The coronavirus outbreak “is not hampering IFA's ability to organize and/or sell exhibit space for the CE China show,” emailed spokesperson Nicole von der Ropp. The show is scheduled for Sept. 24-26 in Guangzhou, about 600 miles south of Wuhan, the outbreak’s epicenter. Though the event is more than seven months away, IFA is offering exhibitors 10 percent off if they book CE China space before March 31. IFA runs the CE China “Early-Bird” special every year, said von der Ropp. “Whether this offer will be extended, if necessary, is not yet certain.” As for any possible coronavirus impact on CTA's organizing activities for CES Asia, "our focus now is on the needs of our Chinese colleagues, customers and friends during this health emergency," emailed CTA Thursday. CES Asia is scheduled for June 10-12 in Shanghai, 500 miles east of Wuhan. LG confirmed Thursday its coronavirus-forced withdrawal from next week’s Integrated Systems Europe 2020 event in Amsterdam. “LG regrets having to make this difficult decision but the safety of its employees and customers continues to be its number one priority,” said a statement. Acting on World Health Organization recommendations, “LG management believed that the most responsible decision is to avoid participating in large public events until the situation stabilizes,” it said. LG “has informed us that they do not intend to take up their stand at this year’s ISE," but "we look forward to the many other major exhibitors taking shape with their newest technologies, offerings and announcements,” said ISE Wednesday. “As to be expected with global travel restrictions in place, we have seen some cancellations from our Chinese exhibitors. As of today, this amounts to less than 20% of those booths, and a few additional updates can be expected.”

The Alliance for IP Media Solutions ProAV Working Group will launch a set of open standards and specifications designed to enable carriage of compressed and uncompressed video, audio and data over IP networks, at Integrated Systems Europe next week. Internet Protocol Media Experience addresses the pro AV industry’s need for a single set of common, ubiquitous standards-based protocols that ensure interoperability for AV over IP, said the group.

Vodafone Group has withdrawn from Facebook’s Libra Association (see 1910230063). “We will continue to monitor the development of the Libra Association and do not rule out the possibility of future co-operation” but for now will focus on Vodafone's M-Pesa money transfer service, a spokesperson emailed.

The Entertainment Merchants Association, which launched in 1984 as the Video Software Dealers Association, has rebranded again to reflect industry changes, it said Friday. The group now is the Over The Top Exchange (OTT.X). It said it's widening its reach to encompass “all OTT means,” including transactional-, advertising-based and subscription VOD. The organization said it will support digital retailers, channels, content providers, networks, platforms and MVPDs.

FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr will testify at a planned Wednesday Senate Commerce Committee hearing on 5G workforce and deployment issues, the committee said. The panel will examine efforts to improve training and address regulatory barriers. National Association of Tower Erectors Chairman Jimmy Miller and Fiber Broadband Association CEO Lisa Youngers are also to testify. The hearing begins 10 a.m. in 216 Hart.

Increased wireless industry competition from cable, particularly with Altice joining the market (see 1909050050), and a more-mature industry could mean more moderate wireless customer growth and service revenue, S&P said Wednesday. The debt ratings firm said Comcast and Charter Communications could sign wholesale wireless arrangements with AT&T at better rates than their Verizon mobile virtual network operators, making them more competitive. It said 5G deployments and spectrum acquisitions will carry sizable price tags, and fifth-generation revenue opportunities "will be slow to materialize." S&P said 5G fixed wireless could start affecting cable revenue in four to five years. It said a Democratic presidential administration in 2021 could reclassify broadband under Communications Act Title II, possibly leading to federal price caps. S&P said it's unclear if the FCC can block state-level net neutrality efforts, or when it might.

InstallerNet signed a distribution agreement with Capitol Sales to extend its reach into the professionally installed electronics market, it said Wednesday. Capitol Premier dealers will get installation leads from the InstallerNet enterprise client base, while InstallerNet network members will receive special pricing, access to top brands, a dedicated account manager, product training, an online ordering platform and free shipping, it said. InstallerNet will develop a nationwide installation program to support a core set of CE products offered by Capitol to provide a turnkey solution for enterprise-level clients, it said. Installation categories include TVs, thermostats, camera systems and smart home devices. InstallerNet projects will be backed by a lifetime workmanship warranty, it said.

With Citigroup holding a financial conference in Las Vegas Tuesday and Wednesday during CES, analyst Michael Rollins said he expects a mostly positive message from the companies participating. “Wireless should have another solid quarter of postpaid net add volumes and revenue growth within the industry, while longer-term competitive risks remain,” Rollins told investors Friday: “We expect positive commentary from Verizon as well as T-Mobile on postpaid volumes, while AT&T is likely to focus on the prospects to improve performance in 2020 after mixed metrics in 2019.” Residential broadband “seems to be trending positively” this quarter, he said. “The outlook for the wireless industry structure remains uncertain with the ongoing Court case brought by the State [attorneys general] to block the proposed T-Mobile and Sprint merger,” Rollins said. “We expect a lot of ‘what if’ questions to be asked of the management teams,” he said.

An Open Connectivity Forum cloud interface seeks to unify the IoT through cloud-to-cloud connectivity based on its work with open standards. The interface can help standardize connectivity between different manufacturers’ cloud servers, and between devices and the cloud, OCF said, which could help streamline partnerships and avoid implementing and maintaining numerous proprietary programming interfaces. As IoT devices and the need for seamless operation between different manufacturers’ systems grows, a proprietary approach doesn’t scale well, said the trade group. At CES, the Open Connectivity Foundation will demonstrate IoT products from BSC Computer, Commax, Haier, LG, Resideo, Samsung and Sure Universal at a Monday news-media event, it said Thursday. The products will complete OCF 2.1 certification this year. Many of the named and other member companies are expected to launch products based on the spec this year. OCF has detailed implementations for Bluetooth, EnOcean, Zigbee and Z-wave.

“Safety and security at CES are important to us,” emailed CTA Tuesday to our questions about whether the show plans extra security precautions for the keynote appearance of White House adviser Ivanka Trump (see 1912300011). “We do not comment on security plans involving individual speakers,” said CTA.