Rovi and TiVo landed “early termination” of the Hart-Scott-Rodino waiting period on Rovi’s proposed TiVo buy for $1.1 billion in cash and stock (see 1604290044), the companies said in a joint Monday announcement. The deal still awaits “other customary closing conditions,” including formal approval of both companies' shareholders, they said. The companies still expect the deal to close in Q3, they said.
That the NextRadio FM-listening smartphone app with activated FM-reception chips will soon be available on Samsung’s Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge is “a very big breakthrough” for the technology that Emmis Communications helped develop, said Emmis CEO Jeff Smulyan on a Thursday earnings call. The Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge are “the top-selling phones in the world” and will soon have NextRadio available “across all wireless carriers" in the U.S., Smulyan said. It marks the first time that “major phones” with NextRadio “will be available on every carrier,” he said. NextRadio also signed on Home Depot as its first paying advertiser last quarter, and is working with “a number of other test advertisers,” he said. Landing additional NextRadio ad and carrier support “is the catalyst that we believe our industry desperately needs,” he said. “We think it is a game changer and we think it simplifies the pretty remarkable progress that we are making with NextRadio.” But Apple has been a longstanding NextRadio holdout (see 1504140047) and still refuses to activate the FM chips in its iPhones, Smulyan acknowledged in Q&A. “We still need Apple, and we like Apple.” That NextRadio will soon be available on all Android phones, “among all the carriers,” means the technology will have penetrated more than 175 million smartphones in the U.S., about 62 percent of all the U.S. phones available, he said. That’s an opportunity “to change the landscape of radio forever,” he said. “We have said we won't quit until we have everybody, and the last everybody is Apple.” Apple didn't comment Friday.
That the NextRadio FM-listening smartphone app with activated FM-reception chips will soon be available on Samsung’s Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge is “a very big breakthrough” for the technology that Emmis Communications helped develop, said Emmis CEO Jeff Smulyan on a Thursday earnings call. The Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge are “the top-selling phones in the world” and will soon have NextRadio available “across all wireless carriers" in the U.S., Smulyan said. It marks the first time that “major phones” with NextRadio “will be available on every carrier,” he said. NextRadio also signed on Home Depot as its first paying advertiser last quarter, and is working with “a number of other test advertisers,” he said. Landing additional NextRadio ad and carrier support “is the catalyst that we believe our industry desperately needs,” he said. “We think it is a game changer and we think it simplifies the pretty remarkable progress that we are making with NextRadio.” But Apple has been a longstanding NextRadio holdout (see 1504140047) and still refuses to activate the FM chips in its iPhones, Smulyan acknowledged in Q&A. “We still need Apple, and we like Apple.” That NextRadio will soon be available on all Android phones, “among all the carriers,” means the technology will have penetrated more than 175 million smartphones in the U.S., about 62 percent of all the U.S. phones available, he said. That’s an opportunity “to change the landscape of radio forever,” he said. “We have said we won't quit until we have everybody, and the last everybody is Apple.” Apple didn't comment Friday.
That the NextRadio FM-listening smartphone app with activated FM-reception chips will soon be available on Samsung’s Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge is “a very big breakthrough” for the technology that Emmis Communications helped develop, said Emmis CEO Jeff Smulyan on a Thursday earnings call. The Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge are “the top-selling phones in the world” and will soon have NextRadio available “across all wireless carriers" in the U.S., Smulyan said. It marks the first time that “major phones” with NextRadio “will be available on every carrier,” he said. NextRadio also signed on Home Depot as its first paying advertiser last quarter, and is working with “a number of other test advertisers,” he said. Landing additional NextRadio ad and carrier support “is the catalyst that we believe our industry desperately needs,” he said. “We think it is a game changer and we think it simplifies the pretty remarkable progress that we are making with NextRadio.” But Apple has been a longstanding NextRadio holdout (see 1504140047) and still refuses to activate the FM chips in its iPhones, Smulyan acknowledged in Q&A. “We still need Apple, and we like Apple.” That NextRadio will soon be available on all Android phones, “among all the carriers,” means the technology will have penetrated more than 175 million smartphones in the U.S., about 62 percent of all the U.S. phones available, he said. That’s an opportunity “to change the landscape of radio forever,” he said. “We have said we won't quit until we have everybody, and the last everybody is Apple.” Apple didn't comment Friday.
The FCC Public Safety Bureau provided guidance Thursday to public safety agencies on roaming in Canada, the use of U.S. base station repeaters while in Canada and Canadian public safety licensees seeking to communicate through base station repeaters in the U.S. “Our guidance is based upon recent arrangements and understandings reached by Bureau staff with officials from Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED),” the bureau said in a public notice. “The licensing guidance we provide below applies to any public safety licensee operating a Private Land Mobile Radio (PLMR) system in any frequency band authorized under Part 90 of the Commission’s rules.” The bureau said first responders operating mobile or hand-held radio equipment along the U.S.-Canada border may communicate through base station repeaters located in the other country provided they obtain written consent from the licensee of the repeater. The repeater must be properly licensed in the country in which it's located, the host licensee must maintain control and is responsible for operation of its base station repeater at all times and a licensee must obtain “written consent from the host licensee before permitting its first responders to communicate with a base station repeater in the other country,” the bureau said.
The Grain Inspection, Packers, and Stockyards Administration is suspending for a period of one year the fee it charges for supervision of official inspection and weighing services of domestic grain and land carriers to Canada and Mexico performed by delegated States and/or designated agencies, it said (here). GIPSA said it is suspending the fee from July 1, 2016, through June 30, 2017, because it has reached the legal maximum of six months of reserve funding for supervision services.
Details emerged Friday on a draft FCC order to move along telcos' IP transition, in interviews and comments from GOP commissioners, including some concerns. The FCC plans to take a series of further actions to facilitate next-generation networks, Chairman Tom Wheeler had said, outlining the IP transition item he put on the tentative agenda for the July 14 meeting (see 1606230074). Wheeler said the FCC would continue to uphold "enduring values" of "competition, consumer protection, universal service, and public safety" as telcos and Internet providers replace legacy copper lines with next-generation networks to provide greater speeds, efficiency, capacity and innovation.
Details emerged Friday on a draft FCC order to move along telcos' IP transition, in interviews and comments from GOP commissioners, including some concerns. The FCC plans to take a series of further actions to facilitate next-generation networks, Chairman Tom Wheeler had said, outlining the IP transition item he put on the tentative agenda for the July 14 meeting (see 1606230074). Wheeler said the FCC would continue to uphold "enduring values" of "competition, consumer protection, universal service, and public safety" as telcos and Internet providers replace legacy copper lines with next-generation networks to provide greater speeds, efficiency, capacity and innovation.
There “absolutely” will come a time when L5 autonomous vehicles will be “out there” on global roadways, Bryan Reimer, research scientist at MIT’s AgeLab, told CE Week’s Connected Mobility Conference in New York Wednesday. But L5 -- short for Level 5, Department of Transportation and industry jargon for cars that will have full self-driving automation (see 1604080037) -- “is not going to be everywhere instantaneously,” said Reimer, also associate director of the New England University Transportation Center at MIT.
Reps. Norma Torres and Anna Eshoo, both California Democrats, requested a GAO report on the implementation of next-generation 911. “What is the impact of state diversion of 911 emergency fees on PSAPs [public safety answering points] and their ability to serve the community?” they asked in their letter, released Tuesday. “What authority does Congress have or what authority would Congress need to prevent state diversion of 911 emergency fees? … Considering that many 911 call centers have not adopted NG911 technologies or implemented training in these technologies to its dispatchers, what funding could the federal government provide to help ensure centers are able to invest in new technology and training?” Last week, the bipartisan House Commerce Committee leadership requested a GAO study on the Office of Emergency Communications’ handling of its finances and land mobile radio.