That Apple contract manufacturer Foxconn may be nearing a decision to build a $10 billion display fab in Wisconsin (see 1706230041) is “a hard case to make in terms of labor and other costs,” said Chris DeMuth, chief investment officer at Rangeley Capital, on a Monday podcast. U.S. labor costs are “competitive” with those of other world regions only at the very high end of “precision-type manufacturing,” such as for specialty medical devices, said DeMuth. Flat-panel screens “can be made much cheaper in Asia,” he said. That’s why DeMuth sees any decision to build a plant in Wisconsin as a “political” ploy to win favor with the Trump administration, he said. Though building a highly robotic plant in Wisconsin “could make some business sense for Foxconn, I think it’s definitely a political play,” agreed Andrew Walker, Rangeley Capital portfolio manager. “I don’t think it’s an accident that they’re looking to build in Wisconsin, Paul Ryan’s home state,” said Walker of the Republican House speaker. Building a U.S. plant also “serves as an economic hedge” against possible trade wars, he said. “If they do jack up the taxes on iPhones coming into the U.S., you can start building them in the U.S. at that plant you’ve already built.” Foxconn and Wisconsin representatives didn’t comment Tuesday. Foxconn CEO Terry Gou is scheduled to keynote IFA Sept. 2 in Berlin (see 1707110023).
House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., pushed back Monday against a report in The New York Times that President Donald Trump's administration was slowing its work on an infrastructure plan expected to include a section on broadband deployment. Blackburn told reporters she believes the infrastructure plan remains a top priority for the administration and that the White House views broadband as “the No. 1 infrastructure issue. Of course, you've got roads and bridges and airports” teed up as other important infrastructure issues, but local politicians are focusing on broadband. Blackburn is hopeful Congress can tackle infrastructure legislation in the fall, once it finishes work on the FY 2018 federal budget. Blackburn emphasized during a Brookings Institution event that public-private partnerships, along with state and local funding, would be primary drivers for broadband investment as part of a broader infrastructure plan. Federal grants will be used to “finish” funding for broadband projects, with money primarily targeted at unserved areas, she said. A broadband title will need to include language to eliminate regulatory barriers to encourage investment in deployment, including for siting and permits, Blackburn said. She noted House Communications' June hearing on broadband speed mapping and other barriers to deployment (see 1706210059) as evidence that Congress should address those issues, “to set the right foundation” in advance of an infrastructure package. Blackburn sees net neutrality legislation as a way of providing “certainty” ahead of an infrastructure package. She urged House Democrats “to work with us” on net neutrality, hoping there won't be a “one-sided conversation.” Many telecom-focused congressional Democrats don't believe a bipartisan net neutrality bill is possible, possibly at all this Congress (see 1707130063 and 1707210038).
President Donald Trump signed an executive order to create the Presidential Advisory Council on Infrastructure within the Department of Commerce. The 15-member group will include members with “relevant experience or subject-matter expertise” in communications and other infrastructure sectors, the White House said Wednesday evening. The group will study the efficacy of existing federal funding and support for infrastructure projects, including broadband deployment. Trump directed the council to provide recommendations on how to prioritize U.S. infrastructure needs, develop funding options for infrastructure investment for the next 10 years and identify ways to increase public-private partnerships on infrastructure development.
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., and Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., urged President Donald Trump Friday to prioritize digital trade issues in a renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement as a way to “set the highest possible bar” for the internet’s economic potential. “Our opening position in negotiations for NAFTA 2.0 should be a strong defense of American interests, which means that we should not begin” with elements of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, said the letter. Trump withdrew the U.S. from TPP in January (see 1701240047). “Beyond data flow and data localization provisions, a modernized NAFTA should, among other things, secure the clearest liability protections for websites hosting user speech and commerce, the toughest bans on discriminatory licensing terms for online services, customs thresholds and procedures that work for small online sellers,” the senators said. They also asked Trump to seek “a copyright regime that is consistent with” the 2015 Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act.
ISP privacy legislation countering President Donald Trump’s repeal of FCC broadband privacy rules was introduced Tuesday in the District of Columbia City Council. The bill by Councilmember Brandon Todd (D) would require carriers to get opt-in consent from customers about use and sharing of sensitive personal data and opt-out consent for nonsensitive private information, Todd’s office said in a Wednesday news release. The bill would prohibit carriers from making broadband service contingent on customers giving up privacy rights. It would require ISPs to clearly explain to customers in privacy notices what information is collected and how it will be used and shared. In a data breach, the bill would require carriers to notify the Public Service Commission and D.C. attorney general. “In light of the Federal Government’s lack of leadership on internet privacy -- an issue at the heart of life in a digitally-connected era -- it is time for bold action at the local level to protect the privacy rights of broadband consumers,” said Todd. “While internet carriers provide a critical service to District residents, basic rules of the road are required to ensure that consumers have more control over their personal information.” The District joins about 20 other jurisdictions seeking to revive ISP privacy rules killed by federal legislators (see 1707060052 and 1706190058).
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., told reporters Wednesday he's asking DOJ Antitrust Division head nominee Makan Delrahim to meet with him to discuss any contact Delrahim may have had with members of President Donald Trump's administration on AT&T's proposed buy of Time Warner. Blumenthal's request follows media reports that White House officials viewed DOJ's ongoing review of AT&T/TW as a potential way to address Trump's well-known frustrations with TW's CNN's coverage of his administration. Senate Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee ranking member Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., also warned DOJ on its interactions with the Trump administration over AT&T/TW (see 1707070054). Blumenthal and Klobuchar both raised concerns about AT&T/TW on antitrust grounds. The White House “is ethically and morally barred from intervening” in the merger review, Blumenthal said. “The mere threat of it is a very serious potential violation of ethics.” Delrahim has not yet responded to the request for a meeting, Blumenthal said. DOJ didn't comment.
FCC officials on Friday repeatedly and vociferously criticized a story by The Washington Post quoting critics who claimed Chairman Ajit Pai, as head of an independent agency, was inappropriately close to the Trump administration. FCC Chief of Staff Matthew Berry in tweets said the incorrect assertion Trump and Pai spent time together at the president's meeting with tech companies this week (see 1706220054) amounted to a "fake meeting," was "sloppy journalism" and "disgraceful" and gave it "4 Pinocchios," referring to the way the Post's fact-checking columnists rate inaccurate statements (see here, here, here and here). Pai policy adviser Nathan Leamer tweeted that the assertion about a Pai/Trump meeting was a "complete fabrication" and, after a Post correction online, tweeted it was "still baseless" (here and here). According to the FCC, Pai took part in the tech companies event but was in a separate breakout session from Trump in a different building. Reporter Brian Fung emailed us that the Post "promptly corrected the story after being notified of the mistake, which was unintentional." He said Consumer Watchdog advocate John Simpson, whom he quoted in the story, "continued to say the FCC chairman's involvement in the White House event was problematic in the first place, from his perspective." Commissioner Mike O'Rielly tweeted the story was "a nothingburger that fails to point out last Admin took wrecking ball to norm on interactions." And Leamer liked a tweet by Mercatus Center fellow Joe Kane saying: "I hear @AjitPaiFCC and @POTUS work in the SAME CITY!" The FCC didn't comment further.
CenturyLink believes it's important for “infrastructure providers” to be part of discussions with the White House about “the policies and role of government in creating an environment for innovation,” following a White House Office of Science and Technology Policy-led meeting Thursday with tech sector stakeholders. CEO Glen Post and Chief Technology Officer Aamir Hussain both attended, Senior Vice President-Public Policy and Government Relations John Jones blogged Thursday. The meeting covered a range of policy issues on emerging technologies, including concurrent sessions on the role of 5G wireless infrastructure in IoT development, drone regulation and tech startup financing (see 1706220054). The “administration is to be commended for leading discussions of this type and seeking" executive input, wrote Jones.
The White House Office of American Innovation hopes the American Technology Council’s inaugural meeting Monday will help “unleash the creativity of the private sector to provide citizen services in a way that has never happened before,” said Director Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, before the meeting’s official start: “We will foster a new set of startups” and “be a global leader in the field making government more transparent and responsive to citizens' needs.” The ATC meeting, which was to have gone past our deadline, was to focus on its primary goal of working on federal IT modernization, but smaller working groups also would look at a range of other sector-specific issues like big data, cybersecurity, H1-B visas and tech recruitment, a White House spokesman said. “We certainly know the problems,” said White House Director-Strategic Initiatives Chris Liddell in public remarks. “We have some of the ideas about what the solutions are. But we really want to engage your minds and get the best of the private sector applied to these problems.” The White House confirmed that the ATC meeting would include: MasterCard CEO Ajay Banga, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, OpenGov CEO Zachary Bookman, Oracle co-CEO Safra Catz, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Kleiner Perkins Chairman John Doerr, VMware CEO Pat Gelsinger, Palantir CEO Alex Karp, Intel CEO Brian Krzanich, Akamai CEO Tom Leighton, SAP CEO Bill McDermott, Qualcomm CEO Steven Mollenkopf, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen, IBM CEO Ginni Rometty, Google parent Alphabet CEO Eric Schmidt, Accenture CEO Julie Sweet and Trump tech sector ally Peter Thiel.
The American Technology Council's inaugural meeting Monday “is an opportunity” for President Donald Trump's administration and tech sector leaders “to work constructively on shared policy goals that will move our nation forward on job creation, modernizing government technology, and workforce development,” said TechNet President Linda Moore in a Friday statement. “Tax reform and trade will have a major impact on job creation for the American people, and we remain committed to working with the administration and Congress to achieve meaningful results on each of these issues.” The ATC meeting is set to include Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, Apple CEO Tim Cook and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. Oracle CEO Safra Catz and IBM CEO Ginni Rometty are also said to be attending the meeting, lobbyists said. A separate Thursday White House Office of Science and Technology Policy-led meeting on 5G wireless and emerging technologies reportedly will include FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, two sources told us. The FCC referred us to the White House, which didn't comment.