AT&T will do its 2020 annual meeting of stockholders via webcast rather than through an in-person meeting, the company said Tuesday. The meeting is to start at 9 a.m. CDT on April 24.
U.S. courts have used technology to maintain public access and continue their core operations even during the pandemic, but the Supreme Court "has been more vague," blogged R Street Resident Fellow-Governance Anthony Marcum. It's unknown how future oral arguments will be handled and made publicly available, he said Monday: If SCOTUS doesn't explore tech opportunities here, Congress might act on the 21st Century Courts Act. HR-6017 would create a code of conduct, mandating real-time oral argument livestreaming.
Policymakers should focus on preserving privacy and liberty when addressing the COVID-19 pandemic, while remembering lessons from the 9/11 attacks, Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board Chair Adam Klein and member Ed Felten wrote. The question isn’t whether new programs are needed, but how to implement them, they wrote Saturday for Politico. They noted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s $500 million COVID-19 surveillance and data collection system, and the government’s analysis of cellphone geolocation data via service providers to track and predict the disease’s impact.
Wireless ISPs peak-hours traffic rose 36% on average, and 83% of the companies added subscribers amid COVID-19, the Wireless ISP Association found. The survey released Friday had 150 responses. The survey found 22% are hiring staff to meet the growth and “87% have the equipment to manage new subscribers, yet some are concerned about eventual equipment shortfalls," WISPA said.
SMPTE members who are unemployed can renew their memberships for 50% off the regular dues during the pandemic, said President Patrick Griffis Monday. It’s also offering half off the cost of attending virtual courses and opening all its technology webinars for free to everyone, not just members, said Griffis, vice president-technology at Dolby Labs. SMPTE is working with local chapters to get monthly meetings streamed “so that you can stay on top of technology -- no matter where you are!” he said.
The Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council asked the FCC to act on a proposal to open the 6 GHz band for sharing with Wi-Fi and other unlicensed use (see 2004020066). “The COVID-19 pandemic has shined a harsh light on the impact that disparity in access has on lower-income and minority groups who are on the wrong side of the digital divide,” the group said in a filing posted Friday in docket 18-295. “The perils of those on the wrong side of the digital divide can no longer be ignored.” The FCC is focused on protecting incumbents as it opens the band, Chairman Ajit Pai told Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii. “The Commission's technical experts in our Office of Engineering and Technology have spent considerable time reviewing the substantial record that has been compiled in this proceeding and meeting with interested stakeholders,” Pai said in a letter posted Friday. Commissioners vote April 23 on opening the band to Wi-Fi. Tech companies reported on calls with aides to the commissioners, except Pai. Apple, Broadcom, Cisco, Google, Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Microsoft discussed “the importance of authorizing unlicensed use … for standard-power, low-power indoor, and very-low-power devices, at power levels that will successfully enable key use cases and applications.”
White House Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow doused speculation that the Trump administration was considering short-term deferrals or rollbacks of tariffs on Chinese imports during the COVID-19 pandemic. There will be “no tariff pullback right now," Kudlow told Bloomberg TV Friday. “We never looked in any serious way about rolling back tariffs,” he said. “I would not expect to see any movement on tariffs right now.” Lobbying for tariff deferrals or the removal of duties on medically essential product imports from China intensified in recent days (see 2004020057).
Vermont’s Agency of Commerce and Community Development directed big-box retailers to cease in-person sales of electronics and other “non-essential items” to reduce customers coming in. Big-box retailers “generate significant shopping traffic by virtue of their size,” said the agency Tuesday. “This volume of shopping traffic significantly increases the risk of further spread” of COVID-19, it said. Gov. Phil Scott (R) signed a “stay home/stay safe” executive order March 24 authorizing the agency to publish guidelines for retailers. The Retail Industry Leaders Association, which represents big-box retailers, didn’t comment Thursday.
The Trump administration should “lift” tariffs on more than 60 categories of “healthcare-essential” information and communications technology (ICT) products to help fight COVID-19, urged the Information Technology Industry Council Thursday. “Relief” would "directly contribute to the U.S. economic and public health response,” said ITI. “A range of ICT products and components are at the heart of detecting and treating illnesses, recording and tracking vital signs, and conducting tests." Processors, controllers and integrated circuits imported from China under the 8542.31.00 tariff code are “foundational to a variety of medical equipment,” it said. List 2 tariffs on 8542.31.00 goods were imposed in August 2018 and now are at 25%. "Tariffs act as direct impediments to U.S. governments, consumers and businesses, and we would encourage the removal of tariffs by any means to increase confidence in the COVID-19 response and support economic recovery,” the tech group said. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce urge deferring levies for 90 days. ITI seeks full removal.
Global IT spending will decline 2.7% this year as COVID-19 “forces many organizations" to "respond with contingency planning and spending cuts,” said IDC Thursday. It was forecasting a 4.3% increase in February. IT spending will fall “despite increased demand and usage for some technologies and services by individual companies and consumers," said IDC. “Major spending declines this year are now expected in PCs, tablets, mobile phones, and peripherals, with overall devices spending expected to decline by 8.8%.” Computers previously were expected to decline, it said: “The crisis will significantly disrupt a smartphone market that was projected to post stronger returns this year.”