Broadcasters have evolved to no longer depend on automotive ads for revenue, said several broadcast executives on company quarterly earnings calls last week. The executives also discussed ATSC 3.0 projections, their M&A outlook and the continued rise of sports betting. “Back in the day, when auto sneezed, broadcasters got a cold,” said Gray Television co-CEO Hilton Howell. That’s no longer the case, he said. “We’ve become less reliant on auto,” said Sinclair Chief Operating Officer Rob Weisbord. Auto ads are likely to rebound but will never be as central to broadcaster balance sheets, said Nexstar CEO Perry Sook.
Senate maneuvering on newly named Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson, FCC nominee Gigi Sohn and FTC nominee Alvaro Bedoya is expected to draw many telecom and tech policy stakeholders’ attention in the coming weeks. President Joe Biden nominated Jackson, a U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit judge, Friday to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer. Jackson has little record on communications law matters but has played a larger role on administrative tech-focused legal matters, legal experts said.
The alarm industry had outages after AT&T started shutting down its 3G network Tuesday, Connect America Chief Operating Officer John Brady told us Wednesday, speaking on behalf of the Alarm Industry Communications Committee (AICC). As expected, the FCC didn’t order a delay (see 2202180067). “Clearly the sunset has begun,” Brady said: “We have not been told by AT&T or given any of their plans yet, which is totally unfortunate.” The FCC and some members of Congress, including Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., are pressing the AT&T to provide more information, he said. AT&T and Schumer’s office didn’t comment.
The House and Senate should take "immediate action" to reconcile their China competition bills and authorize funding for the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors Act and other domestic semiconductor sector investments by sending the combined legislation to President Joe Biden, more than 20 tech, automotive and business groups wrote congressional leadership Wednesday. The Business Roundtable signed the letter, as did CTIA, the Information Technology Industry Council, the Semiconductor Industry Association, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and others. A prolonged negotiation on a compromise bill “risks placing our country further behind in the competition for economic growth, supply chain resilience, technology leadership, and strengthened national security,” said the groups. “We urge immediate action to commence negotiations and work towards a final compromise bill that can swiftly pass both chambers and send this vital legislation to the president’s desk.” House Democrats should allow an official score from the Congressional Budget Office on the chips legislation before it advances further, House Budget Committee ranking member Jason Smith, R-Mo., and House Science Committee ranking member Frank Lucas, R-Okla., wrote Wednesday. House Democrats have passed more than $7.5 trillion of new spending since President Joe Biden took office, they wrote. “It’s irresponsible to proceed without knowing the true costs of this legislation,” said Lucas.
Chris Laughlin, ex-Kelley Drye, says he joined the FCC as attorney adviser-Wireline Bureau Competition Division … Morgan Lewis announces David Plotinsky, ex-DOJ, as partner focusing on “trade, information communications technology and services, and critical and emerging technology” … Vizio promotes Platform+ business head Michael O’Donnell to chief revenue/strategic growth officer (see 2202150002).
Carriers worldwide will have to change their focus as 5G evolves, putting more reliance on partnerships with other companies, speakers said during the virtual 5G Monetization Forum Tuesday. Other speakers warned chip shortages could slow deployment of 5G.
Utilities Technology Council hires Teesa Banks, joining from a mental health services organization, as chief of staff; government IT consultant Menen Fantay as vice president-operations, rejoining UTC; PR professional Peter Wilson as communications director; and FCC licensing professional Dana Daberko as frequency coordinator; it promotes Christopher Brent to manager-membership and meetings.
GlobalFoundries estimates the current “shortfall” in semiconductor industry supply is in the mid- to high-single digits, based on industry-wide capacity of about 15 million wafers a year, said CEO Tom Caulfield on a Q4 earnings call Tuesday. GF completed its initial public offering in early November (see 2111020003). Industry supply capacity is projected to grow about 4% globally in the next five years, based on “announced fab expansions,” including fabs being tooled or those under construction, said Caulfield. Excluding China-based foundries, the five-year growth projection drops to 2.5%, he said.
Public Knowledge urged the FCC to consider delaying AT&T’s Feb. 22 3G shutdown because alarm companies faced delays replacing equipment due to the COVID-19 pandemic and chip shortages that were beyond anyone's control (see 2202030042), in a call with an aide to Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. The FCC should be prepared to issue an order halting the sunset, unless “AT&T can demonstrate either: (a) that it has made arrangements with the alarm industry to prevent disruption of critical services identified in the record, such as home medical alert systems, DUI monitoring systems, home confinement alarms, and other systems necessary to protect life and safety; or, (b) AT&T is capable of immediately restoring service in the event of a significant disruption to these systems critical to protecting safety of life and property,” said a filing posted Tuesday in docket 21-304. Unlike flight safety concerns that led to the C-band delay “here, the alarm industry has been delayed by circumstances genuinely beyond their control,” PK said. PK Senior Vice President Harold Feld emailed that he’s not sure whether the FCC will act. “It is clear the Republican offices do not feel the need to act, which makes it more difficult for the Chair in a 2-2 Commission,” he said. A delay would “force us to devote scarce spectrum resources to support relatively few, obsolete 3G-only devices rather than repurposing the spectrum to enhance 5G capacity,” an AT&T spokesperson emailed: “Forcing a delay would needlessly waste valuable spectrum resources and degrade network performance for millions of our customers.”
The proposed EU Chips Act will boost European digital sovereignty and technological leadership, the European Commission said Tuesday. It announced several measures to ensure a secure, resilient supply of semiconductors for the digital and green transition. Chip shortages forced factory closures in many sectors, and made "more evident the extreme global dependency of the semiconductor value chain on a very limited number of actors in a complex geopolitical context," it said. The legislation will make more than 43 billion euros ($49 billion) in public and private investment available and create mechanisms to prevent, anticipate and respond quickly to future supply chain disruptions. The EU wants to double its market share of chips to 20% in 2030. The Chips for Europe Initiative will pool resources from EU members, the EU, third countries and the private sector to boost research, development and deployment of advanced semiconductor tools. A new framework will ensure supply security and more funding for startups. Under a "coordination mechanism," governments and the EC will monitor the supply of semiconductors to estimate demand and anticipate shortages, and keep track of the value chain to chart weakness and bottlenecks. The EC proposed allowing that coordination between member countries and the EC to start immediately. European Parliament Internal Market Committee Chair Anna Cavazzini, of the Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance and Germany, welcomed the legislation but said it "falls short in addressing the need for circular economy by design, the reuse of chips and its raw materials" to meet the EU Green Deal's goals with diverse and short supply chains. The proposals need parliament and the EU Council approval.