The FCC is closing the open window at its headquarters and won't accept filings delivered by hand, it said in public notice and Friday's Daily Digest. Effective immediately, the change comes in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the agency said. "We encourage outside parties to take full advantage of the Commission’s various electronic filing systems," it said. It will continue to accept materials by mail and overnight services. Earlier this month, FCC headquarters was closed to most visitors (see 2003120063).
Telecom and tech continued responding Friday to COVID-19 with actions including moving to telework and canceling or postponing events, or moving them virtual.
Passing 5G and other state telecom bills may be less likely as lawmakers respond to the COVID-19 outbreak, local and industry officials told us last week. One seeming casualty is an industry-backed section in the New York budget to streamline small-cells deployment by pre-empting local governments. Alabama’s small-cells bill is close to the finish line and may pass this spring, said Alabama League of Municipalities Deputy Director Greg Cochran.
Talks on a third economic stimulus bill addressing the effects of COVID-19 appeared likely to drag on into the weekend, with telecom-related provisions likely still in the negotiations mix. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Friday he considers “inadequate” the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (S-3548) from Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. Schumer and other Democrats were pushing strongly for the third COVID-19 bill to address pandemic-related infrastructure, including broadband capacity and distance learning resources (see 2003180066), lobbyists told us.
The massive shift of workers and students to their homes due to COVID-19 is gobbling up data transmission availability and challenging employers with their networks optimized for an in-office workforce, network and data experts said in interviews last week. Employers are rapidly ramping up the number of VPN licenses. The issue isn’t expected to reach the point where carriers have to plow additional investments into their networks.
The COVID-19 pandemic comes as Ajit Pai enters what is likely to be the homestretch of his time as FCC chairman. Pai has sketched out an ambitious agenda for the rest of 2020, but no one knows how long the pandemic will last. Industry officials agree it will likely slow work on at least some items due to refocusing on coronavirus-related orders. The crisis offers Pai a chance to write a new legacy, they said.
Ad-supported over-the-top video might be able to tap into the $70 billion TV advertising market thanks to live sports' mass cancellations due to COVID-19 and advertisers that had depended on those events to reach viewers, nScreen Media analyst Colin Dixon blogged Wednesday. He said the longer pandemic issues go on, the more time advertisers will have to see if advertising on OTT works.
Additional MVPDs endorsed requests there be no blackouts of TV station programming on pay TV during the COVID-19 pandemic. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and NAB CEO Gordon Smith and others sought similar pledges (see 2003180036). Comcast agrees, a spokesperson emailed Wednesday. "We all need to work together to avoid service disruptions during this time.” Dish Network "is committed to ensuring that our customers have access to critical local news coverage regarding COVID-19,” said Senior Vice President-Programming Andy LeCuyer in a statement. “We appreciate the cooperation of broadcasters who share our goal, and together we've restored 49 channels across 39 markets, while continuing to work toward long-term agreements."
To rise to U.S. challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic, respond with "a broadband plan robust enough to withstand the challenges and seize the opportunities of this new, and already frighteningly novel, decade," Benton Institute for Broadband & Society Senior Fellow Jonathan Sallet wrote Thursday on the anniversary of the first 10-year National Broadband Plan. He wants investments in scalable networks with a baseline performance of symmetrical 100/100 Mbps (see 1910300005). He wants industry and policymakers to consider families, "adults working and videoconferencing, a K-12 student with online homework, a college student returned home to finish the second semester with virtual classes. Then multiply that by many kinds of households."
The global mobile device market had “mass disruption” to its production and supply chains due to labor shortages and inactive logistics resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic that hit China last month, reported ABI Research. The U.S. imported 214.6 million smartphones last year, 74.6% from China, said Census Bureau data we accessed through the International Trade Commission. China was 75.8% of the 14.4 million smartphones imported to the U.S. in January. Import data from February and March are expected to show a COVID-19 impact on reduced Chinese cargo. Supply chain partners such as Qualcomm, Broadcom, Qorvo and Skyworks faced shrinking smartphone demand; first half production could drop by as much as 30%, ABI forecast Wednesday. The 5G rollout will feel adverse effects from the disruptions, which will suppress near-term growth of the next-generation handsets, said the report. A move to lower price tiers was expected to be a key driver for boosting 5G smartphone shipments this year, but now it’s expected that shipment volume for 5G smartphones will be “much lower than previously expected, slowed by a stagnant supply chain and crippled demand,” it said. The market is expected to face disruptions and delays. Global business smartphone units will ship 12% fewer smartphones to enterprises in 2020, Strategy Analytics predicted.