Industry Insight: Will Blacklisting SMIC Slow China’s Advance toward Silicon Self-Reliance and 5G Leadership?

On December 18th, 2020, SMIC (Semiconductor Manufacturing International Company), China’s largest foundry, was added to the Bureau of Industry and Security’s (BIS) Entity List. This was not a surprising move by the US Department of Commerce given the increasing stringency and aggressiveness of the Trump Administration’s tech trade policy toward China over the last couple of years, especially with the advent of the Coronavirus Pandemic. Besides, Secretary Wilbur Ross indicated in September that SMIC would likely join Huawei on the BIS’s Entity List. What are the implications on the semiconductor industry and the future of 5G?

Tech Insight: TinyML

AI related technologies have been around for decades. It is nothing new despite the recent hype that has elevated AI to the forefront of the “digital” discussion. Why are we excited about AI? It is becoming increasingly ubiquitous thanks to some pivotal advancements in how and where AI can be deployed. TinyML is one of these advancements that promises to bring AI to the tiniest of things.

Industry Insight: The Unintended Consequence of the US War on Huawei

The US Department of Commerce recently amended its foreign-produced direct product rule (FPDP) and Entity List to include HiSilicon, Huawei’s semiconductor design subsidiary. This action has been widely deemed an escalation of the US government’s “war on Huawei. In the broader context of the US sanction on Chinese tech firms, the addendum applies a consistency of “national security and foreign policy purpose” to HiSilicon.

Industry Insight: COVID-19 Tests China’s Resiliency

We have come a long way in a short time since COVID-19 emerged from Wuhan, China late last year. The virus has stealthily yet rapidly evolved from a provincial epidemic to a pandemic that is suffocating the largest and the smallest of economies around the globe.

Industry Insight: China’s Trade “Win-Win” and the Phase 2 Trade Deal

While the White House has touted a major victory in the trade war with China with the signing of a so-called “Phase One” deal, it was difficult not to notice the very visible absence of Chinese President Xi Jinping himself. Instead, the Trump Administration received a congratulatory letter from President Trump’s Chinese counterpart read by Vice Premier Liu He, a level-three member of the Chinese Politburo.

5G: The Opportunity for the Emerging Markets to Drive Innovation

The global race for 5G is on with operators in advanced markets such as the US, South Korea leading the way with the first deployments of 5G networks in their respective markets. Given all the excitement and hype that has shrouded 5G over the last couple of years, telecom operators around the world are under pressure to jump on the 5G bandwagon as governments push to position their economies for the digital era. Especially for the U.S. and China, 5G has become a strategic economic imperative that both countries believe will determine the economy and doctrine that will lead in our digital future. But what does the 5G race mean for the emerging and developing markets? Do operators in these markets have the opportunity to rethink the network to enable new economic possibilities in the era of 5G?

World Internet Conference 2018: Key Takeaways

neXt Curve attended the World Internet Conference 2018 in Wuzhen, China’s premier conference on the digital economy and policy, which took place from the 6th to the 9th of November. This year’s conference was sparsely attended by U.S. tech giants such as Apple and Google, but their absence didn’t put a damper on the global scope of the event and its continued promotion of the Digital Silk Road.

Industry Insight: Holistic Security is Key to Meet the Digital Security Threats of Today & Tomorrow

On October 4th, 2018, Bloomberg’s Businessweek released a report alleging that Chinese spies implanted a “malicious chip” into server motherboards assembled by Super Micro Computer Inc. (Supermicro), a U.S.-based Original Device Manufacturer (ODM) that manufactures servers used in hyperscale data centers.  Growing national security threats are increasingly putting enterprises at risk as the bare-metal of… Continue reading Industry Insight: Holistic Security is Key to Meet the Digital Security Threats of Today & Tomorrow