AT&T launched the LTE-M button, an enterprise version of Amazon’s Dash button that consumers use to reorder products they buy regularly. The button, which transmits over the cellular network vs. Wi-Fi, is powered by Amazon Web Services IoT 1-Click service. Pressing the button triggers a string of actions businesses can use to save time or money or improve customer satisfaction, said the carrier Wednesday. The button supports three types of clicks -- single, double and long press -- and each device has a unique serial number for identification. Use case examples include: instant customer feedback at hotel conference rooms, airports and sports venues; order placement from anywhere on the network; product delivery; and a “virtual concierge” for seniors to check in with caregivers and call for medication, said the company. Buttons attached to connected trash cans could send an alert automatically when it’s time for a pickup, it said. Devices are pre-provisioned with certificates at the time of manufacturing to securely connect to AWS, it said. The AT&T button and bundled data plan are available for $29.99, said the carrier. Amazon sells Wi-Fi-based shopping buttons for consumers for $4.99.

Tributaries announced a 10-meter, passive, 18-gauge Ultra HD HDMI cable Wednesday, calling it the longest all-copper certified HDMI cable available. The Titan-10 was certified by DPL Labs and the Imaging Science Foundation for 18 Gbps performance in passing a 4K/60 HDR signal, it said. Its suggested retail price is $395.

After “a strange” 2017 for broadcaster mergers and acquisitions, with pent-up demand leading to a burst of activity after the incentive auction was done, that pace looks to continue this year, said Wilkinson Barker broadcast lawyer Howard Liberman in a Digital Policy Institute webinar Thursday. He said small and mid-sized telecommunications company transactions, meanwhile, haven't been nearly as active, perhaps because of regulatory uncertainty under the Trump administration. Liberman said the ATSC 3.0 standard's rollout among broadcasters will likely come over the next two to three years. He said for viewers, it will mean more robust signals in a mobile environment as well as more enhanced features like better audio and multi-camera choices. Recon Analytics analyst Roger Entner said the FCC's Title II rollback will likely lead to congressional action that brings back net neutrality rules that aren't "encumbered by heavy Title II regulations." Conversely, privacy rules are "in a holding pattern," though there's broad consensus on the need for "stronger and better" privacy rules. Consumer Policy Solutions President Debra Berlyn said it's a benefit to consumers that privacy rules are back before the FTC, where protections will be universal instead of limited by industries. "We don't want a patchwork of protections," she said. Entner said a key need for 5G implementation is more spectrum, and that, while the FCC is looking at 28, 39 and 60 GHz bands, more also needs to be freed up in the lower bands. The agency also needs work toward standardized rules to help with siting of new cell sites and acceleration of how quickly sites can be made operational, Entner said. He said consumers will be inundated with 5G marketing and messaging this year, with the first implementations coming by year’s end. He said consumer confusion will be inevitable because of the varied applications of 5G.

The Bluetooth Special Interest Group turned 20 and the 33,000-member trade group on Tuesday broke out by category the expected Bluetooth device shipments out of a projected 4 billion across consumer, commercial and industrial markets this year. Some 2.3 billion Bluetooth phones, tablets and PCs will ship this year, it said. Bluetooth speakers will be two-thirds of all speaker shipments in 2018, “only a fraction” of the 1.2 billion Bluetooth-enabled audio and entertainment devices forecast to enter distribution. Some 600 million smart home devices are projected to ship this year, it said. Bluetooth will come standard in 86 percent of all new cars, trucks and SUVs shipped in 2018, said the trade alliance. In the connected device market, Bluetooth Low Energy is on track to ship 780 million Bluetooth-enabled devices in the year. The SIG cited Proximity.Directory projections, saying 84 percent of global airports, 93 percent of Major League Baseball stadiums and 75 percent of NFL fields will be using Bluetooth beacons by 2019, with location-based services deployments expected to increase by five times by 2022.

The FAA approved AT&T's use of a drone to temporarily restore wireless service in Hurricane Maria-battered Puerto Rico. The agency said Friday the company's Flying Cell on Wheels drone involves a drone fitted with LTE radios and antennas and is tethered to ground-based power and electronics. It said it flies at an altitude of up to 200 feet and can cover up to 40 square miles with wireless service. The agency said the company needed a special exemption and an emergency certification of operation because the drone exceeded the small drone rule's 55-pound weight limit.

The NFC Forum added tag and reader certification to its global certification program, it said in a Wednesday announcement. It will allow tag/inlay, near-field communication reader and handset manufacturers to be able to test and verify performance and interoperability of NFC components.

PCTel introduced a 5 GHz bidirectional train top antenna for passenger and metro rail systems that’s said to solve the challenge of providing high-speed Wi-Fi over extended track distances. It communicates with wayside equipment in either direction from the train, providing “reliable passenger Wi-Fi while minimizing installation and maintenance costs,” said the company.

Most consumers seem uninterested in wireless service from cable providers, bolstering the idea that a cable-wireless deal, such as cable/Verizon or cable/Sprint/T-Mobile, is likely someday, Macquarie analyst Amy Yong emailed investors Wednesday. Pointing to its survey of 100 consumers, Macquarie said 74 percent say the most they would pay for cable-branded wireless service is less than their current wireless bill, and 77 percent said they wouldn't switch from their current provider for either Xfinity's unlimited data or usage-based plan. Macquarie said 10 percent spend upward of $100 a month on wireless service, down sizably from its February survey, reflecting unlimited data plans becoming the norm. It said 64 percent said they value Wi-Fi more than mobile, down from 77 percent, raising the likelihood of wireless substitution.

Broadband speeds will continue to ramp up in coming years and consumer price per megabit will continue to drop, NCTA blogged Thursday. It said online traffic is expected to quadruple over the next four years, with 4.6 billion global Internet users and the number of connected devices outnumbering people three to one. It said numerous cable ISPs are pursuing gigabit projects now, continuing a decades-old industry trend that has seen top speeds grow 700 percent over the past five years.

Verizon will buy WideOpenWest's fiber network assets in the Chicago area for $225 million, it announced Tuesday. Verizon said the deal is expected to close in Q1. It said the takeover -- like its deal with Corning to buy $1.05 billion worth of fiber cable (see 1704180042), its similar $300 million buy of Prysmian fiber cable and its $3.1 billion buy of Straight Path (see 1705110052) -- are part of plans to invest in fiber with its eyes on such broadband services as 5G and smart cities. It also said the WOW deal will help it with new services for small and mid-sized business and enterprise customers. Verizon also said the deal includes an additional $50 million for WOW to complete a build-out of its Chicago network the second half of 2017. It said the WOW fiber network already connects to Verizon Wireless macro towers and small cells and will thus reduce its leasing costs. It said the Chicago network, when done, will support more than 500 macro-cell wireless sites and more than 500 small-cell wireless sites. Wells Fargo analyst Jennifer Fritzsche emailed investors Wednesday that the WOW deal means Verizon could be in acquisition mode for yet more fiber assets or for parts of the assets it uses for backhaul purposes, with fiber-centric rural LECs or Zayo potentially being of particular.