House Republicans are aware that the Food and Drug Administration missed its statutory deadline Aug. 18 under the FDA Reauthorization Act for releasing for public comment proposed rules on a new category of over-the-counter hearing aids (see 2008200024), said an aide. “We also understand FDA has been laser-focused on responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and protecting public health,” said the aide. “We are in touch with FDA on a host of issues, and we’re hopeful proposed rules will be released for public comment soon.”
More access to broadband is needed to battle racial inequality in the COVID-19 pandemic, but isn’t enough, said panelists Tuesday on a Brookings Institution panel focused on whether expanding broadband during the pandemic could alleviate racism and systemic inequality. Broadband access is “necessary, but not all sufficient,” said Kaya Henderson, a former chancellor of the Washington, D.C., public schools. African American communities need better access to broadband for employment, education, and to interact with government institutions, but the internet isn’t enough if other issues aren't addressed, said Henderson, now CEO of education tech company Reconstruction. “Stop treating these like they’re siloed issues,” she said. Being connected has become increasingly necessary to work and get an education in America, and COVID-19 has greatly intensified that, said Brookings Senior Fellow Nicol Turner Lee. “America caught the ‘Rona, and black folks have caught hell,” said Marc Morial, CEO of the National Urban League. “It has been revealed by this pandemic that broadband is a public utility, and we should treat is as such,” said Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program fellow Andre Perry. “ The U.S. should have a Broadband New Deal, addressing job creation, training, and expanded broadband adoption and access, said Turner Lee. “A laptop and broadband is the same as paper and pencil” for students, said Henderson.
Speakers supported next-generation 911 funding from Congress, in a discussion at the virtual IWCE conference. Other speakers said the COVID-19 pandemic continues to present huge challenges for 911 call centers. And 911 remains “woefully behind in technology,” said Jeff Cohen, APCO chief counsel during a Monday panel: “In many ways, we’re not going down the right path.” APCO supports a “massive grant program” to fund NG-911. “We’ve got a really good opportunity,” he said.
AT&T is “rapidly” deploying FirstNet across the U.S., CEO Edward Parkinson said at the ICWE virtual conference Tuesday. Halfway through the initial deployment, the carrier has built 80% of the network under the FirstNet contract, he said. FirstNet is helping agencies respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, he said. “This pandemic has underscored the need for a single nationwide, interoperable, public safety broadband network for first responders,” he said. Others said traditional public safety communications systems are playing a significant role in many areas.
The COVID-19 pandemic is accelerating the shift from physical media to digital home entertainment, with disc revenue falling rapidly and consumer spending on traditional pay TV declining, blogged nScreenMedia analyst Colin Dixon Sunday. Subscription VOD has been a big beneficiary, with its share of consumer entertainment spending rising from 9.9% in Q2 2018 to 17.1% two years later, he said. "There seems no stopping traditional pay TV’s accelerating fall from grace," he said.
Qualcomm Technologies’ “accelerator program,” formed in June with broad tech industry support to help small businesses convert to a post-pandemic “mobile-first work environment” (see 2006110040), picked 33 companies, each to receive $25,000 worth of connected devices and services to suit their individual needs, said the chipmaker Monday. Qualcomm got more than 375 applications to the program, and the 33 businesses it picked “span the healthcare, education, crisis response, arts, environmental services, and other industries,” it said. Most identified as women-, minority- or veteran-owned, it said.
It’s “hard to quantify” the “market chatter” about Chromebook shortages and their impact on sales, as unprecedented consumer demand for connectivity tools shows no signs of abating during the pandemic, emailed NPD Vice President-Technology Stephen Baker Friday. “The fact is that sales results at these levels have been going on for weeks and weeks,” said Baker. “There may be insufficient product available, and current volumes could be higher than what we are doing now with more inventory,” he said. Yet Chromebook unit sales continue through the roof, rising the first three weeks of August “more than 2x higher than they were last year,” and up more than 90% since April from the same 2019 period, he said. A Google spokesperson declined comment Sunday about Chromebook shortages. The COVID-19 pandemic is putting “significant pressure on the supply chain as schools nationwide place orders to try and support remote learning resulting in Chromebook backlogs,” Google told (login required) the International Trade Commission last month, opposing Nokia's petitioned ban on Lenovo Chromebooks. NPD is finding consumer laptop sales “a little more volatile” during the back-to-school buying frenzy compared with the start of lockdown mandates in March, Ben Arnold, executive director-industry analyst-consumer electronics, told an NPD webinar last week. “We’ve seen one or two weeks where sales are up 40 or 50% for notebook PCs, and a couple of weeks where sales have been slightly negative,” said Arnold. “What we’re seeing on that end is some struggle to get product.” Amid the “historic” consumer demand for connectivity tools, “it’s difficult to get PCs right now, for sure,” he said. About three-quarters of the 46 Chromebook models BestBuy.com advertised for sale when we checked Monday were sold out.
A trio of House Communications Subcommittee Democratic members from California -- Vice Chair Doris Matsui, Anna Eshoo and Jerry McNerney -- is seeking an FCC briefing “as soon as possible” on the communications-related impacts of recent wildfires and rolling blackouts in that state. The wireless industry amid the wildfires has been seeking a rehearing on a California Public Utilities Commission order requiring 72-hour backup power in certain high-threat fire areas (see 2008200038). The communications impacts of the wildfires and blackouts are especially concerning because “these events are taking place during the COVID-19 pandemic,” the three said in a letter to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai. “Communications outages mean that people are unable to call 9-1-1, let their loved ones know that they are safe, or receive lifesaving alerts, which may include information about alternative wildfire evacuation routes or other information specific to evacuations during the pandemic.” The lawmakers “strongly urge and expect your agency, which is charged with overseeing our nation’s communications networks to promote public safety, to be taking all possible steps to monitor the situation and help ensure that Californians stay connected during this time.” They want the FCC briefing to include information on wildfire and blackout-related outages in California reported to the agency since Aug. 14 and commission actions to monitor the situation and work with the state government and telecom providers. The Democrats also want to know about situations in which wireless emergency alerts were used to issue warnings and provide information on wildfires and the extent to which the FCC is working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and others to ensure the WEA system is used “appropriately to protect the public” during the wildfires. The FCC didn’t comment.
Delaware, Tennessee and Vermont unveiled broadband funding in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Delaware will spend $20 million in Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act support for broadband infrastructure, an internet speeds survey and equipment purchases for families that can’t afford it, Gov. John Carney (D) said Monday. Fifteen wireless towers will be completed four months ahead of schedule, Carney’s office added. Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee (R) announced $61 million in emergency broadband grants from federal pandemic support Friday. Vermont made nearly $4 million in broadband grants to ISPs including Comcast, VTel and ECFiber, the state's Department of Public Service said Monday.
CTIA told the FCC the next round of testing of 911 vertical location technologies in the industry test bed will be delayed due to the impact of COVID-19. “The response to the COVID-19 pandemic is restricting building access and affecting the ability to safely and effectively test Z-axis technologies,” said a filing posted Friday in docket 07-114: “The Test Bed intends to resume Stage Zb when testing can be safely accomplished and property managers agree to provide access to buildings in the test cities.”