Google filed to expand where it acts as spectrum access system operator in the 3.5 GHz citizens broadband radio service band as part of its initial commercial deployment (ICD). Google filed to add Brooklyn, New York; Nashville; Spokane County, Washington; and Harris County, Texas, among other areas, in FCC docket 15-319, posted Wednesday. CommScope wants to expand its ICD as a SAS to also cover Wake County, North Carolina. CommScope will operate there “consistent with our original ICD Proposal submission,” the company said, noting it’s awaiting approval for full commercial deployment.

Mozilla is trimming less than 9 percent of its employees, to "just over a 1,000 going forward," a spokesperson emailed Thursday. "To fund innovation," some "roles" were eliminated, CEO Mitchell Baker blogged Wednesday. "Mozilla has a strong line of sight to future revenue generation, but we are taking a more conservative approach to our finances. This will enable us to pivot as needed to respond to market threats to internet health, and champion user privacy and agency."

Data in a December NAB filing on unlicensed use of the 6 GHz band includes errors and reaches inapplicable conclusions (see 1912060007), wrote tech and consumer electronics companies including Apple, Cisco, Facebook, Google, Intel and Microsoft, posted Wednesday in FCC docket 18-295: NAB studied power levels “400 percent higher than appropriate." The tech interests only request indoor use of the band, but the study includes information about outdoor devices, the filing said. NAB also doesn’t account for frequency coordination, the tech interests said. “These important factors have caused NAB to overestimate the risk of harmful interference by more than 30 dB, and likely more.” The association didn't comment.

Universal Electronics Inc. is in the “early innings of a powerful product cycle,” Dougherty & Co.'s Steven Frankel wrote investors Monday in a post-CES recap. In CES meetings, management laid out a path toward better software content -- and potential for recurring revenue amid new market opportunities, said Frankel. “It is becoming abundantly clear to us that UEIC is far more than a remote control company, as there is far more here than remote control codes and plastic injection molding expertise.” He noted LG and Samsung introduced 2020 TVs powered by UEI’s nevo.ai platform (see 2001080001) for device discovery and control. This software platform simplifies set-up by identifying the devices connected to the TV, including set-top boxes, game platforms and streaming devices, and it scans the Wi-Fi network to add smart devices such as lights, do-it-yourself security systems and connected thermostats. UEI software provides an easy-to-use graphical interface and voice control, and OEMs can license a virtual customer support capability that helps consumers set up devices and troubleshoot issues. TiVo introduced a $49 4K streaming box for cord cutters including a UEI-built voice remote, Frankel noted. In its booth, UEI displayed designs for Android TV-based set-tops, giving it a chance to provide advanced remotes for overseas MVPDs that are using them to replace traditional, expensive boxes. The company is expanding security offerings, developing new types of sensors that can trigger alarms based on the sound of breaking glass and send video from a security camera to a homeowner, the analyst said. Dougherty maintained its “buy” rating.

The FCC Wireless Bureau and Office of Engineering and Technology OK'd updated CommScope and Google deployment and coverage plans for environmental sensing capability in the 3.5 GHz citizens broadband radio service band. The companies jointly provide ESC services, said Monday's public notice. Approval follows consultation with DOD and NTIA. Dynamic protection areas covered are East DPAs 2, 3 and 12-26, East Mayport and East Pascagoula Port in Florida and West Alameda, California.

Sonos announced a $50 U.S. price hike on its Amp and Port products to $649 and $449, effective Jan. 9. It urged customers in an email Friday to take advantage of current pricing. All other pricing remains the same, it said. The Amp and Port, not part of the speaker line, are sold in Sonos' pro channel for integrators. On a November earnings call, Sonos Chief Financial Officer Brittany Bagley (see 1911210045) forecast a $30 million hit to fiscal 2020 profit from the 15 percent Section 301 List 4A tariffs that took effect Sept. 1. This month, Sonos posted in the Office of U.S. Trade Representative public docket (see 1912190035) that it couldn't move production of the wireless mesh network speakers for which it’s seeking an exclusion from List 4A Section 301 tariffs outside China “in any reasonable or efficient manner.” It estimated it would cost more than $15 million and take about two years to find alternative sourcing in a third country to “ensure that quality and sourcing standards are met."

Dolby Labs is asking shareholders to vote for a “say-on-pay” proposal giving them a voice on executive compensation, said a proxy statement for the Feb. 4 annual meeting at Dolby headquarters in San Francisco. The vote “is not intended to address any specific item of compensation” but rather the overall policies and practices, it said. The vote is “advisory” and “not binding,” it said. If there’s “any significant vote” against executive pay, the board “will evaluate whether any actions are necessary in response to those concerns,” it said. Shareholders approved holding the advisory vote annually at the last meeting, it said. CEO Kevin Yeaman made $7.36 million in total pay for FY 2019, including $818,000 in base salary, said the proxy. Chief Financial Officer Lewis Chew got $2.7 million in 2019 pay, including a $532,000 base salary, it said. David Dolby, the 42-year-old son of late founder Ray Dolby and a board member since 2011, controls 83 percent of the “total voting power” in the company, said the proxy.

Google is offering a peek into last-minute behind-the-scenes North Pole preparations with videos of elves marking lists, reindeer prepping and Mrs. Claus helping Santa get ready for Christmas, it blogged Monday. The tracker showing Santa’s route around the globe was to begin Tuesday at 2 a.m. PST with his sleigh making its first stop in eastern Russia after 10 p.m. local time, it said. A “Santa Search” app allows users to make Santa appear in 3D, it said.

Facebook will remove misleading content related to the U.S. census, the platform said Thursday. This includes “information about when and how to participate in the census and the consequences of participating,” said Vice President-U.S. Public Policy Kevin Martin and Product Management Director-Civic Engagement Samidh Chakrabarti. The policy “prohibits ads that portray census participation as useless or meaningless or advise people not to participate in the census.” The update stems from the company’s ongoing civil rights audit. Martin ran the FCC under President George W. Bush.

Amazon downplayed news it’s opening a new office in New York City in 2021 after The Wall Street Journal reported Friday the company signed a lease for 335,000 square feet in Manhattan’s emerging Hudson Yards neighborhood. An Amazon spokesperson emailed Monday the move is part of plans it shared earlier this year to “continue to hire and grow organically across our 18 Tech Hubs, including New York City.” That announcement came after Amazon scuttled plans in February (see 1902140054) for a controversial second headquarters in New York’s Long Island City, Queens, that was opposed by union activists and some local politicians due in part to $3 billion in financial incentives promised to the multibillion company. Amazon originally said its HQ2 location would create 25,000 jobs over a decade; the Hudson Yards leased office will employ 1,500 from Amazon’s consumer and advertising teams, the spokesperson said. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a Democrat whose 14th congressional district is adjacent to Long Island City, opposed the headquarters, saying it would put a strain on local resources and the $3 billion the city and state were willing to give Amazon could be better invested elsewhere. On Friday’s announcement, she tweeted: “Won’t you look at that: Amazon is coming to NYC anyway -- *without* requiring the public to finance shady deals, helipad handouts for Jeff Bezos, & corporate giveaways.” Other Amazon locations in the New York City area include a Tech Hub with some 3,500 employees and fulfillment facilities with more than 8,000 staffers.