MediaTek debuted two single-chip solutions for bringing Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2 connectivity to a wide range of IoT devices in small form-factor designs. Its Filogic 130 and 130A SoCs both integrate a microprocessor, AI engine, Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2 subsystems and a power management unit into a single chip, said the company Thursday. The 130A also incorporates an audio DSP, enabling device makers to easily build voice assistants into their products, it said: “Advanced connectivity technologies like Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2 will become a must-have for smart home devices with the increasing need for more AI processing power, energy efficiency and robust security.” MediaTek also said Thursday it's partnering with Advanced Micro Devices to "co-engineer" Wi-Fi 6E modules for laptop and desktop PC connectivity. The collaboration will yield modules with fast Wi-Fi speeds, low latency and less interference from other signals, it said.
Top U.S. cable and wireline telcos added about 630,000 net additional broadband subscribers in Q3, in line with Q3 growth in 2018 and 2019 and about 41% of their Q3 2020 growth during the COVID-19 pandemic, Leichtman Research Group said Wednesday. Combined, LRG said, they have about 107.9 million subscribers, about 96% of the market. Cable has about 75.2 million, with 32.7 million at wireline telcos. Cable operators added 590,000 of the 630,000 subs; telcos had about 475,000 net adds via fiber, and about 435,000 non-fiber losses.
The mobile device and wearables markets are having a “massive uptake” of ultra-wideband (UWB) technology, said ABI Research Thursday, forecasting shipments will reach 1.3 billion by 2026, from 143 million last year. UWB is a “secure, fine ranging technology” that can enable location-based user experiences that other wireless connectivity technologies haven’t been able to support effectively, said ABI. It's also interoperable with Bluetooth Low Energy, near field communication and Wi-Fi. Apple was one of the first to adopt UWB in the iPhone 11 and Watch 6, and UWB is also now in products from Samsung, Xiaomi and Honor, with “many more” vendors set to follow, said analyst Filomena Iovino. ABI forecasts 14% of smartphones will have UWB by the end of this year, expanding to 40% by 2026. UWB will also grow in other sectors, including smart home fans, lamps, and smart speakers, along with automotive. Challenges to UWB growth include the large size of the UWB antenna, making it difficult to integrate in tags, wearables and sensors, Iovino said, plus the higher costs of UWB components and infrastructure versus that for alternative short-range technologies. Regional variations and restrictions could also complicate the development and deployment of a standardized UWB ecosystem, she said.
VMware will collaborate with eero, an Amazon subsidiary specializing in Wi-Fi 6 mesh systems, to boost remote network connectivity for work-from-home employees “while extending critical security services to devices connecting to an at-home corporate network,” said the companies Thursday. “We ask a lot of our home Wi-Fi these days,” said Sean Harris, eero vice president-sales and marketing. “At any given moment it may be supporting multiple data-intensive tasks,” and when the network is stretched too thin, “work-from-home performance can suffer,” he said.
The Connectivity Standards Alliance is partnering with NFC Forum to find solutions that bridge interoperability gaps in the smart home market, the associations said Thursday. The liaison agreement allows the two groups to explore ways to use NFC’s proximity-based connectivity technology with CSA standards in areas including commissioning and proof of possession, they said. NFC is fast, easy and efficient using “zero power technology,” and it can improve the user experience securely, said CSA. They will collaborate on technical and certification initiatives to improve the commissioning process for Matter, looking at “tap to commission” as a possible option using NFC, and to support proof of possession capabilities for emerging standards in the access control space, CSA said. Collaborations will be done under the working group structure of each organization, with agreement by both organizations to share technical information and market requirements regarding NFC, beginning with Matter, CSA said.
U.S. airlines will likely start offering free in-flight connectivity in the next three to five years, which will help drive the satellite aeronautical connectivity market, said SES CEO Steve Collar Wednesday in a company webinar. Data capacity on SES-17, to launch at week's end, is aimed especially at the North American aviation market, he said. He said SES-17 and O3b's forthcoming mPower low earth orbit constellation will be connected, with customers moving from one to the other seamlessly, and that hybridization is SES' first step toward a global interoperable network. Northern Sky Research analyst Brad Grady said 50% of global satellite data capacity demand will likely be from the Americas by 2030, with demand for mobility capacity expected to grow 17-fold, government capacity demand growing 19-fold, and enterprise capacity demand growing 12-fold. Grady said there were 3 Tbps of geostationary satellite capacity and 0.3 Tbps of non-geotatioanry capacity available worldwide in 2020, and that should grow to 32 Tbps of GEO capacity and 140 Tbps of NGSO capacity by 2030.
The Wi-Fi Alliance released an automated frequency coordination compliance test plan Tuesday for the 6 GHz band. The FCC is seeking AFC proposals, due Nov. 30 (see 2109290040). “Wi-Fi Alliance development efforts on this innovative AFC system aim to ensure worldwide adoption, interoperability, security, and reliability expected of Wi-Fi,” the group said.
The National Advertising Review Board recommended AT&T discontinue three commercials comparing its upload speeds to cable services, and discontinue or modify one commercial comparing its fiber service to cable, said a news release Thursday. An AT&T spokesperson directed us to NARB's news release, which said it “supports NARB’s self-regulatory process and will comply with the NARB’s decision” and "noted that it respectfully disagreed with NARB’s recommendation to discontinue or modify certain AT&T Fiber ads."
Cable and telecom stocks are hurting from growing investor sentiment telcos' expansion into fiber and cable's play in wireless will force incumbents to cut pricing amid shrinking subscriber numbers, MoffettNathanson's Craig Moffett wrote Thursday. He said telco fiber overbuilding of cable systems will go from about 30% of U.S. homes now to 55% over the next decade or so. He said Charter's new mobile service family plan makes it more competitive than any telco, and it and Comcast are competing nationally with mobile carriers. Telcos' strategy is riskier because payback on their fiber investments becomes more difficult if prices or penetration falls or if deployment costs rise, said Moffett.
T-Mobile said Tuesday it’s cutting the prices of its home internet offering by $10 monthly to $50. T-Mobile said it’s targeting “bogus charges” tacked on by wireline ISPs each month, which it claims cost Americans $9 billion last year.