The European Commission decided to make available a substantially greater amount of radio spectrum in the 5 GHz range throughout the European Union for Wi-Fi. The Commission decision, which is to be implemented by Member States by 31 October 2005, makes two specific frequency bands (5150-5350 MHz and 5470-5725 MHz) available in all Member States for wireless access systems. A large amount of flexibility is provided with respect to what type of service or network topology the technology is used for. The decision also introduces spectrum management approaches, by requiring the application of "intelligent" techniques to protect other radio spectrum users against harmful interference, such as military radar and satellite services. Other major markets, such as Japan and the US, are implementing similar rules for the 5 GHz bands based on- the outcome of the World Radiocommunications Conference 2003. A large market in the EU will encourage other countries to align themselves to the same specifications.
Few technology sectors sit as close to the center of gravity in today's artificial intelligence (AI) economy as semiconductor manufacturing. Every AI chip that trains a frontier model, every GPU that powers a data center inference workload, and every power management IC that keeps hyperscaler facilities running traces its origins back to the global Foundry ecosystem. IDC's latest market study throws that reality into sharp relief, projecting that the broadly defined Foundry 2.0 market will surpass $360 billion in 2026, a 17 percent year-over-year gain that would have seemed optimistic even two years ago. For anyone advising boards or investment committees on technology and AI infrastructure strategy, this growth trajectory demands careful consideration. Foundry 2.0 Market Development The umbrella term covers four distinct verticals: pure-play foundry, non-memory integrated device manufacturer (IDM) production, outsourced semiconductor assembly and test (OSAT), and photomask fab...