Global spending on telecom and pay TV services reached $1.566 trillion in 2021, increasing 1.6% year over year, reported IDC Friday. IDC expects spending to rise another 1.4% in 2022 to $1.588 trillion, it said. The “quick recovery” of the global economy from the slump caused by COVID-19 “resulted in additional spending growth” on telecom services, “so the total value of the worldwide market increased slightly faster than originally forecast,” said IDC. The higher than expected growth was also recorded in all technology segments except for pay TV, “which is logical because people were able to spend more time outside of their homes and therefore some decided to cancel subscriptions to TV packages acquired during the lockdowns,” it said. Spending growth last year was highest in Asia Pacific (rising 2.1%), lowest in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (up 1.1%), with the Americas in between (up 1.5%), said IDC.
Country of origin cases
The Senate voted 78-17 Wednesday to reject a proposal from Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., to eliminate $10 billion for NASA’s lunar exploration program, Artemis, from Congress’ China package (see 2204010045). The Senate did a series of votes on nonbinding motions to instruct conferees as the two chambers move to conference on the China package. Sanders is seeking to cut funding that might go to Blue Origin, the space company owned by Jeff Bezos (see 2203290018). The Senate cleared by voice vote two motions -- from Sens. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., and Mark Kelly, D-Ariz. -- aimed at maintaining language to strengthen U.S. semiconductor manufacturing. HR-4521 and S-1260 both include $52 billion in subsidies to encourage U.S.-based semiconductor manufacturing (see 2201260062). The chamber also approved by voice language from Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., seeking inclusion of a provision directing the White House Office of Management and Budget to "develop guidance for executive agencies requiring adequate security measures for any transfer, storage or use of digital yuan," China's currency, "on information technology."
Comcast is facing growing broadband competition, particularly from fixed wireless and fiber providers, though its churn is at record lows, Comcast Cable CEO David Watson said Thursday, announcing Q1 results. He said its response includes various broadband tiers of service and its increasing convergence of its broadband and mobile services packaging and marketing. The company will do field trials of its first 5G radios as a means for offloading traffic in high-load areas in Q2, he said. Comcast stock closed at $41.70, down 6.2%, in response to what analysts said were soft results.
A draft FCC NPRM would seek comment on an Alternative Connect America Cost Model (A-CAM) Broadband Coalition proposal to establish an "Enhanced" A-CAM program, if adopted during the May 19 commissioners' meeting (see 2010300055). The proposal would "achieve widespread deployment of faster 100/20 Mbps broadband service" in rural areas currently receiving A-CAM support, said a fact sheet Thursday. Also on tap are orders updating priority calling rules and clamping down on robocalls. Another order would allow computer modeling to verify the pattern of FM directional antennas.
FCC commissioners will consider a proposal to create an enhanced alternative Connect America model program to bring "faster, better broadband to rural America" at the agency's May 19 meeting, Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said in a meeting preview Wednesday. Commissioners will also consider an order targeting gateway providers and illegal robocalls originating abroad, updates to priority services rules, and regulatory relief for FM radio broadcasters.
Incompas asked FCC Wireline Bureau and Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau staff to "consider a minor change" to the proposed definition of a gateway provider in the FCC's NPRM aimed at curbing illegal robocalls, said an ex parte filing posted Tuesday in docket 17-59 (see 2112130046). The group proposed defining gateway providers as "the first intermediate provider in the call path of a foreign-originated call that receives traffic at its U.S.-based facilities before transmitting the call directly to another intermediate provider or a terminating voice service provider in the U.S." Require gateway providers to comply with requirements that other intermediate providers follow instead of "obligations the commission has not assigned to other classes of voice service providers," Incompas said. It also asked the FCC to "preserve providers' call blocking flexibility" to prevent over or under blocking.
The FCC’s Consumer Advisory Committee members approved its consumer broadband labels working group’s recommendations on disclosure. All members at Tuesday's virtual meeting (see 2203110064) voted in favor, with Next Century Cities being the sole abstention. NCC didn’t comment on why it abstained.
The FTC appears to be taking too broad of an approach to its potential privacy rulemaking (see 2204180049), Commissioner Noah Phillips told us Monday. He spoke at a George Mason University event the day after Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., announced the Senate plans to confirm Alvaro Bedoya as fifth commissioner this week.
In the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s decision a year ago in Facebook v. Duguid, Telephone Consumer Protection Act lawsuits continue to be filed, lawyers told us, though at a lower rate than before the court acted. A year ago, a unanimous court sided with Facebook (see 2104010063), favoring a narrow definition of what constitutes an automatic telephone dialing system (ATDS). Lawyers also warned that some states, led by Florida, are engaging and that some litigation is shifting to the states.
An eleventh-hour amendment won’t help Florida overcome constitutional problems with its law making it illegal for social media sites to deplatform political candidates and requiring them to be transparent about policing, and could even help tech industry challengers' case, opponents of the law said Monday.