A team of researchers at the world-renowned Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has found that cubic boron arsenide has better properties than silicon for making microchips, calling it “the best semiconductor material ever discovered.” Notably, the team that made the discovery also included a Chinese-born scientist previously suspected of spying for China.

According to the study, cubic boron arsenide is ten times more efficient as a heat conductor than silicon. It is also the best conductor of both electrons and electron holes – this is especially important for the properties of a semiconductor. Materials such as boron arsenide could change the rules of the game in industry.

The investigation team included Gan Chen, a former head of engineering at MIT, who was under investigation for a year on suspicion of espionage, after which the US Department of Justice dropped the charges for lack of evidence.

It may well be decades before boron arsenide-based chips become commercially available—if the technology is ever found usable. Nevertheless, it is expected that the material can be used to produce better, faster and more compact chips than today.

Gan Chen was arrested in January 2021. He was accused of hiding ties to the Chinese authorities in applications for a grant from the US Department of Energy. The scientific community, including scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, criticized the arrest and wrote an open letter. Under President Joe Biden, the Justice Department dropped all charges.

Scientists emphasize that such a “witch hunt” discourages researchers, especially from China, from moving to the United States, which is why the United States cannot use its intellectual potential.

MTS President Vyacheslav Nikolaev said that the company plans to move towards reducing sales of SIM-cards, as well as reducing their points of sale.

It seems to me that now, when the cost of SIM cards has increased by an order of magnitude, it’s time to heal this market. Therefore, from the point of view of sales of SIM cards, it seems to me that the sales volume can now be reduced, especially since for us, ecosystem effects provide very serious advantages in reducing the outflow – this also allows us to take sales more calmly.

Nikolaev noted that an increasing number of customers are also moving online, which also allows, in terms of telecom, to reduce the number of their own points of sale.

From the point of view of telecom, it seems to me that this is a very timely issue, and perhaps the right actions will be taken by the entire market. At least we will go in this direction. We hope that colleagues will not be far behind, because selling SIM cards is indeed becoming more expensive and pointless.

As we have already reported, MTS may sell its tower business.

One of Asia’s largest telecoms and pay-TV operators, Japanese company Sky Perfect JSat, has announced that it plans to use the SpaceX Starship interplanetary spacecraft to launch its Superbird-9 telecommunications satellite into geosynchronous orbit in 2024. The details of the deal were not disclosed.

The situation is noteworthy in that Starship has not yet made a single orbital flight: Elon Musk promises to launch Starship on a test flight into orbit almost every month for about a year, but it is delayed each time. However, there is no contradiction that an interstellar spacecraft to launch a payload into orbit: in concept, Starship should replace all of SpaceX’s current rockets, including the workhorse Falcon 9, which goes into space every week.