FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks urged industry to start preparing for 6G, during a Thursday virtual meeting of ATIS’ Next G Alliance. The group released a "Roadmap to 6G," seeking increased collaboration between industry and government, and proposing areas for future research. The report projects a 2030 start for 6G.

Consumer demand was strong, and Walmart’s team overcame COVID-19 and supply chain challenges in Q4 FY 2022 to post 7.6% sales growth to $152.9 billion, excluding divestures of the Japan and U.K. businesses, said CEO Doug McMillon on the company’s Thursday earnings call.

Fixed wireless connections will have a major role in closing the digital divide, said Peter Linder, Ericsson North America head-5G marketing, and other speakers during an Ericsson webinar Wednesday. 5G makes fixed more attractive since it means a carrier can supply mobile and fixed service using the same wireless facilities, he said.

Shopify grew revenue 41% in Q4 to $1.38 billion on a strong holiday sales season, but it swung to a net loss of $371 million vs. profit of $124 million in Q1 2021, said the company Wednesday. Shares plummeted 16% to close at $142.65 after hitting a 52-week low at $120.

DOJ wants the U.S. Court of International Trade to include two documents that the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative “realized” were missing from the administrative record filed April 30 by the government in the Section 301 litigation, it said in a Tuesday motion to correct the record. USTR Assistant General Counsel Megan Grimball said in a declaration the documents were “inadvertently omitted.” DOJ said USTR discovered the omissions in the two weeks since oral argument Feb. 1.

Healthcare device company Masimo’s buy of Sound United (see 2202150076) will be an opportunity for future products it’s creating for hospitals, but the immediate benefit will be “beneficial to our push into consumer healthcare,” said CEO Joe Kiani on a Tuesday earnings call.

NAB President Curtis LeGeyt thinks FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel should prioritize paving the way for ATSC 3.0, and is “100% confident” the 2022 NAB Show in late April will be in person as planned, he said at the Media Institute’s virtual Communications Forum luncheon Tuesday. He also targeted tech companies and performance royalties for radio stations, and said the most difficult part of his new job heading NAB is the lack of in-person contact with members due to COVID-19 restrictions. “We don’t have that intimate relationship with our membership,” LeGeyt said. “The way we really succeed is when we can get back to in-person.”

Customer choice is driving subscription and release strategies at HBO Max, said Jason Press, WarnerMedia global executive vice president-direct-to-consumer technology and program management, on a virtual Streaming Media event Tuesday. WarnerMedia continues to experiment with "the right strategy at the right time" after last year releasing feature films theatrically and on HBO Max simultaneously amid COVID-19 theater closures.

Leaning into gaming is key for media companies to reach Generation Z users, said Shobana Radhakrishnan, Google TV senior director-engineering, reviewing streaming media industry trends on a virtual Streaming Media Connect keynote Monday. Some 68% of Gen Z consumers consider themselves gamers, 61% of millennials; that compares with 34% of Gen Xers and 8% of baby boomers, said a slide. Playing games with others and groups is becoming a “natural habit” for the two generations, she said, highlighting Netflix’ nascent move into gaming [see (Ref:2201210003)].

TV imports to the U.S. were a $15.24 billion business in total 2021 customs value generated, up 19.6% from 2020, the first time annual TV imports topped $15 billion since Census began tracking TV shipments in 2007 under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule’s 8528.72.64 subheading, according to Census data accessed Sunday through the International Trade Commission’s DataWeb portal.