https://urgentcomm.com/wp-content/themes/ucm_child/assets/images/logo/footer-new-logo.png
  • Home
  • News
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Multimedia
    • Video
    • Podcasts
    • Galleries
    • IWCE’s Video Showcase
    • IWCE 2022 Winter Showcase
    • IWCE 2023 Pre-event Guide
  • Commentary
    • Back
    • Commentary
    • Urgent Matters
    • View From The Top
    • All Things IWCE
    • Legal Matters
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Resources
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • Reprints & Reuse
  • IWCE
    • Back
    • IWCE
    • Conference
    • Special Events
    • Exhibitor Listings
    • Premier Partners
    • Floor Plan
    • Exhibiting Information
    • Register for IWCE
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Terms of Service
    • Privacy Statement
    • Cookie Policy
  • Related Sites
    • Back
    • American City & County
    • IWCE
    • Light Reading
    • IOT World Today
    • Mission Critical Technologies
    • TU-Auto
  • In the field
    • Back
    • In the field
    • Broadband Push-to-X
    • Internet of Things
    • Project 25
    • Public-Safety Broadband/FirstNet
    • Virtual/Augmented Reality
    • Land Mobile Radio
    • Long Term Evolution (LTE)
    • Applications
    • Drones/Robots
    • IoT/Smart X
    • Software
    • Subscriber Devices
    • Video
  • Call Center/Command
    • Back
    • Call Center/Command
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • NG911
    • Alerting Systems
    • Analytics
    • Dispatch/Call-taking
    • Incident Command/Situational Awareness
    • Tracking, Monitoring & Control
  • Network Tech
    • Back
    • Network Tech
    • Interoperability
    • LMR 100
    • LMR 200
    • Backhaul
    • Deployables
    • Power
    • Tower & Site
    • Wireless Networks
    • Coverage/Interference
    • Security
    • System Design
    • System Installation
    • System Operation
    • Test & Measurement
  • Operations
    • Back
    • Operations
    • Critical Infrastructure
    • Enterprise
    • Federal Government/Military
    • Public Safety
    • State & Local Government
    • Training
  • Regulations
    • Back
    • Regulations
    • Narrowbanding
    • T-Band
    • Rebanding
    • TV White Spaces
    • None
    • Funding
    • Policy
    • Regional Coordination
    • Standards
  • Organizations
    • Back
    • Organizations
    • AASHTO
    • APCO
    • DHS
    • DMR Association
    • ETA
    • EWA
    • FCC
    • IWCE
    • NASEMSO
    • NATE
    • NXDN Forum
    • NENA
    • NIST/PSCR
    • NPSTC
    • NTIA/FirstNet
    • P25 TIG
    • TETRA + CCA
    • UTC
Urgent Communications
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Home
  • News
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Video
    • Podcasts
    • Omdia Crit Comms Circle Podcast
    • Galleries
    • IWCE’s Video Showcase
    • IWCE 2023 Pre-event Guide
    • IWCE 2022 Winter Showcase
  • Commentary
    • Back
    • All Things IWCE
    • Urgent Matters
    • View From The Top
    • Legal Matters
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • Reprints & Reuse
    • UC eZines
    • Sponsored content
  • IWCE
    • Back
    • Conference
    • Why Attend
    • Exhibitor Listing
    • Floor Plan
    • Exhibiting Information
    • Join the Event Mailing List
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Cookie Policy
    • Terms of Service
    • Privacy Statement
  • Related Sites
    • Back
    • American City & County
    • IWCE
    • Light Reading
    • IOT World Today
    • TU-Auto
  • newsletter
  • In the field
    • Back
    • Internet of Things
    • Broadband Push-to-X
    • Project 25
    • Public-Safety Broadband/FirstNet
    • Virtual/Augmented Reality
    • Land Mobile Radio
    • Long Term Evolution (LTE)
    • Applications
    • Drones/Robots
    • IoT/Smart X
    • Software
    • Subscriber Devices
    • Video
  • Call Center/Command
    • Back
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • NG911
    • Alerting Systems
    • Analytics
    • Dispatch/Call-taking
    • Incident Command/Situational Awareness
    • Tracking, Monitoring & Control
  • Network Tech
    • Back
    • Cybersecurity
    • Interoperability
    • LMR 100
    • LMR 200
    • Backhaul
    • Deployables
    • Power
    • Tower & Site
    • Wireless Networks
    • Coverage/Interference
    • Security
    • System Design
    • System Installation
    • System Operation
    • Test & Measurement
  • Operations
    • Back
    • Critical Infrastructure
    • Enterprise
    • Federal Government/Military
    • Public Safety
    • State & Local Government
    • Training
  • Regulations
    • Back
    • Narrowbanding
    • T-Band
    • Rebanding
    • TV White Spaces
    • None
    • Funding
    • Policy
    • Regional Coordination
    • Standards
  • Organizations
    • Back
    • AASHTO
    • APCO
    • DHS
    • DMR Association
    • ETA
    • EWA
    • FCC
    • IWCE
    • NASEMSO
    • NATE
    • NXDN Forum
    • NENA
    • NIST/PSCR
    • NPSTC
    • NTIA/FirstNet
    • P25 TIG
    • TETRA + CCA
    • UTC
acc.com

Wireless Networks


News

Rakuten says chips crunch ‘much worse’ than expected

Rakuten says chips crunch ‘much worse’ than expected

  • Written by Iain Morris / Light Reading
  • 16th June 2021

Consumers have grown used to long store queues in the age of social distancing. The same goes for the organizations that buy semiconductors. This used to be a relatively quick and easy affair. But amid an unceasing pandemic, surging demand for electronics and a trading spat between superpowers, businesses today face a long wait for their chips. And it is threatening a full-blown economic crisis.

Unlike the automotive sector, the telecom industry has looked relatively unscathed so far. But it seems increasingly vulnerable. In April, Nokia CEO Pekka Lundmark aired some concern about the crunch. “I believe we will continue to do a great job, but it would be naïve to say there are no risks because visibility is not what it was,” he told reporters on a call about results. The latest warning from Tareq Amin, the chief technology officer of Japan’s Rakuten Mobile, indicates long-term disruption is now unavoidable.

“The situation is actually, honestly speaking, much worse than I had anticipated,” Amin told reporters and analysts earlier today. “The mid- to long-term outlook I don’t think in this industry is looking necessarily great. Everyone I talk to tells me this will be an uphill battle for the next 24 months.”

Amin seems to have based his assessment on conversations with company bosses at Broadcom, Qualcomm, Intel, Nvidia and NXP, several of the main semiconductor firms that serve the telecom industry. And he is sanguine about his own immediate situation. “Luckily, I have purchased and forecast and placed orders well ahead of time before shortages have happened, whether it is servers or products and components for remote radio heads or even products we need for terminals we are building under Rakuten,” he said.

But he has already seen evidence of growing delays. TSMC, the Taiwanese foundry with a near monopoly on the manufacture of high-end chips, has already told him not to expect any parts to arrive for two months. “My worry is not about cost but about my ability to procure and supply the hardware products that are needed to continue to meet the build plan numbers that we want to finish.”

Crunch to hurt big vendors, too

Known historically as a smaller, Japanese version of Amazon, Rakuten is busy constructing a fourth mobile network in Japan that takes advantage of the latest cloud and software technologies. Amin has relied more heavily than traditional service providers on general-purpose processors and server equipment normally intended for the IT sector.

His background on the vendor side – he previously worked for China’s Huawei, among other firms – and interest in shaking up the supply chain have made him more intimately familiar with the components market than many telecom technology executives. “He is close to semiconductor companies and has been working with them directly for the Rakuten Mobile deployment,” says Gabriel Brown, a principal analyst with Heavy Reading, a sister company to Light Reading.

To read the complete article, visit Light Reading.

 

Tags: Companies Critical Infrastructure Enterprise Federal Government/Military Funding Interoperability News Public Safety State & Local Government Subscriber Devices System Installation System Operation Tower & Site Tracking, Monitoring & Control Wireless Networks News

Most Recent


  • Researchers uncover RaaS affiliate distributing multiple ransomware strains
    A new threat group is leveraging a relatively large network of malicious servers to distribute and manage multiple ransomware families including prolific ones such as ALPHV, Quantum, and Nokoyawa. The group has been active since at least June 2022 and appears to have links to the operators of Cl0p, Play, Royal, and Cactus ransomware families […]
  • FCC Chair starts process to restore Title II authority over ISPs
    FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said the agency will begin a proceeding to restore the FCC’s authority under Title II of the Communications Act, reestablishing oversight over broadband companies and enacting nationwide net neutrality rules. In a speech at the National Press Club on Tuesday, Rosenworcel announced her plan to hold a vote on a notice […]
  • Sean McDevitt appointed to FirstNet Authority board
    U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo today announced the appointment of commercial communications veteran Sean McDevitt as the latest board member for the FirstNet Authority, which oversees the development of the FirstNet nationwide public-safety broadband network. “It is with great pleasure that I announce the selection of Mr. Sean McDevitt to serve on the FirstNet […]
  • Cisco drops $28 billion on Splunk acquisition
    Cisco plans to bring on data mining and cybersecurity company Splunk for $28 billion, according to an announcement today. This is Cisco’s largest-ever acquisition and the latest in a string of cybersecurity-related acquisitions, according to CNBC. Splunk monitors and analyzes enterprise customer data to reduce the threat of security breaches and remediate threats. Cisco said the acquisition […]

Leave a comment Cancel reply

To leave a comment login with your Urgent Comms account:

Log in with your Urgent Comms account

Or alternatively provide your name, email address below:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Content

  • Unfinished Business: Why NFPA and IBC fire codes need to kill the fire phone
  • What “smart city” means for 2021: How digital twins, AI and other innovations drive smart transformation
  • U.S. telecom groups warn of network construction delays from chip shortages
  • The battle over connected cars drags on

Commentary


Better technology can help solve the public-safety staffing crisis

26th June 2023

Updated: How ‘sidelink’ peer-to-peer communications can enhance public-safety operations

  • 1
27th February 2023

NG911 needed to secure our communities and nation

24th February 2023
view all

Events


UC Ezines


IWCE 2019 Wrap Up

13th May 2019
view all

Twitter


Newsletter

Sign up for UrgentComm’s newsletters to receive regular news and information updates about Communications and Technology.

Expert Commentary

Learn from experts about the latest technology in automation, machine-learning, big data and cybersecurity.

Business Media

Find the latest videos and media from the market leaders.

Media Kit and Advertising

Want to reach our digital and print audiences? Learn more here.

DISCOVER MORE FROM INFORMA TECH

  • American City & County
  • IWCE
  • Light Reading
  • IOT World Today
  • Mission Critical Technologies
  • TU-Auto

WORKING WITH US

  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Events
  • Careers

FOLLOW Urgent Comms ON SOCIAL

  • Privacy
  • CCPA: “Do Not Sell My Data”
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms
Copyright © 2023 Informa PLC. Informa PLC is registered in England and Wales with company number 8860726 whose registered and Head office is 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.