Chip demand is “much more pervasive than we've ever seen” and “we're really in the early innings of this huge demand acceleration,” Applied Materials CEO Gary Dickerson told a Bernstein virtual conference Wednesday. The company supplies semiconductor production equipment to chipmakers and OLED vapor-deposition products and services to Chinese panel makers, Customers are talking about “big multiyear investments” in “longer-term supply assurance” contracts, more “than I've ever heard before,” he said. “I really see a rethinking of the whole supply chain, and people are understanding that you can't respond in a matter of weeks or months relative to building capacity.” People in the supply chain “are understanding this just-in-time type of a mindset is not going to work,” he said.
NCTA adds to Government Relations team: Timothy Graham, ex-office of Rep. G. K. Butterfield, D-N.C., as vice president-external affairs; Alexander Minard, former FCC, as vice president and state legislative counsel, new post at the association; and Kelsey Odom, ex-Biden for Colorado and former CTA, as NCTA vice president-federal government relations ... Privacy and data security lawyer Calli Schroeder says Electronic Privacy Information Center names her global privacy counsel.
Xperi’s Perceive, which is developing edge-based machine-learning technology, had hoped to have products by year-end, but its customers have been affected by chip shortages, the unit's Vice President-Marketing David McIntyre told us. “The biggest issue is, lead times have gotten a little longer.” Its customers “have to assemble chips for many people, and they can only release the product with the slowest chip that shows up,” he said. Shortages have stretched timelines “a little bit,” but Perceive’s Ergo chip isn't affected, he said. Xperi CEO Jon Kirchner said Perceive is initially targeting security cameras, with future uses in mobile, wearables and elsewhere. First products are due in early 2022, he said.
Industry commenters said the FCC should avoid rules for open radio access networks, in replies due Friday on a notice of inquiry in docket 21-63. “The FCC should not put itself in a position where it is picking winners and losers,” the Telecommunications Industry Association said. CTIA opposed rules: “The imperative of network security and reliability is another compelling reason that the Commission should allow providers to deploy Open RAN at the time and manner that they believe meets the requirements of their networks.” T-Mobile said the FCC doesn’t need to act to promote ORAN. While ORAN “may show promise, it is not yet ready for broad deployment,” the carrier said. Push for “common specifications,” “allowing service providers to choose from a growing global ecosystem,” and “facilitate demonstration beds and innovation zones,” Nokia asked. Don't favor U.S. ORAN suppliers, Ericsson said: “Foster a diverse, trusted market.” The Open RAN Policy Coalition said comments show strong interest in ORAN, and artificial intelligence and machine learning will play an important role. Mavenir said the FCC’s program for replacing Chinese gear in networks should accommodate ORAN deployments. “Choice, or the lack thereof, and the present semiconductor shortage warrant an extension of time under the Secure and Trusted Communications Act Reimbursement Program,” Mavenir said.
Computer makers “have a long way to go to close this digital divide,” HP CEO Enrique Lores told investors. “We have a big opportunity to be part of the solution.” Though education market sales doubled in the past year due to remote learning, PCs per 100 students are “in the single digits,” he said about quarterly results. Executives at Dell and HP indicated Thursday that year-on-year growth likely would have been higher if not for the global chips shortage and other supply-chain disruptions that impeded order fulfillment. Lores expects “supply constraints to continue at least through the end of 2021.” Dell expects more PCs per household, shorter replacement cycles and a “higher notebook mix,” said Chief Operating Officer Jeff Clarke after results. Supply “has not kept up with the demand environment as we think about the need for semiconductors,” said Chief Financial Officer Tom Sweet. That’s “clearly an issue that the technology industry is dealing with,” he said: Component costs likely will be “inflationary in the second half” as shortages persist, especially in laptop displays and memory chips. HP closed 8.9% lower Friday at $29.23.
Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists board appoints SAG-AFTRA Chief Operating Officer-General Counsel Duncan Crabtree-Ireland as executive director and chief negotiator, as expected (see this section, May 18), and effective June 21, with a three-year contract; David White steps down ... Honeywell hires Dimple Shah from Department of Homeland Security's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency as senior director-global technology and data policy.
Incoming CEO Cristiano Amon rejects the notion Qualcomm is “more acutely impacted” by the chip shortage than others in the space, he told JPMorgan’s virtual conference Wednesday. Spiking demand from many end-market sectors is so pervasive that few, if any, chipmakers are able to keep up, he said: “In the current environment, if you're a semiconductor company and you don't have more demand than supply, you should be worried.” Qualcomm is navigating the crisis through “capacity-planning actions with our foundries, and we expect to see material improvements towards the end of the year,” he said. The company is a firm believer that 5G will require millimeter wave to reach its “full potential,” said Amon. Every global 5G market “eventually” will have mmWave, he said. “It's just a question of time.”
The sustained role of technology and pandemic shifts caused Best Buy same-store sales gains for fiscal Q1 ended May 2, said CEO Corie Barry on a Thursday call. They grew 37% from a year earlier. But product availability constraints continued for computing, gaming and other categories, said Barry. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Best Buy has had “at least some spotty inventory shortages,” said Barry. “Pockets” of shortages should persist through the year, she said. She cited factors including chip shortages, which Qualcomm also is experiencing (see 2105270007). Barry called the move to hybrid work and learning models “permanent structural shifts,” along with streaming entertainment and a “sustained focus on the home.”
The Senate voted 68-30 Thursday to end debate on a substitute amendment for the Endless Frontier Act (S.1260) (see 2105130069), moving one step closer to final passage. Senators agreed to a defense spending amendment and appeared to be nearing agreement on a trade policy provision in a package that could far exceed the original $100 billion.
Incompas starts BroadLand broadband campaign, with Mignon Clyburn leading this with Incompas CEO Chip Pickering ... ACG Advocacy hires Roberto Fierro from BSA|The Software Alliance as partner ... American Edge Project adds ex-Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., and ex-Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., to lead efforts on “internet openness, accessibility and free expression” ... Sinclair President-Distribution and Network Relations Barry Faber, also former general counsel, retires, effective June 25, and continuing as a consultant to the company on distribution and network relations.