Top 5 Tech Trump Expectations for 2017
Donald Trump's policy statements on technology before the election were nearly non-existent, so what's going to happen when he becomes US President in January? Here are just a few possibilities...
1. Huawei & ZTE: USA, no way We can be relatively certain that Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. and ZTE Corp. (Shenzhen: 000063; Hong Kong: 0763) aren't getting a sniff of US carrier business a Trump administration. It would also have been unlikely if Clinton had won instead. But Trump has named Peter Navarro to oversee US trade and industrial policy. Harvard-educated economist Navarro is the author of the 2012 documentary "Death By China." So there may be further trade impact with China beyond the Huawei and ZTE ban, as yet unknown.(See Surprise! Sprint Still Has Huawei in Its Network.)
2. We'll be FCC-ing you! Trump has appointed two advisors to his transition team who make no bones about their desire to end Net Neutrality and gut the FCC. Jeff Eisenach and Mark Jamison joined the Trump team in November: Eisenach had previously told a government committee that, "Net Neutrality would not improve consumer welfare or protect the public interest." (See Trump Team Appoints Net Neutrality Naysayers for FCC Transition and Wheeler to Leave FCC Next Month.)
3. Trumping 5G? The possibility of a neutered FCC does lead to an interesting question about the future of next-generation wireless services: How might a potentially hamstrung FCC handle opening up 5G spectrum? Tom Wheeler's FCC has been aggressive about moving toward opening millimeter wave spectrum for 5G use around 2020, but it's not happened yet. Will it be a priority for Trump's FCC? (See 5G in US: Will Spectrum Be the Speed Bump?)
4. Bigly M&A? If Trump can do as he promised and reduce corporate tax from 35% to 15%, that will likely mean a lot of US companies bringing cash back from overseas. Will it return in the form of share buy-backs and dividends or be used by tech titans to buy up startups and rivals to expand their reach? Probably a combination of both, but as I've reported before, the tax and regulatory environment could mean that some Yuuuge acquisitions are in our future. (See Trump Promises Tech Execs 'Easier' Trade Conditions and T-Mobile CFO on Trump: Expect More Consolidation & More Competition.)
5. Who's gonna drive you home?
Elon Musk and Uber CEO, Travis Kalanick, have been brought on as advisors to Trump. Their roles may cover a wide remit, from space travel to renewable energy. Both men, however, have a strong interest in getting self-driving cars on road. States in the US have typically set the pace on self-driving cars so far, but could that change if Musk and Kalanick have Trump's ear?
— Dan Jones, Mobile Editor, Light Reading
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