Telecom-focused lawmakers want to see more information on how a bipartisan infrastructure proposal President Joe Biden backed Thursday structures broadband spending. Some Democrats also cited a likely follow-up bill to address, via budget reconciliation, infrastructure spending not in this compromise as a potential vehicle for more connectivity money. The Biden-backed deal includes $65 billion for broadband, the same the administration previously offered during unsuccessful talks with Senate Republicans (see 2105270072).
As in-person events return this summer and fall (see 2103240003), organizers are opting for relatively light-touch COVID-19 health precautions such as spacing out lunch breaks or sessions to try to prevent larger gatherings of attendees, they told us in an unofficial survey of tech and telecom events. Some health experts said mandatory masks or required vaccinations for attendees will be the surest guarantee for safety.
The House Judiciary Committee passed bills aimed at Big Tech competition. Members from both parties in interviews defended the committee’s decision to move forward with Wednesday’s markup, despite industry's calls for delay (see 2106220061). The committee was deliberating four other pieces of legislation at our deadline.
Despite "relatively muted discounts across most categories," the $11 billion overall e-commerce spend during Amazon's two-day Prime Day event suggests a “pent up demand for online shopping as consumers look forward to a return to normalcy,” emailed Adobe Digital Insights Director Taylor Schreiner Wednesday. Discount levels were consistent Monday and Tuesday, with the steepest for toys (12%) and appliances (5%). Smaller discounts were for TVs (3%), electronics (2%) and sporting goods (1%). Computer discounts weakened to 6% on day two from 8% on Monday, Adobe said.
Video streamers are feeling “overwhelmed” by the number of over-the-top streaming options available, said a Wednesday Horowitz Research report. Consumers are feeling the “pain” and fatigue of having too many streaming services to choose from, as content has become fragmented across multiple, access-restricted streams, it said.
The House Judiciary Committee's antitrust package targeting big tech, set to be marked up Wednesday, “is an existential threat to our competitiveness,” CTA President Gary Shapiro told the Media Institute Tuesday. “The bills would effectively prohibit acquisitions by our largest companies, leaving startups and their investors, who counted on selling their companies, out in the cold.” Industry groups said this week that the bipartisan legislation would upend centuries of U.S. antitrust law (see 2106220061).
Bipartisan legislation scheduled for House Judiciary Committee markup Wednesday would upend centuries of U.S. antitrust law and harm consumers, industry groups said this week. Antitrust Subcommittee ranking member Ken Buck, R-Colo., urged Republicans to come together and hold Big Tech accountable. Senate Antitrust Subcommittee ranking member Mike Lee, R-Utah, accused House progressives of taking advantage of conservatives’ “justified anger” against Silicon Valley.
Walmart had to “unlearn” how to serve customers from a pre- to post-pandemic world and empower its teams to work “at speed,” Global Chief Technology Officer and Chief Development Officer Suresh Kumar told a webinar at the National Retail Federation’s virtual Retail Converge event Tuesday. Data and insights “became our lifelines,” he said.
Prime Day rolled out without incident Monday as Amazon avoided website bottlenecks of previous years (see 1807170045) with an off-peak 3 a.m. EDT start time. There was still plenty of noise about the high-profile event, as Amazon, media sites and manufacturers sought to grab their share of the two-day Prime Day shopping budget.
Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and ranking member Roger Wicker, R-Miss., are having staff-level discussions about a legislative response to the Supreme Court striking down FTC Act Section 13(b) authority (see 2104260065), they told us. Cantwell previously said she wants to move quickly on legislation to bolster the agency’s authority. The committee has bill language, but “I don’t know when we’re rolling it out,” Cantwell told us. Wicker confirmed the staff discussions.