The U.S. extended national emergencies authorizing sanctions against Zimbabwe, Venezuela and “with respect to” Russia's activity in Ukraine, the White House said March 3. The White House said Zimbabwe's president “hasn’t made the necessary political and economic reforms” that would warrant rescinding U.S. sanctions. It also said the situations in Ukraine and Venezuela “continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to” U.S. national security.
The U.S. needs to modernize its approach to export controls and expand disclosure requirements for foreign investment screening to maintain its technology dominance over China, a U.S. national security commission said in a report this week. The commission called current U.S. export controls outdated, urged the Commerce Department to more quickly control emerging and foundational technologies, and said the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. should review a broader set of transactions to protect sensitive technologies.
BakerHostetler hires broadcast lawyer Daniel Kirkpatrick from Fletcher Heald as partner, and broadcast, inmate calling service and broadband attorney Davina Sashkin as counsel; Fletcher Heald partner Tony Lee replaces Kirkpatrick as that firm's co-managing partner ... Microsoft hires C.J. Mahoney from Office of U.S. Trade Representative as deputy general counsel-U.S. international trade and Azure cloud computing service.
BakerHostetler hires broadcast lawyer Daniel Kirkpatrick from Fletcher Heald as partner, and broadcast, inmate calling service and broadband attorney Davina Sashkin as counsel; Fletcher Heald partner Tony Lee replaces Kirkpatrick as that firm's co-managing partner ... Microsoft hires C.J. Mahoney from Office of U.S. Trade Representative as deputy general counsel-U.S. international trade and Azure cloud computing service.
Agencies offered to assist with the FCC's $3.2 billion emergency broadband benefit program, said a letter posted Thursday. Each agency emphasized "interest in being of service to this important effort to aid Americans who have found themselves on the wrong side of the digital divide" during the pandemic, the letter said. Terms like "connected device," "standard rate" and "tablet" need to be defined, said NTIA. The Education Department proposed temporarily making the FCC a "designated entity" to award "aid" through the program so Pell Grant recipients can be notified they may be eligible. Expand the definition of "tribal lands" so households near Indian reservations are eligible, said the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Allow public housing authorities to participate in the program because many sign bulk purchase agreements with ISPs, Department of Housing and Urban Development officials said. The National Economic Council and Health Resources and Services Administration also participated in a discussion with front office officials of the Wireline Bureau and Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau.
The Bureau of Industry and Security's effort to control emerging and foundational technologies is creating “substantial uncertainty” in the technology sector, Microsoft President Brad Smith told the Senate Armed Services Committee Feb. 23, according to his prepared testimony. Smith urged BIS and the Commerce Department to create a “balanced and coherent framework” to protect U.S. technologies without “isolating” U.S. companies, including from working with China.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said Tuesday that he plans to lead Democrats in bowing legislation aimed at using investment in 5G and other emerging technologies to counter Chinese advances. Senate Democrats’ emerging tech package needs to “address America’s short-term and long-term plans to protect the semiconductor supply chain, and to keep us No. 1 in things like [artificial intelligence], 5G, quantum computing” and data storage, Schumer told a news conference. “We can’t let China get ahead of us in chip production.” Schumer expects the Senate to be ready to consider the measure on the floor this spring. “We need to get a bill like this to” President Joe Biden’s “desk quickly to protect America’s long-term economic and national security,” he said. The Semiconductor Industry Association praised Schumer’s plan. Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Jack Reed, D-R.I., raised concerns during a Tuesday hearing about China’s “aggressive attempts to undercut our current technological superiority.” Lawmakers “must also be concerned about the strength of our national research and innovation enterprise, including the workforce, the health of the manufacturing and industrial base, and the infrastructure that we need to support technology development,” he said.
Broadcasters aren’t back to their pre-pandemic financial states, but they see improvements on the horizon, said Cumulus, Sinclair, Nexstar and Graham Holdings in quarterly reports and calls this week. CEO Perry Sook said Nexstar has enough certainty about its outlook to reinstate guidance for upcoming quarters, conceding that broadcasters aren't out of the woods. “We don’t anticipate being back above 2019 levels” in advertising revenue in the next year, Sook said. Nexstar will be “still retracing our steps” and recovering in 2022, he said.
Pending broad distribution and administration of COVID-19 vaccines, retail growth is forecast to surge 6.5%-8.2% to $4.3 trillion-$4.4 trillion in 2021, the highest growth rate since 2004, said National Retail Federation CEO Matthew Shay on a Wednesday call. The forecast includes store and non-store sales. That follows a strong 2020 for U.S. retail, where sales advanced 6.7% to $4.1 trillion vs. 2019. Retail sales have averaged just under 4.5% growth over the past five years, but the “outlier” 2020 skewed that rate higher, he said. Without 2020, retail sales growth would have been closer to 3.5%.
In an apparent win for carriers, acting FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel is proposing a standard auction for the 3.45-3.55 GHz band, offering the big license sizes favored by national providers. The auction would start Oct. 5 and use an ascending clock format. The FCC also released its open radio access network notice of inquiry and public safety items for the March 17 commissioners’ meeting.