Semiconductor Bill Moves to House, GUMBO First Round, Brightspeed Fiber Build in Wisconsin
The CHIPS Act had been pushed by officials as a key bill to increase America’s self sufficiency on chip manufacturing.
Riley Haight
July 27, 2022 – The Senate on Wednesday advanced a bill to the House that will subsidize U.S-made semiconductor chips.
In a 64-33 vote, the Senate pushed forward the CHIPS and Science Act, which allocates $52 billion to incentivize domestic semiconductor manufacturing.
“As Americans are worried about the state of the economy and the cost of living, the CHIPS bill is one answer: it will accelerate the manufacturing of semiconductors in America, lowering prices on everything from cars to dishwashers,” President Joe Biden said in a statement.
In a virtual meeting on Monday, Biden stated that that because of the widespread use of semiconductor chips in many products such as cell phones, cars, medical equipment, and military equipment, the “shortage of chips during the coronavirus pandemic has caused price hikes and supply-chain issues in several industries,” the Post reported.
The domestic chip shortage was seen by experts and government officials as an economic and national security risk, as supply chain issues during the pandemic bare America’s reliance on foreign chip production. The bill presents a response to China’s rise as a dominant force in this sector.
Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo stated that America’s share of the global chip manufacturing market has decreased from 40 to 12 percent, where most of the semiconductor manufacturing happens in Taiwan.
Louisiana announced first round of awards from GUMBO program
Louisiana announced Monday its first round of awards from its Granting Unserved Municipalities Broadband Opportunities program Monday, which includes roughly $9 million toward an AT&T fiber build to 9,800 homes, businesses, and farms in parts of 13 parishes.
An AT&T press release estimates that the total project cost will be nearly $19 million, with the provider matching the GUMBO grant. Project construction is set to start once the final agreement is made between the state and AT&T.
In all, Louisiana announced $130 million in grants — $225 million in total project investments – to winning applications for GUMBO funds on Monday, which will go toward connecting more than 66,000 locations. Other winners include Cox Communications, Conexon Connect, and Charter Communications.
The ultimate goal of the program is to help connect the entire state by 2029.
Brightspeed announces Wisconsin fiber build
Internet service provider Brightspeed announced Wednesday its plans to build a fiber network in the state of Wisconsin.
According to a press release, in its first phase of construction, Brightspeed’s fiber network is estimated to bring reliable internet and Wi-Fi to more than 70,000 potential customers across 15 counties in Wisconsin by the end of 2023. These counties include Ashland, Bayfield, Columbia, Dane, Dodge, Douglas, Grant, Green Lake, Jackson, La Crosse, Lafayette, Marinette, Monroe, Outagamie, and Sauk.
“Brightspeed’s investment in Wisconsin will make an enormous difference for residents of our great state who depend on reliable internet to work, learn, and live,” said Senator Julian Bradley, R-WI.
The company said that in the coming years, it plans to add an additional 80,000 potential customers in over 150,000 new fiber-enabled locations in Wisconsin.
“The Wisconsin fiber build is part of Brightspeed’s comprehensive plan to invest at least $2 billion in its fiber optics transformation, which is expected to reach up to 3 million homes and businesses over the next five years,” said a press release.
