Reps. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., and Greg Pence, R-Ind., filed a House companion to the Senate's Securing Semiconductor Supply Chains Act (S-3309) Tuesday. The measure, which Senate Commerce advanced in December (see 2112150069), would direct the Commerce Department’s SelectUSA program to work with state-level economic development organizations to develop strategies to attract investment in U.S. semiconductor manufacturers and supply chains. “Disruptions in the semiconductor supply chain have impacted nearly every aspect of our economy and the daily lives of Americans,” Eshoo said. “Our Country has had to learn the hard way that relying on foreign supply chains jeopardizes our economic and national security,” Pence said. “There are other nations who know this, wanting to outpace our economy and chip away at our hold as a global superpower, and take advantage of this fact. America cannot be caught off-guard again, and this legislation would address that shortcoming.”
The House plans to consider two telecom supply chain bills as soon as Wednesday under suspension of the rules: the Transatlantic Telecommunications Security Act (HR-3344) and Protecting Semiconductor Supply Chain Materials from Authoritarians Act (HR-7372). HR-3344 and Senate companion S-2876 would help Central and Eastern European countries build 5G networks using equipment not made by Chinese manufacturer Huawei, including by authorizing U.S. International Development Finance Corporation financing for infrastructure development. HR-7372 would create a working group for reporting on the semiconductor supply chain disruptions caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The group would develop strategies for bolstering supplies of semiconductor materials and monitor potential threats to supply chains.
Global revenue in the semiconductor devices market will likely reach $620 billion by the end of 2022, up 11.5% from 2021, reported Frost & Sullivan Monday. Several drivers will accelerate growth in “all verticals,” including the increased deployment of 5G, rising adoption of 5G smartphones, increasing electronics content in automotive, migration to electric vehicles and the proliferation of IoT devices in smart homes, it said. Growth will be “especially strong” in the automotive sector, said analyst Prabhu Karunakaran.
The Treasury Department is now accepting states’ grant and program plans for its $10 billion Capital Projects Fund, said Joseph Wender, the program’s director, during an Incompas webinar Wednesday (see 2203310037). “We are officially open for business,” Wender said, adding his office is in the process of approving funding applications and expects initial awards to be announced “in months.”
FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr names Wireline Bureau’s Michael Nemcik his acting legal adviser, filling in for Danielle Thumann while’s she on maternity leave … Liberty Latin America taps Aamir Hussain from Verizon Business as chief technology and product officer ... Salem Media Group promotes David Bingham to vice president-operations and business development, Salem Web Network ... Semiconductor solutions company Tessolve hires former Intel executive Huzefa Cutlerywala as senior vice president-worldwide sales and marketing and Madhav Rao, ex-HCL Technologies, as senior vice president-very large-scale integration design.
Supply chain disruption will likely speed the transition to new Wi-Fi technologies, panelists said on Parks Associates’ Thursday virtual Connections event. Legacy chips are based on older wafer technology that’s “impossible to use” during the current wafer crisis,” said Oz Yildirim, Airties general manager, so the transition to Wi-Fi 6, 6e and 7 “will just go faster.” At RF semiconductor company Qorvo, Wi-Fi 6 and 6e technology are well over 80% of shipments, said Marketing Director Tony Testa.
Smaller carriers have to navigate an increasingly complex landscape, as private networks emerge and open radio access network technologies become part of the mix, industry executives said at the Competitive Carriers Association conference, streamed from Tampa Wednesday. Questions remain about what 5G will look like in rural markets, they said.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., on Thursday named Democratic members to the China package conference (see 2204060074). Schumer named 13, including Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell of Washington; Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Mark Warner of Virginia; Senate Homeland Security Committee Chairman Gary Peters of Michigan; Senate Banking Committee Chairman Sherrod Brown of Ohio; and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden of Oregon. Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., announced his selection to the conference committee. Pelosi Democratic members from 15 committees as conferees for Congress’ China package House Commerce Committee conferees are Chairman Frank Pallone of New Jersey; Anna Eshoo of California; Jan Schakowsky of Illinois; Doris Matsui of California; Paul Tonko of New York; Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware; and Darren Soto of Florida. Judiciary Committee members are Chairman Jerry Nadler of New York and Mary Gay Scanlon of Pennsylvania. House Financial Services Chair Maxine Waters of California and House Science Committee Chair Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas were included. Suzan DelBene of Washington made the list as a member of the Ways and Means Committee. Homeland Security Committee members are Dina Titus of Nevada and Val Demings of Florida. House Commerce Committee ranking member Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., announced Republican members from her panel: Larry Bucshon of Indiana; Buddy Carter of Georgia; Jeff Duncan of South Carolina; and Dan Crenshaw of Texas. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said in a Thursday statement she looks forward to “working with these lawmakers and their soon-to-be-named Senate counterparts to better secure our supply chains, create good-paying jobs across the country, invest in scientific innovation and revitalize American semiconductor manufacturing.” TechNet continued its call for Congress to remove the Stopping Harmful Offers on Platforms by Screening Against Fakes in E-commerce (Shop Safe) Act (see 2203080027) from the package.
The door is open for Congress to name conferees to negotiate its China package, after both chambers cleared procedural hurdles last week (see 2203230065). Senators expressed optimism Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., would achieve his goal of naming conferees to a formal negotiation before the end of the work period Friday. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., criticized the lack of return on provisions that would send billions to Intel, the largest American semiconductor manufacturer.
The global semiconductor supply chain is “experiencing pressure” due to the impact of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, said Micron Technology CEO Sanjay Mehrotra on an earnings call Tuesday for its fiscal Q2 ended March 3. “The region is an important source for the global supply of noble gases and other critical minerals that are used in semiconductor manufacturing.” Micron's fiscal Q2 mobile revenue grew 4% year over year to $1.9 billion as the 5G transition continues in smartphones, said Mehrotra. “We see some weakness in the China market as the local economy slows, smartphone market share shifts and some customers take a more prudent approach to inventory management,” he said. Demand for Micron’s mobile memory and storage solutions “continues to be supported by content-hungry applications and the ongoing transition from 4G to 5G, which is driving 50% higher DRAM content and the doubling of NAND content,” he said. Micron expects 700 million 5G smartphones will be shipped in calendar 2022, which would be a 40% increase from 2021, he said.