Some 84 percent of U.S. broadband households take the do-it-yourself route for setting up entertainment and computing devices, and six in 10 set up smart home devices on their own, a report from Parks Associates said. But consumers’ need for tech support persists and will grow as they bring more connected devices into the home, Parks said. Just over a quarter of U.S. homes owned a connected health device by the end of last year, it said. Despite the comfort with using and installing smart devices, 60 percent of U.S. broadband households have concerns over device and data security when using them, Parks said. Tech support is a key factor in ensuring a positive user experience in the IoT, monitoring devices for proper operation and protecting the connected home from online attacks, it said. "Consumers appreciate the convenience and control that comes with increased connectivity, but they are aware of the potential risks," analyst Patrice Samuels said. "High-profile media reports, such as the reported possibility that Samsung TVs with voice recognition could capture users' personal information, only heighten their concerns.” Manufacturers and security providers must design security into smart products and communicate directly with consumers about their “ongoing efforts to combat security risks,” she said.

Mergers in the start of 2015 weren't able to match the strong Q1 of the previous year for the technology, media and telecommunications (TMT) sector, a Mergermarket report said. The 612 deals worth $144.3 billion were a 20.5 percent decrease in value and 61 fewer deals than in Q1 2014, the report said. But TMT still had a healthy start to the year, with the second-highest value for a first quarter since 2006 and the second-largest deal count on Mergermarket record. Resembling Q1 2014, the activity was mainly driven by five mega-deals, which constituted almost half of the industry's total activity, Mergermarket said. This was overwhelmingly dominated by a trend of consolidations between telecommunications companies, with four out of the five target companies in the top deals for Q1 2015 active in the telecommunications industry, the report said.

The FCC’s Task Force on Optimal Public Safety Answering Point Architecture meeting Wednesday will feature presentations from three working groups, and kick off with remarks by Public Safety Bureau Chief David Simpson, said the agenda posted by the FCC Thursday. The meeting starts at 1 p.m. at FCC headquarters. The working groups that will present are: Working Group 1 -- Optimal Cybersecurity for PSAPs; Working Group 2 -- Optimal PSAP Architectures; and Working Group 3 -- Optimal Resource Allocation, the FCC said.

The LNP Alliance told the FCC it wants to be involved in and kept up to date on the development of the transition oversight plan to be filed by the North American Portability Management as part of the local number portability administrator (LNPA) selection process. The report was required by the FCC last month (see 1503260043). “Regardless of which entity provides the LNPA functions prospectively, the LNP Alliance is focused on ensuring that: the initial and recurring costs to smaller providers are not disproportionate or excessive; the transition occurs seamlessly with rigorous testing and thorough reliability; the LNPA is a neutral administrator; and the LNPA transition is conducted in such a manner that it accelerates and in no way impedes the IP Transition,” the alliance said in a Monday filing posted in docket 09-109.

The Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions (ATIS) said the FCC proposal, in a November NPRM, to establish a new class of 911 network operations center (NOC) providers is unworkable. Under the proposal, these NOCs would be “responsible for monitoring their networks to detect disruptions or degradations in 911 service, and for affirmatively communicating relevant information, as appropriate, to other stakeholders.” ATIS said other commenters have already opposed the plan. “ATIS shares the view of many commenters that the proposed 911 NOC role is unworkable and should not be implemented,” its Monday comments said. “As an alternative to regulatory mandates, ATIS supports an industry-driven, consensus-based approach and would be willing to help support this approach through its industry committees,” including its Network Reliability Steering Committee. The ATIS comments were posted in docket 14-193.

AT&T and Verizon aren’t doing enough to protect their customers from being harassed by unwanted robocalls, Consumers Union said Tuesday. When CU launched its End Robocalls campaign in February, AT&T and Verizon responded with letters outlining their efforts, but CU said those efforts have failed to put a dent in the unwanted calls targeting customers. CenturyLink hasn't responded to CU’s campaign, it said. In response to the campaign, both AT&T and Verizon highlighted their work with government, industry and engineering groups to address robocalls and touted existing technologies in the marketplace, CU said. But no effective tools are currently available for free to most consumers, it said. Requests for comment from both AT&T and Verizon were not responded to immediately Tuesday. AT&T and Verizon have argued that call-blocking tools would prevent customers from receiving legitimate robocalls, CU said. It said customers deserve the right to decide for themselves whether the benefits of using call-blocking tools outweigh any potential downside and added that customers could provide carriers with a “white list” to let trusted numbers go through.

Microsoft filed its reply brief in its “ongoing legal challenge to the U.S. government’s attempt to force us to turn over a customer’s email stored in our Irish data center,” Executive Vice President-Legal and Corporate Affairs Brad Smith said in a blog post Thursday. “As we stated in our brief, we believe the law is on the side of privacy in this case,” Smith said. “This case is about how we best protect privacy, ensure that governments keep people safe, and respect national sovereignty while preserving the global nature of the Internet.” Microsoft doesn’t completely agree with the government, but “outdated electronic privacy laws need to be modernized,” he said. “Law enforcement needs to be able to do its job, but it needs to do it in a way that respects fundamental rights, including the personal privacy of people around the world and the sovereignty of other nations,” Smith said. “Until U.S. law is rewritten, we believe that the court in our case should honor well-established precedents that limit the government’s reach from extending beyond U.S. borders.”

TechFreedom and a “coalition of privacy advocates” announced the launch of Fight215.org Wednesday. The development was expected (see 1504080043). Fight215 “lets Americans urge their representatives in Congress to end the NSA’s unconstitutional mass surveillance based on Section 215 of the Patriot Act,” a TechFreedom news release said. President Barack Obama "has the power to end bulk collection of our records at any time, but has -- thus far -- chosen not to," said TechFreedom President Berin Szoka. "Where the White House has failed to protect our Constitutional rights, Congress must step into the void. We cannot afford to rubber-stamp the Patriot Act -- yet again -- without significant reforms.”

Uber said it's introducing "phone anonymization" software to mask the phone numbers of Uber users and drivers when a user requests a ride. "Drivers will ALWAYS see the same number," Uber Marketing Manager Ross Fitzgerald said in a Wednesday blog post. Uber technology will connect riders and drivers as normal without displaying real numbers, Uber said. Riders and drivers won't be able to send text messages and a driver won't be able to call a rider "shortly" after a trip ends, Uber said. "This way, both riders and drivers will be unable to store personal cell phone numbers," Fitzgerald said.

President Barack Obama touted his TechHire initiative (see 1503090029) Thursday during a stop in Louisville. “Right now, America has more open jobs than at any point since 2001,” Obama said. “And more than half a million openings are in tech -- nearly 2,000 here in Louisville alone. Tech jobs pay one-and-a-half times the average private sector wage.” He said the jobs are part of the road to the middle class and crucial for global competitiveness. TechHire “brings employers and local governments together to support innovative job training programs -- like online classes, coding boot camps, community college courses designed by local employers,” Obama said. He praised the participation in the initiative from eastern Kentucky and Louisville, with upwards of 20 employers involved.