The U.S. tech supply chain is “more constrained” than previously thought, but consumer demand for tech goods “remains robust,” reported S&P Global Ratings Monday. It’s forecasting supply constraints “will ease only slightly” in 2022, “as capacity additions are not likely to make a significant difference” until late in the year. “Semiconductor production is becoming structurally more capital intensive because manufacturing at the leading edge nodes is more complex,” said S&P. “Industry and governments have a greater desire for regional diversity to mitigate geopolitical risk,” and that bodes well for “semiconductor capital equipment makers,” it said.
The optical fiber that Corning supplies is a “critical enabler” for U.S. 5G deployment, and fiber networks “are the path forward to transmitting petabytes of data to people and devices instantly,” said the company in comments posted after hours Friday in docket BIS-2021-0021. The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security sought industry comment to help the secretaries of Commerce and Homeland Security prepare a report to the White House by the one-year anniversary of President Joe Biden’s Feb. 24 executive order on supply chain disruptions in the “critical sectors and subsectors” of the information and communications technology “industrial base” (see 2111050041). Wireless networks “are moving from one optical connection per hundreds of thousands or even a million clients to one optical connection for fewer than 100” mobile phones, IoT devices or homes, said Corning. It continues to invest in R&D “at a much higher rate than our peers,” it said. The document is heavily redacted to hide information the company said “is not publicly available, pertaining to Corning’s business or trade secrets.” Also expunged are pages of Corning’s policy recommendations for identifying ICT supply chain risks and fixing the bottlenecks, except for a single sentence in a “workforce needs” section. Hiring, developing and retaining a high-skilled workforce, said Corning, is “paramount to the continued success” of ICT manufacturing. Q3 revenue in Corning’s optical communications business grew 24% year over year to $1.1 billion. It recently expanded its AT&T collaboration to bolster investments in fiber infrastructure, widen the availability of U.S. fiber-to-the-home broadband networks and speed 5G deployment.
Opposition filings to NAB’s proposal to increase the payor base for FCC regulatory fees are “myopically focused” on unlicensed spectrum instead of the unfair apportionment of the FCC’s costs, NAB said in reply comments posted in docket 21-190 Monday (see 2110230001). “It is patently unfair, unlawful, and contrary to the public interest” to require broadcasters to absorb fee increases to pay for FCC activities “that are primarily for the benefit of other entities in the telecommunications ecosystem.” “Reapportioning FTEs (full-time equivalents) of a bureau or office on an ad hoc basis” can create “significant uncertainty,” said CTIA. “NAB’s proposal would undermine future innovation in online services and reduce access to these benefits,” said the Entertainment Software Association. The FCC was “right” to reject NAB’s proposal in the 2021 regulatory fee order, “and it should likewise reject NAB’s latest attempt,” said CTA. WISPA and the Wi-Fi Alliance said there’s no legal basis for assessing regulatory fees against unlicensed spectrum users. Doing so would ignore the Communications Act, contravene FCC precedent and harm consumers, said the Wi-Fi Alliance. Filings from broadcasters backed NAB. “The vitriolic nature” of filings from opponents “shows a degree of entitlement to the Commission’s largesse that is borne of free-riding on the backs of broadcasters,” said a joint filing from state broadcast associations. The FCC must revise its rules to “impose regulatory fees on certain of those Big Tech entities that have to this point benefited from the agency’s regulation,” said a joint filing from network affiliate groups. The number of filings against more categories of operations being charged regulatory fees just shows how many parties benefit from FCC regulation but don't bear the costs, said foreign-flagged satellite operators Telesat, OneWeb, Kepler and SES/O3b. They have said experimental license holders, FCC auction participants, broadband internet access services, holders of equipment authorizations and operators of unlicensed spectrum database should start paying regulatory fees. CTIA disagreed, saying the idea would unfairly shift a disproportionate share of regulatory fees among regulated parties and be inconsistent with the commission's Section 9 regulatory fee policy. Scott Palo, a professor at the University of Colorado Boulder's Colorado Center for Astrodynamics Research, said there's little evidence the FCC incurs big costs from experimental license holders, and imposing a regulatory fee could chill academic research that develops and tests new technologies.
The FTC approved a final order requiring Broadcom to “cease its anticompetitive behavior,” said the agency Thursday. The chipmaker “illegally monopolized markets” for semiconductors used to deliver TV and broadband internet services “through exclusive dealing and related conduct,” it said. The order prohibits Broadcom from signing certain types of “exclusivity or loyalty agreements” to supply customers with “key chips” for traditional broadcast set-tops and DSL and fiber broadband internet devices, said the FTC. “Broadcom also must stop conditioning access to or requiring favorable supply terms for these chips on customers committing to exclusivity or loyalty for the supply of related chips.” The order also bars Broadcom from retaliating against customers for doing business with its competitors. Broadcom didn’t respond to requests for comment.
The U.S. should adopt a "100% policy" on broadband access, said FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel during a League of United Latin American Citizens webinar, as "100% of our households should have access to electricity, clean water, and fast and reliable broadband that they can afford." Rosenworcel called it her "primary goal." Students that lacked access to virtual classrooms during the COVID-19 pandemic were "disproportionately rural, low-income, and Latinx," she said: "Our collective success depends on getting every one of those students connected." Touting the Emergency Connectivity Fund, Rosenworcel wants the FCC to continue working on "a way to solve the homework gap once and for all." Also Thursday, LULAC announced a partnership with Heartland Forward and will use $50,000 in grant funding for outreach efforts to boost emergency broadband benefit program enrollment among Latino households. Partnerships like this are "crucial to expanding outreach and enrollment efforts, particularly in Latino communities where many still don’t have the home internet access they need," Rosenworcel said in a statement.
Three more municipalities opted out of a Colorado law banning municipal broadband in Tuesday’s election. And Virginia former Gov. Terry McAuliffe conceded Wednesday to Republican Glenn Youngkin, who supported low-orbit satellites for expanding rural broadband during his campaign (see 2110250029). In other races, Boston chose for mayor Michelle Wu, a progressive Democrat with a digital equity plan. In Colorado, Mesa became the 44th county to opt out by passing its ballot initiative with about 72% voting yes. "This is a big win for rural western Colorado,” emailed county Commissioner Cody Davis (R). “It's the first step in bringing reliable high-speed internet to every corner of Mesa County.” Milliken and Windsor become the 117th and 118th municipalities to opt out, said the Colorado Municipal League. About 81% voted yes in Milliken, 77% in Windsor. Colorado has 64 counties and 271 municipalities. Elsewhere, residents in Northampton, Massachusetts, supported muni broadband, while those in China, Maine, voted against it and people in Hampden, Maine, voted against a $4.5 million public network. Harlan, Iowa, residents voted to sell its muni network. Election results suggest broadband is “still growing as a voting issue,” emailed Institute for Local Self-Reliance Director-Community Broadband Networks Christopher Mitchell. “I remain concerned that Virginia is discouraging investment in better broadband networks, whether in areas totally unserved, areas needing more choices, or low-income areas,” he said. “The Democrats had a chance to remove the barriers and didn't.”
The FCC’s 3.45 GHz auction hit $21.4 billion Monday, as the FCC moved to five daily bidding rounds. The auction is now the third-highest in FCC history, behind only the C-band and AWS-3 auctions. On Tuesday, the auction moves to seven rounds.
FCC Commissioners Brendan Carr and Nathan Simington and telecom-focused lawmakers hailed Senate passage of the Secure Equipment Act (HR-3919). The Senate approved the legislation by unanimous consent Thursday, sending it to President Joe Biden. The House passed it earlier in October (see 2110200066). HR-3919 and Senate companion S-1790 would ban the FCC from issuing new equipment licenses to companies the commission decides are a national security risk. Commissioners approved an NPRM 4-0 in June proposing a similar ban (see 2106090063). The bill “will help to ensure that insecure gear from companies like Huawei and ZTE can no longer be inserted into America’s communications networks,” Carr said. “We have already determined that this gear poses an unacceptable risk to our national security, so closing what I have called the ‘Huawei loophole’ is an appropriate action for us to take.” HR-3919 “does not complete the work of protecting our digital sovereignty,” Simington said. “Inadvertent flaws in wireless edge devices are as much a threat as intentionally created backdoors. The FCC must continue to engage with industry and other parts of government to identify and eliminate weaknesses that can be exploited by our adversaries.” Equipment made by “Huawei and ZTE, companies linked to the Chinese government, increases the vulnerabilities of our telecommunication systems,” said lead sponsor Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif. The measure “forcefully signals to the Chinese Communist Party that America is committed to protecting the privacy and security of our citizens,” said lead GOP co-sponsor House Minority Whip Steve Scalise, La. S-1790 lead sponsors Sens. Ed Markey, D-Mass., and Marco Rubio, R-Fla., also praised passage.
The FAA is preparing warnings to pilots and airlines about potential interference to aircraft safety systems from 5G in the C band, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday. Experts say the FAA is concerned about protecting radio altimeters, but C-band deployments are expected to start this year, as planned (see 2109200041). Verizon and AT&T executives confirmed that deployments are imminent, in recent calls with analysts. An FAA spokesperson said the agency is working with other agencies to ensure air safety. The FCC’s record-setting C-band auction offered licenses at 3.7-3.98 GHz; altimeters are at 4.2-4.4 GHz. “Upholding public safety is a top priority for the FCC under the law,” a spokesperson emailed: “We remain committed to ensuring air safety as the agency’s successful track record demonstrates, while moving forward with the deployment of new technologies.” 5G "networks using C-band spectrum operate safely and without causing harmful interference to aviation equipment,” emailed CTIA President Meredith Baker. “The evidence includes numerous active 5G networks using this spectrum band in 40 countries all over the world, as well as years of study and technical analysis by the FCC and international agencies, including material submitted by the aviation industry.” The C band is “critical to delivering 5G service,” Baker said.
FCC Commissioner Nathan Simington warned of a spectrum crisis looming, in some of his most complete remarks yet on wireless, in a speech at the Mobile World Congress in Los Angeles. The 5G revolution “risks being stillborn,” he said, per written remarks posted Thursday: The crunch “is not, as some would have it, merely an inconvenience to certain narrow business interests. … It would be a tragedy if we were to squander this historic opportunity over lack of vision regarding mid-band spectrum.” Simington wants better federal coordination, echoing a theme of now-Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. “Better coordination, and stronger relationships among federal agencies, will ensure that agency efforts to identify mid-band spectrum for commercial use are harmoniously aligned and urgently pursued -- not conflicted and half-hearted,” he said. The success of the C-band auction shows the appetite for exclusive-use spectrum, Simington said. “Operators want to engineer at high power and for exclusive use, and manufacturers want to build equipment to operate likewise.” He said the U.S. should take the lead on spectrum harmonization at ITU. “We can't win 5G on our own; we need to win it together with our friends and allies by creating the best technology for the world market,” he said: “The time has passed in which America could look inward.”