Fandango is rolling out COVID-19-related resources to support the reopening of movie theaters across the country, including an app that gives social distance seating maps, safety policies for more than 100 theater chains and a search filter to locate reopened theaters.
With traditional commutes and long road trips not likely to return “for some time” post-pandemic, consumers are likely to ditch shared “mobility services” like Uber and Lyft in favor of a personally owned or leased vehicle, reported Strategy Analytics Monday. “Consumers could end up holding on to their current cars, or buying a used car.” Those with more mobility needs tend to use ride-hailing services the most, SA said. “So if their needs are lessened because of remote work or less travel, this does not bode well for mobility services.”
SMPTE canceled its Nov. 9-12 technical conference and exhibition in Los Angeles as an in-person event and will hold it virtually Nov.10-12, said the organization Monday. SMPTE will position the event as “an interactive and immersive remote experience with a rich array of learning and networking opportunities,” it said, without a single mention of the pandemic. The virtual event will be devoid of the “traditional barriers” of a physical show, including travel, hotel costs and scheduling conflicts, it said. The conference’s theme, Game On, reflects its emphasis on the “convergence” of esports and media technology and the “unique requirements of the thriving esports industry,” it said.
Apple is closing nearly a dozen stores temporarily in response to rising cases of COVID-19. The closures involve 11 stores in Arizona, Florida, North Carolina and South Carolina, Bloomberg reported Friday. Apple has been reopening stores gradually since last month after shutting them temporarily due to the pandemic (see 2005180043). It didn’t respond to our questions. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 23,138 new COVID cases in the U.S. Friday with 733 new deaths.
Comcast said Friday it's extending free access to its 1.5 million Wi-Fi hotspots "to anyone who needs them," through 2020. “We saw a huge jump in usage after we opened up our public hotspots,” said Dana Strong, president-Xfinity Consumer Services. "Hundreds of thousands" of non-Xfinity customers have used them during the pandemic, Strong said. It's extending its offer for some of 60 days through year-end of free home internet access (see 2006180032).
While most associations have dropped plans for in-person summer conferences due to COVID-19, APCO, which represents public safety communications officials, is steaming forward with plans to hold its annual trade show Aug. 2-5 in Orlando. It made the decision to forge ahead "after much deliberation,"it emailed members Thursday. APCO's "events team" spent hours collaborating with the Orange County Convention Center and host hotels to ensure attendees will be safe "while enjoying the APCO conference experience that you have come to expect,” it said. The convention center lists 34 events, as late as October, that have been canceled, including two shows that would have run there the same time as APCO. “I would not attend,” said David Celentano, who chairs the epidemiology department at Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. “Florida is having a major spike caused, no doubt, by opening up too early, and lack of public commitment to basic public health measures.” Holding any large public gatherings is "is ill-advised, especially if they can be avoided,” said Jill Roberts, epidemiologist at the University of South Florida. “Many conferences have been delayed or alternatively, moved online." APCO didn't comment Friday.
Maintaining European network capacity during the pandemic was largely voluntary, the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) told us. Following a European Commission initiative, some larger content providers, such as Facebook, Netflix and YouTube, acted to ensure network capacity without further intervention by national regulatory authorities (NRAs), it said. Weekly traffic monitoring reports from NRAs will become monthly beginning in July because the situation is stable, BEREC Chair Dan Sjoblom said at a Tuesday briefing. The content providers' actions were "more or less" voluntary, BEREC said. "Punctual interventions were done by the operators, such as increasing the capacity of the networks, updating the network configuration and traffic (re)balancing." Sjoblom said traffic increased but operators managed well. Internet backbone, networks and internet exchange point supported the increased traffic, emailed EuroISPA Vice-President Innocenzo Genna: The increase was normally spread throughout the entire day, without specific peaks. Users may have experienced some congestion in the access part of their fixed connections because so many were using connectivity during the quarantine for different purposes, such as learning, working and entertainment, he said. "This problem reminds us [of] the importance for a proper Internet connection and the need to accelerate roll-out of very high capacity networks, as foreseen by the new European [Electronic Communications] Code." A YouGov survey showed a "significant increase in broadband usage in households during the lockdown" as the workforce logged on from home and friends and family kept in touch, said U.K. Internet Services Providers' Association Policy Head Till Sommer: The network "proved to be resilient."
Comcast extended its offer of free internet service through year-end, providing 60 days of free service to students and families in need during the pandemic, it said Thursday. It's for new, eligible Internet Essentials customers who don't have a past-due balance, it said. Comcast put the program in place March 12 with a planned end date of June 30. That's when the FCC's "Keep Americans Connected" pandemic pledge ends (see 2006180002).
Forty percent of U.S. broadband households were sheltering in place in May, even without mandates, said a Parks Associates survey fielded May 14-28. Increased demand on home networks resulting from sheltering in place raised the importance of data and privacy protections, said Parks Thursday. “Online attacks to the home network can now disrupt work and education along with entertainment and shopping activities,” said analyst Brad Russell. Nearly 80% of those surveyed said they're concerned about the possibility of a data security or privacy breach, he said.
The market for augmented- and virtual-reality collaboration tools, known collectively as extended reality (XR), will exceed $400 million by 2025, up from less than $12 million last year, said ABI Research Wednesday. Heightened interest and demand during the pandemic are expected to accelerate adoption of XR and increase growth rates of established markets such as videoconferencing hardware, seen approaching $4 billion by 2025, from $2.4 billion in 2019. Companies including Facebook have amended work from home policies that provide early glimpses into what a “new normal” could look like in the workplace, noted analyst Michael Inouye. The communications market “was already shifting to support a wider breadth of devices, services, and environments and the pandemic has accelerated these trends,” said Inouye. Cancellation of industry events and the inability to meet in person has driven demand for video calling services and tools and is "opening new doors and exposure to more immersive solutions like XR,” he said. The XR market is more nascent and diverse than the video conferencing space where Cisco leads and Logitech is making inroads, said the analyst. Architecture, engineering, construction and manufacturing are early adopters, and the market is undergoing significant development, with over 40 companies offering different approaches, he said.