January semiconductor sales increased 13.2% globally from a year earlier to $40 billion, and were up 1% sequentially from December, reported the Semiconductor Industry Association Monday. “Global semiconductor production is on the rise to meet increasing demand and ease the ongoing chip shortage affecting the auto sector and others, and annual sales are projected to increase in 2021,” said SIA CEO John Neuffer. Year-on-year sales in the Americas were up 15.4% in January, second only to Asia Pacific (up 16%), said SIA. Month-on-month sales were down 3% in the Americas and 1% in Japan but up by single digits in all other regions, it said.
The wireless industry seems "unwilling to accept" the FCC's repeated conclusion that fixed satellite service earth stations can share spectrum with upper microwave flexible-use service (UMFUS), such as the proposed FSS allocation in the 51.4-52.4 GHz band, the Satellite Industry Association said in RM-11871 Wednesday. It replied to CTIA's opposition to SIA's spectrum allocation petition (see 2102090050). Existing restrictions on placing FSS gateway earth stations in spectrum shared with UMFUS shows that CTIA's claim the satellite industry wants unrestricted FSS deployments in the 51.4-52.4 GHz band is groundless, SIA said. FSS operators "urgently" need that millimeter-wave spectrum for more capacity to support the growing demand for broadband satellite services, it said. CTIA didn't comment. Amazon's Kuiper said the spectrum will help fix a V-band FSS uplink/downlink "imbalance," with 4.5 GHz available for FSS downlinks in the 37.5-42 GHz band but only 4 GHz in the 47.2-50.2 and 50.4-51.4 GHz bands for uplinks.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said he directed lawmakers this week to begin crafting legislation to strengthen the U.S. semiconductor industry to out-compete China. The legislation will include a bipartisan bill introduced by Schumer and other lawmakers last year that would increase U.S. investment in technology, research and high-tech manufacturing (see 2006010011), Schumer said, adding that the legislation will also include other semiconductor industry initiatives. Schumer said he plans to call for a vote on the legislation this spring. “[W]e need to get a bill like this to the president's desk quickly to protect America's long-term economic and national security,” Schumer said Feb. 23. The Semiconductor Industry Association applauded Schumer’s comments and said investing in U.S. innovation is “key” to out-competing China (see 2102180062). “We urge the Biden administration and Congress to invest boldly in domestic semiconductor manufacturing and research,” SIA President John Neuffer said.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said he directed lawmakers this week to begin crafting legislation to strengthen the U.S. semiconductor industry to out-compete China. The legislation will include a bipartisan bill introduced by Schumer and other lawmakers last year that would increase U.S. investment in technology, research and high-tech manufacturing (see 2006010011), Schumer said, adding that the legislation will also include other semiconductor industry initiatives. Schumer said he plans to call for a vote on the legislation this spring. “[W]e need to get a bill like this to the president's desk quickly to protect America's long-term economic and national security,” Schumer said Feb. 23. The Semiconductor Industry Association applauded Schumer’s comments and said investing in U.S. innovation is “key” to out-competing China (see 2102180062). “We urge the Biden administration and Congress to invest boldly in domestic semiconductor manufacturing and research,” SIA President John Neuffer said.
Trade rules should “continue to evolve” under the Biden administration and new World Trade Organization leadership, blogged Semiconductor Industry Association Director-Global Policy Devi Keller Tuesday. U.S.-China trade tensions during the Trump administration “put into sharp relief the reality that we need stronger disciplines to tackle challenges related to state subsidies and state-owned enterprises,” she said. Cybersecurity barriers to trade, forced technology transfer and intellectual property theft are “in great need of attention at the WTO and elsewhere,” she said. Washington policymakers have the opportunity “to leverage trade policy to tackle large-scale global challenges,” like bridging the digital divide, said Keller.
Trade rules should “continue to evolve” under the Biden administration and new World Trade Organization leadership, blogged Semiconductor Industry Association Director-Global Policy Devi Keller Tuesday. U.S.-China trade tensions during the Trump administration “put into sharp relief the reality that we need stronger disciplines to tackle challenges related to state subsidies and state-owned enterprises,” she said. Cybersecurity barriers to trade, forced technology transfer and intellectual property theft are “in great need of attention at the WTO and elsewhere,” she said. Washington policymakers have the opportunity “to leverage trade policy to tackle large-scale global challenges,” like bridging the digital divide, said Keller.
Global trade rules “need to continue to evolve” under the Biden administration and new leadership at the World Trade Organization, blogged Semiconductor Industry Association Director-Global Policy Devi Keller Tuesday. U.S.-China trade tensions during the Trump administration “put into sharp relief the reality that we need stronger disciplines to tackle challenges related to state subsidies and state-owned enterprises,” she said. Cybersecurity barriers to trade, forced technology transfer and intellectual property theft are “other areas in great need of attention at the WTO and elsewhere,” she said. Washington policymakers also have the opportunity “to leverage trade policy to tackle large-scale global challenges,” like COVID-19, climate change and bridging the digital divide, said Keller. The pandemic “accentuated the importance of technology products to our societies,” she said. Tech devices “have kept people healthy, employed, and connected during this crisis,” she said. “Semiconductor innovation is the foundational technology for all these transformational products.”
There's a “historic opportunity” to fund initiatives in U.S. semiconductor manufacturing and research, 21 Semiconductor Industry Association board members wrote President Joe Biden Thursday. “Include in your recovery and infrastructure plan substantial funding for incentives for semiconductor manufacturing, in the form of grants and/or tax credits, and for basic and applied semiconductor research,” asked IBM, Intel, Qualcomm and other executives. The U.S. is “uncompetitive in attracting investments in new fab construction and our technology leadership is at risk," including for artificial intelligence and 5G/6G, they wrote. The White House didn’t comment.
The Semiconductor Industry Association wants the new administration to include substantial funding for semiconductor manufacturing and research via grants and tax credits in its economic recovery plan. In a Feb. 11 letter to President Joe Biden, SIA said its competitors worldwide have an unfair advantage due to incentives and subsidies provided by their governments. SIA said the U.S. took a step in the right direction when it passed the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors for America Act, or CHIPS for America Act, in the 2021 defense bill, but it said more is needed. “Semiconductors are critical to the U.S. economy, American technology leadership, and our national security,” the letter said. “They enable the technologies needed to realize your Build Back Better goals, including smarter and safer transportation, greater broadband access, cleaner energy, and a more efficient energy grid, while also providing high-paying jobs for Americans and strengthening our advanced manufacturing base.”
The White House has “an historic opportunity” to fund initiatives in U.S. semiconductor manufacturing and research, 21 Semiconductor Industry Association board members wrote President Joe Biden Thursday. “Include in your recovery and infrastructure plan substantial funding for incentives for semiconductor manufacturing, in the form of grants and/or tax credits, and for basic and applied semiconductor research,” asked the executives from the who’s who list of major U.S. chip companies. “Bold action is needed to address the challenges we face. The costs of inaction are high.” U.S. share of global semiconductor manufacturing declined to 12% from 37%, they said. “This is largely because the governments of our global competitors offer significant incentives and subsidies to attract new semiconductor manufacturing facilities, while the U.S. does not.” The U.S. is “uncompetitive in attracting investments in new fab construction and our technology leadership is at risk in the race for preeminence in the technologies of the future, including artificial intelligence, 5G/6G, and quantum computing,” they said. The White House didn’t comment.