EuroWire September 2017

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Transatlantic cable
September 2017 44
Alisa Nelson reported in Missourinet (15th June) that
supporters of the measure say it could bring some 600
high-paying jobs to Missouri’s impoverished Bootheel region.
According to one of the state’s representatives in the US
Congress, the average salary for aluminium plant workers
would be about $95,000. Managers would earn about
$125,000. Salaries for the steel mill were not known.
“Opponents of the proposal say giving lower electric rates to
the few will hurt many of Missouri’s electric ratepayers,”wrote
Ms Nelson. The opposition also contends that, in the absence
of guarantees that the businesses will open and remain in
Missouri, it is bad public policy to include lower electric rates
as part of an economic development package.
† Nucor Corp, the Charlotte, North Carolina steel mini-mill, has
announced that it is investing an estimated $176 million to
build a hot band galvanising and pickling line at its sheet mill
in Ghent, Kentucky.
The new line will have an annual capacity of 500,000
tons and expand Nucor Steel Gallatin’s product o erings.
Estimated time to the beginning of operations is two years.
According to Nucor the 72" line will be the widest hot rolled
galvanising line in North America. The intention is to create
synergies with the company’s other sheet mills and increase
Nucor’s share of the coated steel market in the Midwest.
The project “will allow us to move into segments of the
automotive market we currently do not serve,” John Ferriola,
Nucor’s chairman, CEO and president, said (25 th May). He
noted what he termed “a key need in the marketplace” for
high quality, hot rolled galvanised steel.
Telecom
Tech Week in the USA, like Infrastructure
Week before it, produced not much news
but at least one Trumpian puzzlement
Some telecommunications companies may be having trouble
deciding whether they are on their head or their heels in relation
to US President Donald Trump. As reported by the technology
news website Recode, which focuses on the business of Silicon
Valley, the White House announced plans for a 22nd June meeting
with 30 tech company executives that would focus, among other
areas of interest, on 5G wireless technologies.
Responding to a request for a Tech Week demo by the US O ce
of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), Ericsson on 13th June
led necessary paperwork with the Federal Communications
Commission (FCC), only for it to be denied/dismissed on
14th June.
The FCC said only that it was “unable to grant [the Swedish
telecom equipment and services company’s] application for
the facilities requested. Withdrawn by applicant. Event was
cancelled.”The agency’s “dismissed without prejudice” notice was
signed by the chief of the FCC’s Experimental Licensing Branch.
Attempting to report on the non-event, editor Monica Alleven
of FierceWirelessTech was unable to obtain a comment from any
of the parties to it: neither Ericsson nor the FCC, nor the telecom
Sprint – Ericsson’s intended USA partner in the demonstration.
(“Ericsson Sought Authority to Conduct 5G Demo with Sprint for
President Trump at White House,” 16th June)
What would Mr Trump have seen if the presenters had been
allowed to go ahead? According to Recode, the application
indicates they wanted to use the 14.5-15.35 GHz frequency using
one Ericsson base station and one piece of Ericsson-supplied
user equipment. The company sought a licence to start the demo
on 21st June but said the operation would be limited in time to
the technology meeting and any necessary setup.
The FCC had previously given Ericsson permission to conduct
experiments using 14.5-15.35 GHz; the company chose that
particular spectrum because its equipment was designed to
operate in Sweden. For the White House demo, the aim was to
keep the base station and mobile unit within 50 feet of each
other. Plans also stipulated a larger radius of operation of 0.06
miles in case it had to go somewhat farther than 50 feet.
† Except for the intended participation of Sprint, the
unaccountable cancellation of an apparently worthwhile
demo might be chalked up to Mr Trump’s habit of sharply
distinguishing friends from enemies.
But Recode noted that Masayoshi Son, the CEO of SoftBank,
which controls Sprint, has been an active supporter of Mr
Trump and met with him in December when he pledged to
invest billions of dollars in USA tech companies and create
thousands of jobs. In May, SoftBank announced that it had
raised $93 billion for a new tech investment fund, set to
become the largest in history.
† And, while Mr Trump and Nokia are at daggers drawn, the
American president has no known animus against Ericsson.
Companies whose Tech Week invites were not clawed back
include Amazon, Google and Intel.
Dorothy Fabian – USA Editor