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This week marks one year since President Biden launched the CHIPS and Science Act, which includes investing $52.7 billion into domestic US chip manufacturing 

Part of the Biden Administration’s $2 trillion dollar infrastructure plan, the funding in US chip production aim to improve national security by decreasing reliance on foreign countries.  

As of last year, the US only produced 12% of the world’s chips, leaving many US firms heavily dependent on international chip manufacturers, primarily in Asia. In particular, Taiwan produces 22% of global chip production and more over 90% of the most advanced chips made. 

The fragility of the chip supply chain has been exposed in recent years, especially since President Trump’s executive order that banned the use of telecommunications equipment from foreign companies deemed a national security risk, impacting Chinese firms like Huawei. In an effort to combat this over reliance on international manufacturing, the US hopes investment from the CHIP act will result in a much needed boost for US domestic chip manufacturing. 

One firm taking advantage of the CHIPS act is Intel. One year on from the announcement, the firm has released progress updates on their new manufacturing facilities. In 2021, Intel announced over $43.5 billion in manufacturing investments across the US, including in Arizona, New Mexico, and Ohio.  

In Arizona, Intel will expand its production capabilities, growing from two to four semiconductor factories at an estimated cost of around $20 billion each; in New Mexico, the company is investing $3.5 billion in equipment upgrades for the existing plant; and in Oregon, the company is planning a ‘multi-billion-dollar expansion and modernisation’ of their facilities.  

They also announced a $100 million dollar investment into the expansion of semiconductor education, research, and employee training across the country, to give their American workforce the necessary skills to outperform competitors. 

The company has reaffirmed its commitment to deliver on its promise of creating ‘five process nodes in four years’ and bringing back process technology leadership to the US by 2025 but is hoping to be ahead of schedule. 

But while Intel is reaffirming its dedication to US domestic technological progress, but for other firms is the journey is less simple. 

Despite the CHIPS Act being signed over a year ago, no money has yet been awarded. The Commerce Department said it has received more than 460 statements of interest to manufacture semiconductors in the US, with each application needing extensive evaluation. 

“We will start to give out the money later this year,” said Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. “We’re pushing the team to go fast, but even more important, to get it right.”  

Even though potential for government funding has sparked huge private sector investment, many of these investments are dependent upon the release of the federal funding, as operating margins are too slim for firms to achieve their goals without the financial aid. 

Integra Technologies, for example, which provides semiconductor packaging and other services, plans to build a 1 million-square-foot facility in the Wichita, Kansas, area, provided it can receive federal funding. 

CEO of SkyWater Technology, Tom Sonderman, noted that “in terms of industry speed, maybe it’s not as fast as we’d like, but in terms of the government really stepping up and preparing for what’s coming, I’ve been impressed.” 

A group of 140 staff members have been hired by the Department of Commerce to assess funding applications. Whilst firms wait for the outcomes, the Department of Commerce has said “we’re going to have a bunch of tough choices ahead in terms of how we allocate our capital. There’s definite expectations that not every applicant is going to be happy. Some will be disappointed.” 

You can hear more about US mergers at next year’s Connected America – secure your place here  

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A new trial has just been conducted by UK telecoms giant BT (EE) and supplier Ericsson, which is claimed to be somewhat of a “European first” after it successfully demonstrated the transmission of Standalone 5G services in a wideband Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) radio carrier (over 20MHz) within a sub-3GHz spectrum band. There’s a lot […]

Network builder and UK gigabit broadband ISP toob has today announced that their long-planned £13m project to deploy a Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network across the Surrey (England) town of Woking has begun. The work is expected to result in 32,000 local homes and businesses gaining access to their network. Construction of the new network in Woking […]

Network access provider Openreach has faced complaints from residents in the small rural Wiltshire village of Little Cheverell, which occurred after most of the community was left cut-off from broadband ISP and phone connectivity for three weeks due to a tree that fell and damaged the operator’s overground pole network. In total, 95 out of […]

Internet video streaming firm Disney+ appears to have taken a leaf out of Netflix’s book by today announcing the launch of its new ad-supported subscription plan (aka – “Standard with Ads“) for the United Kingdom, which will become available from 1st November 2023 and costs several £ pounds less than their regular plan. At present, […]

The latest Q2 2023 data from caller ID verification firm Hiya, which among other things also works with UK broadband ISP BT (EE) to help detect and block SPAM and fraud calls, has revealed that 27.3% of UK calls from non-contacts are spam (79.3 million) and, of that figure, 18% were classified as “nuisance calls” […]

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The company follow in the footsteps of MTN Uganda, the country’s largest telco, which recently celebrated its first anniversary as a publicly listed company 

Mobile operator Airtel Africa has announced that its Ugandan subsidiary, Airtel Uganda,  will soon be floated on Ugandan Securities Exchange (USE) exchange. 

The firm plans to sell a 20% stake – roughly 8 billion shares – as part of its initial public offering (IPO). 

“The offer is expected to result in meaningful local ownership of Airtel Uganda Ltd, with preference to be given to Ugandan investors, and to contribute to the development of the capital markets in Uganda,” said Airtel Africa. 

If the move gets approval from the Capital Markets Authority of Uganda, the shares will be offered to investors both via traditional channels and through the Airtel Money platform, with the aim of increasing retail participation. 

The firm have chosen Absa Bank Uganda as its lead transaction advisor for the process, which it hopes will be completed by the end of the year. 

In 2019 the Ugandan government mandated that all telecom companies operating in the country must list at least 20% of their shares on the USE within two years of the issuing of a license, with the aim of to increasing local ownership and boost the national economy.

The government claimed that the move would ensure that the capital would therefore be kept within the country and not be taken back to each telco’s country of origin. 

Airtel Uganda were expected to list on the USE by December last year, but the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) allowed the company to delay the listing, as they cited they were not ready due to unfavourable economic conditions. 

Uganda is not alone in its thinking, with other African countries such as Malawi, Ghana, Tanzania, and Nigeria taking similar action.

How is the African telecommunications market evolving in 2023? Join the operators in discussion at this year’s Total Telecom Congress live from Amsterdam. 

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The perhaps tediously named telecoms infrastructure provider Altnets, which supplies things like optical fibre cable and active equipment to UK FTTP broadband builders, has announced that they’ve been shortlisted as a finalist for the “Growth Business of the Year” category in the Lloyds Bank British Business Excellence Awards 2023. According to the awards page, the […]

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Starlink, the satellite constellation arm of Space X, launched its business solutions early this year

Spanish telco Telefónica has signed a deal with Starlink to become its worldwide partner, through its global business division Telefónica Global Solutions (TGS).

The deal will allow TGS to access Starlink’s Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite constellation, incorporating the satellite services into its existing global portfolio of connectivity services.

The Starlink service can deliver high speed internet (up to 350 Mbps downstream) across the world, including to rural and hard-to-reach areas.

The service is focused on the business sector and “[allows] them to connect to existing networks, thus providing a complement to their connectivity services in stores, operational centres, warehouses, and other places,” according to Rafael Arturo González, Country Director for Movistar Empresas Mexico.

Telefónica debuted this Starlink offering in Mexico in June this year but is now extending the service to five other key markets– Chile, Colombia, Peru, Brazil, and Spain – of which the latter two are two of its four core markets.

“The satellite industry is undergoing an unprecedent revolution,” said Julio Beamonte, CEO of Telefónica Global Solutions.

“Satellite enables connectivity projects to be executed very quickly and efficiently. At Telefónica Global Solutions, we have been offering added value satellite solutions for many years and with this partnership, we start working hand in hand with Starlink Enterprise to offer new generation solutions to our customers.”

Starlink connectivity is intended to be used in addition to existing connectivity solutions rather than to replace them. In Mexico currently, the service uses a subscription-based model which is priced between MXN 1,000–5,000 ($52.52–292.60) per month. It is uncertain whether the same subscription-based the model with be used in other countries.

This is not the first satellite deal that Telefonica has signed in recent months. Last month, the firm signed a deal with Hispasat to resell their rural satellite broadband to isolated areas of Spain, and Telefonica has also partnered with Spanish satellite group Sateliot to connect the Internet of Things (IoT) through satellite and 5G technology.

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News 

Safaricom confirmed today that Michael Joseph, founding CEO and board director, resigned on 1st August. 

Joseph had been with Safaricom since 2000, serving as CEO from 2000 to 2010 and in various other positions including general manager and, most recently, chairman of the board. 

Under his direction, Safaricom grew from having a subscriber base of less than 18,000 in 2000, to over 17 million upon his retirement as CEO in 2010. This achievement made Safaricom ‘the most successful company in East Africa’, according to the  board in a statement. The company was also taken public in May 2002 under his leadership. 

Joseph oversaw the launch of company innovations such as M-PESA in 2007, a mobile-based money transfer service. The resource has proved to be a huge success, seeing over 1 billion monthly transactions, and helping to increase Kenya’s financial inclusion from 26% in 2006 to 84% in 2021. 

“Michael’s deep foundation and connection with the community is what brought about the phenomenal growth, development of innovative products and services, making Safaricom a part of the society. During his tenure, Michael oversaw highly successful launch and phenomenal growth of M-PESA and its related services,” said the board. 

Joseph leaves Safaricom to focus on other areas of his life, including the continuation of his role as chairman of Kenya Airways.  

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Pair of subsea cables severed off the west coast of Africa
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