Four years after the FCC voted to authorize ATSC 3.0's voluntary deployment (see 1711160060), MPEG LA is about to launch a 3.0 patent pool license, emailed a spokesperson. “If things go as we now anticipate, we expect to begin offering the license in January.” MPEG LA originally planned to have the patent pool operational by early 2019 (see 1811270013). “Each pool has its own unique set of factors affecting time to market, and in some cases, reaching agreement among patent holders to offer a license of wide benefit to the market takes longer than others,” said the spokesperson now. “This license is timely in light of the expected ATSC 3.0 ramp-up.” The 3.0 pool doesn’t have “a final licensor count yet,” he said. ATSC 3.0 services are on the air in about three dozen U.S. cities, with 18 more slated to come online through the spring. CTA forecasts 4 million 3.0-compliant sets will be sold in 2022, climbing to 11 million in 2023 and 20 million in 2024. MPEG LA announced a call for 3.0-essential patents, the first step in the patent pool formation process, in August 2017 (see 1711010054). ATSC bylaws require that patent owners disclose they hold intellectual property relevant to 3.0 and that they commit to licensing their patents on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms (see 1711210004).

Broadcom wireless revenue of $1.8 billion rose 21% from the year-ago quarter, “consistent with the launch of our customers’ next-generation phones during the quarter,” said CEO Hock Tan. “We expect continuing strong demand” into fiscal Q1 ending late January, he told investors Thursday. Fiscal Q4 ended Oct. 31. Broadcom’s broadband revenue grew 29%. “This was driven by the continued strong growth in deployment by service providers globally” of next-generation passive optical networks with Wi-Fi 6 and 6E “access gateways,” he said. The stock closed up 8.3% Friday at $631.68.

The semiconductor industry is in a “renewed drive” amid the chip crunch to install more factory capacity at “the mature nodes” for automotive, industrial and IoT applications, and “as the chip market leads, the photomask market follows,” said Photronics CEO Peter Kirlin on a call Wednesday for fiscal Q4 ended Oct. 31. Photronics manufactures photomasks for producing chips and flat panels, and analysts view the company as a bellwether of semiconductor and display industry health. The company said Q1 revenue and profit may rise sequentially; Q4 revenue was $181.3 million, "the third consecutive quarterly record, up 6% sequentially and 21% year-over-year." The stock soared 26% higher Wednesday, closing at $17.91.

Persistent semiconductor shortages will induce half the world’s top 10 automotive OEMs to design their own chips for vehicle electrification and autonomy by 2025, giving them better control over their product road maps and supply chains, reported Gartner Tuesday. Ford foreshadowed the trend last month when it struck a nonbinding agreement with GlobalFoundries to collaborate on R&D for future “feature-rich” chips (see 2111180016). Automotive semiconductor supply chains “are complex,” said Gartner Vice President-Research Gaurav Gupta. “In most cases, chip makers are traditionally Tier 3 or Tier 4 suppliers to automakers, which means it usually takes a while until they adapt to the changes affecting automotive market demand. This lack of visibility in the supply chain has increased automotive OEMs' desire to have greater control over their semiconductor supply.” The chip crunch is especially acute among mature semiconductor technology nodes where capacity expansion is difficult, said Gupta. “That the automotive industry has been conservative in qualifying older devices on larger wafer sizes has also hurt them and will likely motivate them to take chip design in-house.” NXP Semiconductors CEO Kurt Sievers described the “enormous depth and complexity” of the automotive supply chain when he told analysts on a quarterly call last month that it takes coordinated timing and delivery “of up to 30,000 parts and up to 1,500 different semiconductors from hundreds of suppliers to build just one single car” (see 2111020032).

If the FTC concludes in an administrative law trial that Nvidia’s proposed $40 billion Arm buy violates the FTC Act or the Sherman Act, the commission may order the companies to give “prior notice” of any “combinations of their businesses with any other company,” said a redacted public version Monday of the complaint the agency filed last week to block the transaction (see 2112030002). Other “contemplated” sanctions include a requirement to file “periodic compliance reports” with the commission. An evidentiary hearing is scheduled for Aug. 9. The proposed transaction “would allow the combined firm to use its control of Arm to harm Nvidia’s rivals in ways that substantially lessen competition -- including innovation, price, and feature competition -- in multiple markets,” it said. Nvidia has defended the transaction as one that would benefit the industry and promote competition.

IDC projects 5.3% unit growth in smartphone sales this year to 1.35 billion handsets globally, reported the research company Thursday. Lower than expected Q3 shipments, plus the continued component shortages and logistical challenges, caused IDC to downgrade its 2021 growth forecast from 7.4% in the previous guidance. "Although we expected a slowdown in the third quarter, the market declined by almost twice the projected rate as the supply chain and logistical challenges hit every major player in the market,” said IDC analyst Nabila Popal. “The shortage is more heavily concentrated on 4G components than 5G, which will impact vendors with a higher portfolio mix of 4G devices than vendors with a higher proportion of 5G models,” she said. "On the positive side, this is expected to accelerate the jump to 5G, which is now forecast to be almost 60% of worldwide shipments by this time next year.” 5G devices are expected to have 117% year-over-year sales growth in 2021 "driven by a supply-side push from both vendors and channels," said IDC. It pegs the average selling price of 5G smartphones at $643 in 2021. That's 1.7% higher than in 2020, "thanks to the massive success of iPhone 12 and 13 devices that are all 5G," it said.

The safety of CES 2020 “participants and partners” is a “top priority,” emailed an association spokesperson Thursday, responding to our queries about the possible impact of COVID-19's new omicron variant on the Jan. 5-8 event planned for the Las Vegas Convention Center. “We are actively tracking the emerging news and science,” she said. CTA continues to “follow guidance” from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization, “as well as relevant federal, state, and local government requirements,” she said. "While it is too early to determine the impact of this latest variant, we will continue to monitor and adjust our plans and health protocols as necessary."

CTA has no “new information at this time” about FCC and FTC participation at CES 2022 “but will follow up as participation is confirmed,” emailed a spokesperson Monday. CES 2020 drew a large contingent of FCC and FTC members, including the chairs of both agencies (see 2001070054). No FCC or FTC people were among the show’s list of featured speakers as of Monday. CES 2022 opens Jan. 5 for a four-day run at the Las Vegas Convention Center, and will be “a little bit smaller” in attendee and exhibitor participation than before the COVID-19 pandemic, CTA President Gary Shapiro told a Nov. 18 media briefing (see 2111180040).

Global smartphone sales to end users declined 6.8% year over year in Q3 to 342.3 million handsets, reported Gartner Tuesday. “Component shortages disrupted production schedules, leading to lower inventory and delayed product availability, which eventually impacted sales to end-users,” said Gartner. Samsung maintained top global share at 20.2%, but Apple stormed into second place past Xiaomi via its nearly 20% increase in units to 48.46 million iPhones.

CTA “welcomes manufacturer efforts” to promote self-service repair of “complex, highly integrated, and world-changing consumer technology products,” emailed Walter Alcorn, vice president-energy and sustainability policy, of Apple’s decision to make its parts, tools and manuals available for consumers who are comfortable servicing their own devices (see 2111170034). “As manufacturers assume more responsibility for product safety and security long after their devices are sold to consumers, it’s important to find the balance between safety and empowering consumers to repair their devices," said Alcorn Wednesday.