Coronavirus disruptions are expected to cause a $20 billion revenue hit for the global smart home category, reported Omdia Friday. The market is pegged at $101.1 billion for 2020 compared with a previous projection of $120.6 billion, said the research firm. Smart home device shipments are estimated at 603.5 million units vs. 693.5 million previously forecast. The smart home market “tends to be more resilient” during economic challenges vs. less diversified categories, said analyst Blake Kozak, but it, too, will undergo a correction this year. Asia will have the biggest slowdown, equating to $7.8 billion and 66.2 million fewer shipments than originally forecast, it said. Production should ramp up as the Asia region recovers from the pandemic, but depleted inventories could add strain to potentially lower demand. In the U.S., Omdia cut the smart home revenue outlook 10.6%, though device growth is forecast to remain stronger than in other countries. But it cautioned U.S. growth projections could be reduced further if stock markets don’t rebound or if the virus spreads, affecting U.S. supply chains. In areas of the U.S. with high rates of contagion, the number of professional smart home installations could be reduced, it said, and the capability to either ship and deliver products or to install devices could be "drastically diminished."

Xerox will prioritize the health and safety of its employees, customers, partners and affiliates above other considerations, “including its proposal to acquire HP,” said CEO John Visentin Friday. His company will delay releases of presentations, media interviews and meetings with HP shareholders to focus on resources to protect the company’s various stakeholders from the coronavirus pandemic. Xerox offered to buy HP for $24 a share Feb. 10, a price “not in the best interest of HP shareholders,” says HP CEO Enrique Lores (see 2002250008). Xerox “does not consider the market decline since the date of its offer” -- or the temporary suspension of trading in HP shares Tuesday and Thursday as a result of marketwide circuit breaker procedures -- to constitute a failure of any condition to its offer to acquire HP,” said the company.

Prevent “deceptive advertising and dangerous misinformation related to the coronavirus global pandemic,” House Commerce Committee Democrats wrote FTC Chairman Joe Simons Friday. They cited reports about online products on platforms “making false claims related to their ability to cure, treat and prevent coronavirus.” House Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, D-N.J.; House Consumer Protection Subcommittee Chair Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill.; and House Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Chair Diana DeGette, D-Colo., signed. The agency didn’t comment.

The FCC will devote an additional $42.19 million to fund all eligible rural healthcare program services for the current funding year, said an order commissioners adopted Friday for docket 02-60. It permits Universal Service Administrative Co. to carry forward unused funds from prior years. It waives a cap on multiyear commitments and upfront payments that would result in unnecessary reductions in support for rural healthcare providers and patients. Chairman Ajit Pai circulated a draft order last month (see 2002210052). Pai tweeted earlier Friday that he wanted a vote so the additional funding could go to help healthcare providers address the spread of the coronavirus. After OK, he tweeted, "we finally got the votes!" This "is a critically important step that the FCC took today, particularly in light of the coronavirus pandemic," Pai said. "COVID-19 presents serious challenges to healthcare providers, and they need every tool in the toolbox at their disposal, particularly the enhanced connectivity that enables them to provide vital healthcare services to the American public. Today's order ensures that rural Americans will have access to the healthcare services they need." A commissioner's aide said there wasn't controversy among commissioners over the order's adoption.

President Donald Trump said during a Friday news conference his proclamation declaring the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic a national emergency temporarily waives parts of the Medicare, Medicaid and state children's health insurance programs and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act Privacy rule in a way that will enable more widespread use of telehealth. He called telehealth “a fairly new and incredible thing that’s happened in the not so distant past. I tell you, what they’ve done with telehealth is incredible.” There have been numerous calls for better access to telehealth resources as the virus outbreak has grown (see 2003120002). Trump also announced that a Google affiliate is working with the White House and other private sector companies on a website to aid Americans in finding tests to screen for coronavirus. Alphabet's Verily is overseeing plans for the website, which Trump said was to be ready by Sunday. The site will direct Americans to drive-through testing sites in parking lots at retailers like Target and Walmart, said White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator Dr. Debbie Birx. “It’s going to be very quickly done -- unlike websites of the past -- to determine if a test is warranted and to facilitate testing at a nearby convenient location,” Trump said. “Google has 1,700 engineers working on this right now. They’ve made tremendous progress. Our overriding goal is to stop the spread of the virus and to help all Americans who have been impacted by this.” Verily confirmed it's "developing a tool to help triage individuals for COVID-19 testing. We are in the early stages of development, and planning to roll testing out in the Bay Area, with the hope of expanding more broadly over time."

The FCC is scheduled to move to its new headquarters in late June, officials told us. The agency wouldn’t comment on the details of the move to the new building, Sentinel Square III at 45 L St. NE. Officials told us the new offices will be more “open concept” than in the current building. Real estate industry officials say that’s in line with other federal agencies that have relocated (see 1701120044). During the move, agency staff will telework from home for a week while the offices are packed up and relocated, FCC officials said. It’s not clear how the move plan interacts with the agency’s current pandemic response, which also involves telework (see 2003120063).

Few conferences, agencies and work routines in various business and public sectors were spared disruption Friday, the second full day since the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus outbreak a global pandemic. Nearly 2,000 U.S. cases of COVID-19 were confirmed through Friday afternoon, including 41 deaths.

Congress isn't yet shortening its schedule in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, but members of both chambers’ Commerce and Judiciary committees told us last week not to expect their policymaking activities to be business as usual. Lawmakers barred public access to the Capitol and all House and Senate office buildings. Facilities remain open for members of Congress, Capitol Hill staff, credentialed journalists and business visitors.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai got pledges from top ISPs, including all major carriers and cable operators plus telcos, to keep everyone online for the next 60 days amid the coronavirus. Pai spoke with the companies Thursday, he said Friday; see our report here. Companies and trade associations endorsed the pledge. Commissioners Jessica Rosenworcel and Geoffrey Starks said that's a good start, but the agency needs to do more.

A day after NAB canceled its April show at the Las Vegas Convention Center (see 2003110036), the coronavirus continued turning life upside down Thursday for many in various business and public sectors. In excess of 1,500 U.S. cases of COVID-19 were confirmed through Thursday afternoon, including 39 deaths. The spread was on pace to surpass 2,000 confirmed U.S. cases by the start of the weekend.