The House should pass legislation funding bills for addressing the semiconductor shortage “as soon as possible,” Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., said Thursday. He responded to reports that General Motors “plans to halt production temporarily at nearly all North American plants due to the shortage” of chips. He urged passage of S-1260, the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act (see 2106080074), which would fund Warner’s Chips for America Act.
The House Armed Services Committee voted 57-2 Thursday to advance the FY 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (HR-4350) with an anti-Ligado amendment from Strategic Forces Subcommittee ranking member Mike Turner, R-Ohio. It directs DOD to brief the National Security Council on “potential harmful interference” to GPS posed by Ligado’s planned L-band operations. The amendment, part of an en bloc package, was the only one that targeted the company. House Armed Services cleared an en bloc package with an amendment from Rep. Elaine Luria, D-Va., that would authorize each secretary of a military department to establish a pilot program to evaluate the feasibility of deploying telecom infrastructure to expedite 5G on military installations. Rep. Trent Kelly, R-Miss., withdrew an amendment to expand semiconductor production incentives established in the FY 2021 NDAA. House Armed Services earlier approved other telecom and tech-related amendments (see 2109010083).
Aerospace Corp. hires Audrey Allison, former Boeing vice president-global spectrum management; she joins Center for Space Policy and Strategy as senior project leader ... Cable Center CEO-President Jana Nelson Henthorn retiring, effective year-end and remaining on the board as immediate past president ... Vivint Smart Home announces DLA Piper’s Daniel Garen as chief ethics and compliance officer.
The House Armed Services Committee approved by voice vote Wednesday telecom-focused amendments to the proposed FY 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (HR-4350), including one requiring DOD to ensure all component agencies use a “protective” domain name system. The committee hadn’t yet voted on advancing HR-4350. Other amendments would require the Pentagon to brief lawmakers on efforts to help allies secure national 5G networks and to back chip research. Armed Services set a deadline earlier than proposed for DOD to give congressional defense panels information on its plan for implementing the department’s October 2020 spectrum strategy and future iterations. DOD proposed using “dynamic and bidirectional sharing for facilitating access to commercial spectrum” (see 2010290061).
Industry backed an Alarm Industry Communications Committee request to delay AT&T's Feb. 22 3G data termination sunset, in comments posted Tuesday in FCC docket 21-304 (see 2108200021). AICC "clearly demonstrated the harmful impact" of the planned sunset, said the Alliance for Automotive Innovation. The auto industry "has been constrained in its ability to address or mitigate the impact of the 3G sunset," the group said, adding that it supported AICC's proposed Dec. 31, 2022, deadline. The Alcohol Monitoring Systems and AARP backed a 10-month extension. A "global semiconductor chip shortage" has affected the electronic monitoring industry's 4G transition, AMS said. AARP cited "clear linkages" between the COVID-19 pandemic and "the ability of AICC members to successfully complete the 3G transition." An "abrupt, premature, or disorganized shut-down of this key element of wireless connectivity threatens millions of people that rely on 3G," said Public Knowledge, Access Humboldt, the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society, Center for Rural Strategies and New America's Open Technology Institute. The FCC is "well-positioned to serve as an honest broker that can collect and protect information necessary to make an objective evaluation of the obstacles facing the transition," they said. AT&T disagreed, saying alarm companies are "fully capable of replacing 3G radios" used by customers. The chip shortage "has not kept the major alarm companies from ... winning and activating new customers," it said. A delay would "undercut AT&T’s 5G rollout and overall network performance," it said. AT&T will respond to others' comments in replies due Sept. 14, said a spokesperson.
Valens Semiconductor, originator of the HDBaseT high-speed connectivity standard for home theater and autonomous vehicles, said the SEC declared effective its registration statement to combine with special purpose acquisition company PTK and take itself public on the New York Stock Exchange. A special meeting of PTK's shareholders is Sept. 28 to ratify the $1.16 billion combination, which was first announced in May (see 2105250023). Valens still expects the transaction to close by fall, it said Monday.
Semiconductor company Marvell Technology “nearly tripled” its revenue from wireless carriers the past two years by “growing our overall market share” in 5G infrastructure, said CEO Matt Murphy on an earnings call Thursday for fiscal Q2 ended July 31. “We expect a sustained period of strong revenue growth from this end market driven by an increase in 5G deployments, which are still in the early stage of worldwide adoption.” Growth from 5G is expected to “significantly accelerate” in calendar Q4, he said. Marvell has substantially reduced its “dependence” on the consumer market, “which tends to be more volatile with shorter product life cycles” than the enterprise sector, he said. Its consumer operations now generate only 15% of Marvell revenue through its “de-emphasis” on PC components and the December 2019 sale of its Wi-Fi connectivity business to NXP, he said. “We have significantly increased our exposure to the data center and carrier end markets, which are characterized by long product life cycles, sticky design wins and multi-generational engagements.”
The Alarm Industry Communications Committee and alarm companies asked the FCC to direct AT&T to pause a planned 3G data termination sunset, now planned for Feb. 22, until the end of next year. AICC and members said they won’t be ready for the change next year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the chip shortage and other issues. The FCC said initial comments are due Aug. 30.
Summit Ridge Group adds: Robin Flynn, ex-Kagan, as adviser and media sector consultant; Rebecca Hanson, ex-HC2 Broadcasting, as adviser and regulatory consultant; and Whitney Lohmeyer, ex-MIT Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, as adviser and engineering consultant.
Universal Electronics Inc. is the latest tech company hit by the chip crunch, affecting order fulfillment of Nevo Butler, UEI’s white-label, voice-enabled smart home and entertainment control hub. Shortages affected shipments for a major European telco, CEO Paul Arling told investors Thursday. Q2 revenue was $150.5 million, vs. $153.1 million in the 2020 quarter. Guidance for Q3 is a year-over-year rise. Meanwhile, platforms like Apple TV Video Partner Program are the future for all types of MVPDs, which “now understand that the consumer wants that combination of everything they want to watch,” Arling said. Subscribers want local sports, reality TV programing and to binge-watch a favorite show streamed on Netflix, Amazon Prime Video or Hulu -- “or name your favorite service.” Larger MVPDs can build platforms, he said, citing Comcast’s X1, which Cox adopted. Medium- to smaller-sized MVPDs “probably will find it better to borrow one of the other industry platforms,” he said, naming Android and TiVo in addition to Apple. Broadband operators are increasingly introducing IP-only or streaming set-top boxes, Arling said, citing Comcast Flex, DirecTV Stream and TiVo Stream. See Q2 materials here and here and our report on the company's Roku patent fight 2108060032. UEI stock closed up 7.4 Friday at $48.03.