Tension in relations between the U.S. and China on technology issues such as data security, privacy and telecom gear are making life complicated for some U.S. companies, experts told the Technology Policy Institute. They generally agreed aspects of the current U.S. approach may be unique to this administration and may have shortcomings. Neither the White House nor China's Embassy in Washington commented Wednesday, when the TPI video was released as part of its ongoing conference.
The White House coming under the control of Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden wouldn’t be a negative for broadcasting, said Sinclair, Graham Media, Entertainment Studios Network and E.W. Scripps CEOs on a virtual panel Wednesday for NAB New York. “The priorities of the FCC under Biden will be in other areas,” Sinclair's Chris Ripley said.
The FCC is expected to vote on an order opening the 5.9 GHz band for Wi-Fi and cellular vehicle-to-everything in November and an order on proposed further changes in the 6 GHz band in December, regardless of what happens in the Nov. 3 election. Chairman Ajit Pai likely will have broad support for the changes even if Joe Biden is elected and FCC control shifts to Democrats in January, agency and industry officials told us.
Current U.S. broadband networks are "nowhere near ready for self-driving vehicles, drone delivery and telemedicine," Incompas CEO Chip Pickering blogged Friday, supporting the Accessible, Affordable Internet for All Act (HR-7302). Along with endorsing the $100 billion in spending, Incompas made policy suggestions. It suggested Congress amend Section 224 of the Communications Act to make clear that broadband-only providers have equal rights as cable operators and carriers, including equal rights to utility poles, and there be streamlined state and local approval processes. Future federal money should target building broadband networks where infrastructure is lacking and should be coordinated across federal agencies, it said. The group urged improved FCC broadband mapping.
The Trump administration emphasized a “market-based approach” to ensure U.S. dominance in developing emerging technologies, in a national strategy released Thursday. The National Security Council identified 20 critical technologies, including telecom, semiconductors, autonomous vehicles, artificial intelligence and quantum computing. The market-based approach is preferable to “state-directed models” that “produce waste and disincentivize innovation,” the strategy said. It helps “protect ourselves from unfair competition,” including from China and Russia. Those countries and other “strategic competitors … have adopted deliberate whole-of-government” critical and emerging tech “efforts and are making large and strategic investments to take the lead,” the strategy said. “America’s lead in certain C&ET sectors is declining. The [U.S.] will take meaningful action to reverse this trend.” The strategy includes a focus on improving the U.S. workforce for some emerging tech and increasing the pool of investors to ensure improved R&D. It calls for preventing foreign adversaries like China from unfairly benefiting from U.S. innovation, including by beefing up international intellectual property theft norms and expanding restrictions on exports of some tech to those countries.
The world “has come to rely more heavily on semiconductor-enabled technology to work, study, communicate, treat illness, and do innumerable other tasks remotely” during the pandemic, said an interim “decadal” report Thursday from the Semiconductor Industry Association and Semiconductor Research Corp. that seeks $3.4 billion in federal R&D funding annually. “The future holds boundless potential for semiconductor technology, with emerging applications such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and advanced wireless technologies like 5G and 6G promising incalculable benefits.” It requires addressing five “seismic shifts shaping the future of chip technology,” including smart sensing, memory and storage, communication, security and energy efficiency, said the report. The U.S. semiconductor industry invests about a fifth of its revenue yearly in R&D, second only to pharmaceuticals, it said. The final report is due in December
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Q3 revenue increased 17% in U.S. dollars sequentially on "strong demand for advanced technologies and special technology solutions” in 5G smartphones, high-performance computing (HPC) and IoT applications, said Chief Financial Officer Wendell Huang on a Thursday investor call. Smartphone revenue increased 12% and was 46% of third-quarter sales, he said. TSMC continues to expect “faster penetration” of 5G smartphones compared with 4G, he said. “For this year, we still forecast a high-teens penetration rate and next year even higher.” Though the pandemic brings “some level” of negative impact to global economies, “COVID-19 is accelerating digital transformation, while 5G and HPC-related applications continue to drive semiconductor content enrichment,” said CEO C.C. Wei. He expects TSMC customers to maintain inventories well above their seasonal levels as a buffer against further COVID-19 supply-chain disruptions. Due to the “uncertainties” of the supply chain now, expect the high-level inventory trend to “continue for a longer period,” he said. TSMC won’t use any “short-term supply shortage” as an opportunity to raise “our wafer price,” he said. TSMC forecasts that semiconductor industry revenue, excluding memory, will rise by mid-single digits in 2020, he said. TSMC is “evaluating the impact to the semiconductor industry” from DOD’s export restrictions on Semiconductor Manufacturing International, China’s largest chipmaker, said Wei.
Travis Skinner, ex-Customs and Border Protection director-trade modernization, hired by Amazon as public policy senior manager, working on U.S. customs issues; Maranda Kan moves to acting director-trade modernization, CBP ... Twilio hires Jeremiah Brazeau, ex-Salesforce, as chief technology officer ... Crown Media promotes Andy Rooke to chief operating officer ... Vecna Robotics appoints Jeff Huerta, ex-Balyo, senior vice president-sales.
Design, MagSafe wireless charging and photography features stood out among early Twitter responses to Apple’s Tuesday launch event for four iPhone 12 models and a downsized HomePod smart speaker. So did Apple’s removal of chargers and earbuds from the box, which the company couched in an environmental light. Customers already have more than 700 million lightning headphones, said a spokesperson.
House China Task Force Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas, believed “we can accomplish” many of the all-GOP group’s recent recommendations regardless of whether President Donald Trump or Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden wins the Nov. 3 election. He signaled optimism, during a Center for Strategic and International Studies event, about prospects for Congress to direct more money toward implementing his Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (Chips) for America Act. HR-7178/S-3933 is included in both the House and Senate versions of the FY 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (HR-6395/S-4049).