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The agency cited “end-to-end fiber-optic architecture” as priority broadband projects and encouraged states to give the greatest consideration to subgrantees committed to providing 1 Gbps services at an affordable rate as part of the BEAD program.
Google withdrew its UHD Alliance membership, as did human interface components supplier Synaptics and Chinese semiconductor maker Beijing Eswin Computing Technology, the association told DOJ and the FTC in simultaneous “written notifications” March 21, says a notice for Friday’s Federal Register. UHDA membership "remains open," and the association "intends to file additional written notifications disclosing all changes," said Suzanne Morris, chief-premerger and division statistics in DOJ’s Antitrust Division. The notifications are required to extend UHDA members antitrust protections under the 1993 National Cooperative Research and Production Act, said Morris.
Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo’s Wednesday testimony to the Senate Appropriations Commerce Subcommittee that the FCC will “possibly” have its revised broadband coverage data map ready in November (see 2205110073) “is correct,” an FCC spokesperson emailed us. “We’ve been working together closely on these efforts.” Raimondo emphasized on Thursday the coming maps’ importance to NTIA’s plans for disbursing its $48 billion in broadband money from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. She spoke during a House Appropriations Commerce Subcommittee hearing on the Commerce Department’s FY 2023 budget request.
The FCC is “forecasting” it will have its revised broadband coverage data maps “possibly” in November, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said during a Wednesday Senate Appropriations Commerce Subcommittee hearing. Raimondo urged swift conference committee action to marry elements of the House-passed America Creating Opportunities for Manufacturing, Pre-Eminence in Technology and Economic Strength Act (HR-4521) and Senate-passed U.S. Innovation and Competition Act (S-1260). She also touted her role in drumming up international support for U.S.-backed ITU secretary-general candidate Doreen Bogdan-Martin.
Wireless telecom “has escaped the worst effects” of the global semiconductor shortage, and chips for cellular infrastructure equipment “will continue to dodge significant shortages going forward,” reported Strategy Analytics Monday. SA expects availability of chips for Wi-Fi access points and smartphones “will continue to improve through next year,” it said. “Tight supplies of semiconductors will gradually ease through the remainder of 2022 into 2023 as new foundry capacity comes online,” said SA analyst Christopher Taylor. China increased its production of semiconductors by more than 17% in 2021, “and production expansion in China will accelerate this year, helping to ease the global shortage,” said Taylor. Semiconductor investments in the U.S., EU, South. Korea, India and other countries “have also started to bear fruit, with the most significant capacity expansions due to start in 2023,” he said.
Reps. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., and Blake Moore, R-Utah, filed the Supporting American Printed Circuit Boards Act Friday in a bid to encourage U.S. printed circuit board manufacturing alongside current efforts to bolster the domestic semiconductor industry. Congressional conferees are working to marry elements of the House-passed America Creating Opportunities for Manufacturing, Pre-Eminence in Technology and Economic Strength Act (HR-4521) and Senate-passed U.S. Innovation and Competition Act (S-1260), which both include $52 billion in chip incentives (see 2205050025). The Supporting American Printed Circuit Boards Act would create a $3 billion Commerce Department-administered financial assistance program modeled after that in the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors for America Act for U.S.-based facilities making or researching PCBs. The measure would also provide a 25% tax credit for the purchase or acquisition of U.S.-made PCBs. PCBs “are a critical part of that supply chain and are at risk of tampering vulnerabilities related to offshore production, yet the U.S. global production share of PCBs is only approximately four percent, compared to China’s 52 percent,” Eshoo said. “If we want to ensure technological superiority across the global stage and strengthen national security, we need to bring PCB production back to America, which is exactly what my bipartisan bill does.”
Intelsat hires Anthony O’Brien, ex-Raytheon, as chief financial officer, reassigns Chief Services Officer Michael DeMarco as chief commercial officer, taps Clay McConnell from Delta Air Lines as senior vice president-corporate communications and marketing, and adds Jeff Sare from Panasonic Avionics as president-Commercial Aviation division ... Smith Micro taps Von Cameron from Practics Business Solutions as chief revenue officer ... Cloud network provider Fastly announces Joshua Bixby will step down as CEO and from the board when a successor is appointed.
The Senate voted 78-17 Wednesday to reject a proposal from Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., to eliminate $10 billion for NASA’s lunar exploration program, Artemis, from Congress’ China package (see 2204010045). The Senate did a series of votes on nonbinding motions to instruct conferees as the two chambers move to conference on the China package. Sanders is seeking to cut funding that might go to Blue Origin, the space company owned by Jeff Bezos (see 2203290018). The Senate cleared by voice vote two motions -- from Sens. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., and Mark Kelly, D-Ariz. -- aimed at maintaining language to strengthen U.S. semiconductor manufacturing. HR-4521 and S-1260 both include $52 billion in subsidies to encourage U.S.-based semiconductor manufacturing (see 2201260062). The chamber also approved by voice language from Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., seeking inclusion of a provision directing the White House Office of Management and Budget to "develop guidance for executive agencies requiring adequate security measures for any transfer, storage or use of digital yuan," China's currency, "on information technology."
The Senate was still voting Wednesday afternoon on 28 motions to instruct a conference committee charged with marrying elements of the House-passed America Creating Opportunities for Manufacturing, Pre-Eminence in Technology and Economic Strength Act (HR-4521) and Senate-passed U.S. Innovation and Competition Act (S-1260), including two aimed at maintaining language aimed at strengthening U.S. semiconductor manufacturing. HR-4521 and S-1260 both include $52 billion in subsidies to encourage U.S.-based semiconductor manufacturing (see 2201260062). The Senate approved by voice vote a motion from Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., to instruct conferees to "insist" a final measure bar federal funds from being "used for gain-of-function research conducted in China." Other motions up for votes later Wednesday included one from Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., to insist the final bill "include incentives to support investments" in U.S. semiconductor manufacturing, including "investments in the fabrication, assembly, testing, advanced packaging" and R&D of chips. A motion from Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., aims for the bill to "strengthen" supply chain resilience and security, including provisions that "reinvigorate" U.S. semiconductor manufacturing. Language from Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., seeks inclusion of a provision directing the White House Office of Management and Budget to "develop guidance for executive agencies requiring adequate security measures for any transfer, storage or use of digital yuan," China's currency, "on information technology."