With New White House-Touted Plant, Foxconn and Wisconsin Eye 5G, 8K
Wireless and Wisconsin state officials looked to a 5G future, and even one with 8K TV, with Wednesday's announcement Foxconn will invest $10 billion and create 13,000 jobs in the state. CEO Terry Gou's prominent mentions at a White House…
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ceremony of building an 8K and 5G “ecosystem” in Kenosha likely means “there’s more to it for Foxconn than just the TVs,” said Ross Young, CEO of Display Supply Chain Consultants, in an interview. No “technical barriers” limit LCD panel suppliers “from making 8K even with amorphous silicon,” said Young. With 4K not yet “fully matured,” there’s a “question” of whether “is it really the time to introduce 8K and limit the success of 4K products,” he said. “There’s no content at 8K." Gou said “we are in the middle of the iPhone revolution,” as “high-resolution 8K displays and the powerful 5G communications will greatly increase the growth of big data. With artificial intelligence, a new 8K/5G ecosystem is born.” Displays with 8K resolution are “the key to our future,” said Gou. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) said a memorandum of understanding was being signed Thursday with the company, with $3 billion in “incentives” from Wisconsin. The region “we will call Wisconn Valley will become the new global home to cutting-edge technology and innovation,” he said. Walker said that when visiting Foxconn facilities in China, he saw the 8K that Gou “talks about,” and “it is phenomenal.” The company will build a "state-of-the-art manufacturing facility for the production of LCD panel products," President Donald Trump said at the ceremony, with "a larger facility [to be] constructed over the coming years. And that facility is currently under negotiation." He noted the company’s initial investment of $10 billion-plus creates 3,000 jobs, with the potential for 13,000, and the plant represents "the return of LCD electronics and electronics manufacturing" to the U.S.