The Bureau of Industry and Security released an interim final rule Thursday expanding an authorization for the release of some controlled software and technology to all entities on the agency’s Entity List if the release is for the purposes of standards-setting activities. Previously, the authorization had applied only for some Entity List entities, namely Huawei and its affiliates. The interim rule takes effect Friday. The long-anticipated interim final rule also amends definitions related to the authorization, including by setting a new definition for what is a standards-setting activity. It allows for the release of software and technology for cryptographic standards. The previously issued authorization had also mentioned only technology, and not software. Industry had called for the expansion of the authorization in recent years, saying that restricting the authorization to Huawei was causing uncertainty and chilling participation in standards bodies (see 2204130072). The national security threat from ceding U.S. participation “outweighs the risks related to the limited release of certain low-level technology and software to parties on the Entity List in the context of a ‘standards-related activity,’” BIS said in the new interim final rule.

Huawei “has been facing a lot of challenges the past few years,” including a 29% revenue decline in 2021 amid U.S. export sanctions and weakening smartphone demand, William Tian, Huawei Consumer Business Group president-West European region, said in an IFA 2022 keynote interview Saturday. “The past few years have been incredibly hard for everyone,” he said. “But we are still going. We are still innovating.” Said Tian: “We have not given up.”

All calls or texts to 988 in Canada will be routed to a mental health crisis or suicide prevention service effective Nov. 30, 2023, said the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) Wednesday. Canada's adoption of a three-digit mental health and suicide prevention system using 988 was expected (see 2208230007). CRTC said as part of 988 implementation, areas that still have seven-digit dialing will transition to 10-digit dialing by May 31. It said the Public Health Agency of Canada will determine what entity will manage 988 calls.

The U.K. and Ukraine began talks on a new digital trade agreement during a meeting Tuesday between British Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan and Ukraine's First Deputy Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko. The agreement will seek to drop barriers to digital trade in a bid to boost Ukrainian jobs following Russia’s invasion, said the U.K. Department for International Trade Wednesday. The U.K. decided earlier to eliminate import tariffs on all goods from Ukraine.

The FCC released its memorandum of understanding with Canada's Radio-television and Telecom Commission on combating robocalls Wednesday. The updated agreement was signed and took effect in June (see 2206060041). The agencies agreed to cooperate on "enforcement activities" and "facilitate mutual exchange of information, knowledge, and expertise." The agreement also included a commitment to "collaborate on initiatives to promote regulatory, policy, technical, and commercially viable solutions to unlawful robocalls and caller id spoofing."

With 90% of the world’s semiconductor manufacturing capacity in Taiwan, mobile carriers need a plan of action if China invades the island nation, Strand Consult said in a Tuesday report. “China is not the same country it was 10 years ago, and Taiwan … has geopolitical significance,” Strand said: “Just as Russia exploits Europe’s dependence on gas, China will exploit the world’s dependence on its information technology industry. Just as Russia threatens to turn off the gas, China can also turn the screws with its IT products and services.”

President Joe Biden on his 140-minute call Thursday with President Xi Jinping explained to the Chinese leader the administration’s “core concerns with China’s unfair economic practices, which harm American workers and harm American families,” a senior administration official told reporters Thursday in a background briefing. But Biden on the call “did not discuss any potential steps he might take” to remove or reduce the Section 301 tariffs on Chinese imports, said the official. “It would be wrong to believe that somehow a decision on any next steps was somehow waiting for this conversation.” On Taiwan, Biden “underscored” to Xi that the U.S. opposes “unilateral changes to the status quo by either side, and commitment to the maintenance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait,” said the official. The two leaders discussed that the U.S. and China “have differences when it comes to Taiwan, but that they have managed those for over 40 years and that keeping an open line of communication on this issue is essential to doing so,” said the official.

Ericsson landed regulatory approval of its $6.2 billion Vonage buy from the Committee on Foreign Investments in the U.S., said Ericsson Friday. “This represents the final requisite approval to complete the deal,” it said. Ericsson and Vonage now expect the transaction to close no later than Thursday, “as provided for” in their November purchase agreement (see 2111220034), under which Vonage will operate as an Ericsson subsidiary under its existing brand, said Ericsson.

U.K. telco EE will block pirate music sites and apps on its mobile network, the British Phonographic Industry said Tuesday. High Court rulings over the past decade against the country's main fixed broadband providers, the BT Group (of which EE is a part), Sky, TalkTalk and Virgin Media, led to the blocking of over 70 illegal sites and apps. EE's move extends that to mobile networks and is a "significant development," said BPI, which estimates online piracy costs the recording industry 200 million pounds ($237 million) a year.

A maintenance update to Rogers’ core network caused network failures Friday, Tony Staffieri, CEO of the Canadian mobile and wireline provider, told customers Saturday. The update “caused some of our routers to malfunction early Friday morning,” he said: “We disconnected the specific equipment and redirected traffic, which allowed our network and services to come back online over time as we managed traffic volumes returning to normal levels.” Rogers is “particularly troubled that some customers could not reach emergency services and we are addressing the issue as an urgent priority,” Staffieri said.