CTIA President Meredith Baker said wireless is being undervalued by policymakers in some cases as they look at broadband across the U.S. Industry deserves a “5G-focused public policy,” she told a CTIA 5G virtual event Wednesday. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said the federal government wants more network equipment to be made in the U.S.

The Senate Commerce Committee’s privacy hearing Wednesday showed there’s “more commonality than expected,” Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., told reporters. Federal preemption remains a hurdle, but ranking member Roger Wicker, R-Miss., told us he and Cantwell are going to “intensify” efforts to reach agreement over the next two months.

Micron Technology’s efforts to increase supply chain resilience and “provide business continuity to our customers” will cause “headwinds” to its assembly and packaging costs, “consistent with the trend in the overall industry,” said CEO Sanjay Mehrotra on an earnings call Tuesday for fiscal Q4 ended Sept. 2. Higher demand for Micron’s memory chips in 5G smartphones compared with 4G handsets helped drive 25% Q2 year-over-year revenue growth in the chip maker’s mobile business, for a quarterly record, he said.

“If you want to stop ransomware, you need Guardicore,” said Akamai CEO Tom Leighton on an investor call Wednesday, explaining the company’s rationale for buying the privately held “micro-segmentation” cybersecurity solutions provider. Akamai will pay $600 million cash from its existing reserves for 100% of Guardicore stock, said Akamai Chief Financial Officer Ed McGowan. The transaction is expected to close in Q4.

Ohio should be firm but fair with businesses on privacy, Republican sponsors of a comprehensive state bill said Tuesday. Ohio House Government Oversight Committee members questioned sponsors but didn’t vote at HB-376’s first hearing. Lt. Gov. Jon Husted (R) unveiled the bill in July that would apply to businesses with at least $25 million revenue in the state (see 2107130049). Consumer Reports (CR) raised concerns the bill won’t adequately protect users. Minnesota also weighed privacy legislation this week.

Senate Commerce Committee members told us they hope Wednesday’s consumer privacy hearing will reactivate privacy legislation discussions. But Senate Minority Whip John Thune, R-S.D., said leadership hasn’t been willing to engage in discussions, despite bipartisan potential from other members. Commerce Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., said she’s focused on getting the FTC more funding.

Amazon’s first “household robot,” called Astro, is a miniature autonomous vehicle for the home, debuting in limited quantities later this year at $999, said the company in a promotional video briefing that aired Tuesday. Amazon saved Astro for last in an hourlong prerecorded roadshow that previewed various device updates and remote elder-care monitoring and smart home services. New for 2022 is the Hey, Disney! voice assistant from Disney that will work alongside Alexa on supported Echo devices and let kids and families interact with characters from the Disney, Pixar and Star Wars franchises.

Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou flew home to China Friday, released from custody in Canada through the "unremitting efforts of the Chinese government," said a Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson Saturday. Meng endured nearly three years of "arbitrary detention" by U.S. and Canadian authorities, said the spokesperson, making no mention of the deal Meng signed with DOJ admitting to bank fraud as a condition for her release.

Comments are due Nov. 12 at the Bureau of Industry and Security in docket BIS-2021-0035 on the Trade Expansion Act Section 232 investigation that Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo launched Sept. 21 into the national security implications of rare-earth neodymium magnet imports to the U.S., said Monday’s Federal Register. A June 8 White House supply chain report recommended Commerce consider initiating a Section 232 probe, saying neodymium magnets are important in a wide range of industrial and consumer devices, “yet the U.S. is heavily dependent on imports for this critical product.”

The Senate Judiciary Committee is eyeing a confirmation hearing within the first two weeks of October for DOJ Antitrust Division chief nominee Jonathan Kanter, Senate Antitrust Subcommittee Chair Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., told us. “I hope that happens. Now remember, it’s in the full committee, so I can’t control everything.”