UScellular Revamps Its 5G Supply Chain

By John Celentano, Inside Towers Business Editor

UScellular (NYSE: USM) is streamlining its 5G deployments by improving its supply chain capabilities. In a recent presentation to the Association for Supply Chain Management, the company outlined measures it is taking to increase the efficiency and lower the costs of equipment warehousing and delivery of materials needed for its 5G cell site build, Forbes reported. Network Supply Chain Restructure UScellular historically has operated on a regional basis to focus on its local markets. The company found, however, that its regional operations were creating duplications and inefficiencies that it believed a centralized approach can help mitigate. The company established at its Chicago HQ in 2000, a centralized supply chain organization responsible for logistics and coordination with vendors. It added a supply chain planning function this year.  Continue Reading

White House Adds More Limits on Chip Exports to China

By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief

UPDATE The administration placed new restrictions on China’s access to U.S. semiconductor technology. It added measures aimed at stopping Beijing’s push to develop its own chip industry and advance the country’s military capabilities.   The Commerce Department added more names to a list of companies that it regards as “unverified,” meaning it doesn’t know where their products end up being used. The 31 additions are all Chinese. That means U.S. suppliers will face new hurdles in selling technologies to those entities, Bloomberg reports. Continue Reading

Huawei Suspected of Trying to Bypass U.S. Sanctions

By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief

Huawei remains blacklisted by the U.S. government as a communications security risk. But that apparently hasn't stopped it from attempting to bypass sanctions to access advanced chips for 5G smartphones, reports PCMag. Huawei used to produce Kirin chipsets designed by HiSilicon and manufactured by chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co before the U.S. tightened restrictions, reports the Financial Times.  Huawei is believed to be “providing support” for a local Chinese company founded in 2021. Pengxinwei IC Manufacturing Co. (PXW) is run by a former Huawei executive and is close to Huawei’s headquarters in Shenzhen. PXW is ordering chip making equipment in order to build a semiconductor fab, a manufacturing plant in which raw silicon wafers are turned into integrated circuits. Those orders include foreign suppliers, which Huawei no longer has access to, notes Bloomberg. Continue Reading

Orange Plans Reduced Power Use Ahead of European Energy Crisis

By John Celentano, Inside Towers Business Editor

UPDATE  French telecom giant Orange has outlined several power-saving measures as the company looks to combat the growing energy crisis that is set to grip Europe this winter, according to Data Center Dynamics. Orange’s position follows recent assessments highlighting that European wireline and mobile network operators likely could face a bleak winter with blackouts as energy producers ration supplies, as Inside Towers reported.  These potential power issues have been fueled by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, with Russia deciding to halt gas deliveries via Europe's key supply route in the wake of this conflict. Orange has responded by confirming that it will cut 5 to 10 percent of its instantaneous electricity consumption for one hour per day. It says that switching to battery backup for that interval at several thousand fixed network sites can help to save up to 20 megawatts. Continue Reading

Senate Passes Small Business Broadband Bill

By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief

The Senate on Thursday passed legislation that directs the Small Business Administration (SBA) to designate a senior Office of Investment and Innovation employee as the broadband and emerging information technology coordinator. It also establishes measures to help the competitiveness and productivity of small businesses through broadband access and other emerging information technologies.   Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), a senior member of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, and John Kennedy (R-LA), sponsored the measure. “Small businesses are engines of economic growth in New Hampshire and across the country,” said Shaheen. She said she looks forward to the House taking up and passing the legislation, “which will help small businesses in New Hampshire and around the country.” Continue Reading

Under Four Percent of Cell Sites in Florida Not Working After Ian

By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief

The number of people killed in Florida by Hurricane Ian topped 100 on Monday, days after the storm made landfall at Category 4 strength, decimating coastal towns and leaving rescue crews searching for survivors while communities face the daunting task of rebuilding, according to CNN.   Nearly 600,000 homes, businesses and other customers in Florida still did not have power as of early Monday afternoon, noted PowerOutage.us. Many are without clean tap water, with well over 100 boil-water advisories in places around the state, according to the Florida Health Department.   Some residents and businesses in storm-damaged counties may not be back on the grid for “weeks or months” because of the structural damage caused by the hurricane, said Florida Power and Light President/CEO Eric Silagy. “The amount of water that we received and the height of the surge affected a lot of the infrastructure,” Naples City Manager Jay Boodheshwar told CNN. “So there are transformers that are fried. It is not simply rehanging lines. There are things that may need to be replaced.” Continue Reading

Bill May Exempt Companies from Taxes on Broadband Infrastructure Grants

By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief

A bipartisan group of Senators introduced the Broadband Grant Tax Treatment Act. If passed, the measure would change the Internal Revenue Code to ensure that funding directed for broadband implementation from the Infrastructure Law and the American Rescue Plan will not be considered taxable income.     Grants awarded to industry for the purposes of broadband deployment are currently factored into a company’s income and will soon be subjected to additional taxes due to scheduled changes to the corporate tax code that kick in beginning next year – unless Congress acts now to address the problem, according to the lawmakers.  That ensures all federal dollars awarded to companies for the purpose of deploying broadband can be used wholly for that purpose, rather than making their way back to the government through taxes, say bill sponsors Sens. Mark Warner (D-VA) and Jerry Moran (R-KS). Co-sponsors are: Tim Kaine (D-VA), Roger Wicker (R-MS), Rev. Raphael Warnock (D-GA), and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV). Continue Reading