BBC News By Jonathan Josephs media captionThe increase in demand for semiconductors during the pandemic surprised many, Mr Robbins says The boss of networking giant Cisco has said the shortage of computer chips is set to last for most of this year. Many firms have seen production delayed because of a lack of semiconductors, triggered by the Covid pandemic and exacerbated by other factors. Cisco chief Chuck Robbins told the BBC: "We think we've got another six months to get through the short term. "The providers are building out more capacity. And that'll get better and better over the next 12 to 18 months."