A falloff in home theater and computer sales drove an 8% year-on-year slide in comparable sales at Best Buy for Q1 FY ’23 ended May 1, said CEO Corie Barry on a Tuesday earnings call. Domestic revenue fell 8.7% vs. Q1 a year ago on an 8.5% comp sales decline, as customers continue to shift discretionary spending to experiences from stay-at-home activities, she said. Shares closed 1.2% higher Tuesday at $73.47.

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act’s $65 billion broadband investment presents an opportunity to bridge the digital divide for students and improve workforce development across the country, industry experts and officials said Monday during a Software & Information Industry Association webinar. Panelists said the FCC, NTIA and other agencies should ensure their programs are sustainable and promote digital equity.

The Department of Homeland Security should permanently shutter its disinformation board, Republicans told us last week after the director resigned (see 2205180051). Democrats also had critical comments about the board’s rollout, following free speech objections from Republicans (see 2205050048).

Vizio wants to be seen as a platform business “that happens to sell hardware,” said Chief Financial Officer Adam Townsend on a virtual investor webcast last week.

TVs, which enjoyed a resurgence and a rare average selling price bump due to supply chain and COVID-19 interruptions, are retreating to more familiar promotional levels as TV makers turn to 2022 product lines, a recent spate of promotions shows.

The Supreme Court could be more likely to review laws regulating social media after the 11th U.S. Court of Appeals ruled Monday that Florida may not restrict content moderation by social media platforms. The 11th Circuit decided in a 3-0 opinion to keep a temporary ban on moderation limits but lift injunction on most disclosure rules in Florida’s law that makes it illegal for social media sites to deplatform political candidates and requires them to be transparent about policing.

The 3rd Generation Partnership Project's Release 17 earlier this spring opens the door to commercial satellite communications' role in 5G, but industry experts and insiders say rollout of 5G-type satcom services remains at least a couple years off, mainly due to the current lack of devices supporting both satellite and terrestrial 5G service.

FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel appears likely to put less spectrum in play for 5G and unlicensed use during her tenure than did her predecessor Ajit Pai, but she seems determined to address the process for reallocating bands, industry officials said. Rosenworcel shifted much of her attention to changes to process, and that will likely be a theme for the next few years.

Security issues with open radio access networks (ORAN) will be overcome, mobile operators said in response to a critical report from the European Commission and European Union Agency for Cybersecurity earlier this month. It found several cybersecurity challenges associated with such 5G networks but also opportunities to boost ORAN security if certain conditions are met. Mobile network operators told us they recognize how crucial security is to ORAN's success and are addressing the risks. One telecom consultant urged the FCC and NTIA to pay attention to the findings. The O-RAN Alliance didn't comment.

Demand for semiconductors “has never been stronger or broader,” but the industry's ability to fulfill this growing demand “remains constrained by ongoing supply chain issues,” said Applied Materials CEO Gary Dickerson on an earnings call Thursday for fiscal Q2 ended May 1. The company supplies wafer fab production tools to chipmakers and is a bellwether of semiconductor industry conditions.