CEDIA Expo's new program for 2019, TechStarter, will allow Innovation Alley exhibitors to pitch their business models to C-suite executives in a Shark Tank-type format where they'll compete to be one of five winners. The TechStarter Five winners, to be announced during the show, will receive dedicated promotion from CEDIA Expo channels, booth signage, interviews with three media outlets and participation in a Q&A panel at the expo. Winners will be chosen from Innovation Alley exhibitors representing all areas of the custom electronics industry and will show “the most promise” for a successful business model. TechStarter judges will look for companies with a strong business approach and future vision for their product or service, it said. Judges are CEDIA CEO Tabatha O’Connor, Josh.AI CEO Alex Capecelatro and Access Networks CEO Hagai Feiner.

The FCC Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau asked for comment by Aug. 17 in RM-11844 on a June filing by Robert Bosch, which said the FCC should launch an "early” and ”comprehensive” review of part 15, subpart F regulations on ultra-wideband devices and systems. The tech maker proposed (see 1906190032) modified rules for UWB operations designed to “facilitate the development and provision of new, innovative UWB products.”

Amazon's use of sensitive data from independent sellers may breach EU antitrust rules, the European Commission said Wednesday, opening a formal competition inquiry. In its role as a marketplace for independent sellers to sell directly to consumers, Amazon collects data about activity on its platform. The EC will investigate the standard contracts between the company and marketplace sellers that allow Amazon's retail business to analyze and use third-party seller data, it said. The probe also includes the role played by data in the selection of winners of the buy box, which lets customers add items from a specific retailer into their shopping carts: "Winning the 'Buy Box' seems key for marketplace sellers as a vast majority of transactions are done through it." The launch of the investigation doesn't prejudge its outcome, and there's no specific deadline for the inquiry to end, the EC said. The e-tailer said it will "fully cooperate with the European Commission and continue working hard to support businesses of all sizes and help them grow."

Vivo is recalling about 2,400 Mount-Play5 speaker wall mounts for Sonos Play:5 speakers because the ledge on the front of the mount can loosen, causing the speaker to fall to the floor, said the Consumer Product Safety Commission Tuesday. Vivo received three reports of the mounts failing but no reports of injuries, said the agency. Customers should remove their speakers from the wall mounts and contact Vivo for a free repair kit, a replacement or a full refund, CPSC said. The mounts, made by China-based Lumi Legend and imported by Vivo, were sold at Amazon.com, eBay.com, Newegg.com, Rakuten.com and Walmart.com March 2018-June for about $30, CPSC said.

Bose is recalling about 77,500 flush- and surface-mount loudspeakers sold in commercial installations due to defects in the mounting components that can cause the speakers to dislodge and fall, said the Consumer Product Safety Commission Wednesday. Bose received nine reports in the U.S. of speakers dislodging or falling from their installed locations, including one report of minor injuries. The recall involves FreeSpace DS40F in-ceiling speakers manufactured before Aug. 13, 2018, and all FreeSpace and EdgeMax in-ceiling speakers installed in commercial cooking environments, said the company. Customers are to stop using the recalled loudspeakers immediately and contact Bose for instructions on receiving a free replacement or free safety cables. The company is contacting all known purchasers directly. Speakers were sold at Bose distributors nationwide between January 2002 and January this year, it said.

Consumers who own electronics “should have the right to repair them as they wish,” commented Alabama resident Kelly Manning, as posted Monday in the FTC’s “Nixing the Fix” docket. The agency plans a July 16 workshop on whether manufacturer repair restrictions can thwart the consumer protections in the 1975 Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act. Manufacturers denying consumers the right to self-repair the electronics they own is “akin” to barring them from hemming the jeans they wear, said Manning. “It should not be cheaper to replace a device than it is to repair it, as it currently is. Doing so merely encourages waste and discourages small business growth.” E-waste is “the fastest growing waste stream in the US,” said Manning: “Electronic goods leech toxic waste and require specially lined landfills. The ability to repair these goods is significantly more friendly to the environment and safer for our people and the world.” Devices that “appear to limit” self-repair aren't intrinsically anti-consumer, recently commented Microsoft, typifying tech companies (see 1906030005).

ProSource added eight custom integrator members and one Pro level member in Q2 representing $44 million in new revenue for the group, it said Tuesday. New CI members are Advanced Tech Systems, Greensboro, North Carolina; Attywon, Great Neck, New York; Chameleon Technologies, Los Angeles; HD2020, Tampa; Force AV, West Palm Beach, Florida; Glabman Technology Solutions, Costa Mesa, California; Show & Tell AV Solutions, Bountiful, Utah; and Untangled, Wilton, Connecticut. Upscale Audio, La Verne, California, is the new Power member.

CEDIA is taking nominations until Aug. 2 for seven open positions on the 2020-21 board, the trade group said Monday. Members will vote to fill four elected positions. Home technology professional members who are employees of a member company can be nominated, vetted by the governance committee and proposed as candidates. Vacancies will be filled by one CEDIA member in the Europe, Middle East and Asia region and three from the rest of global membership, it said. Elected board members will be announced after the election and seated Jan. 1. All other member types, including manufacturers and service providers, are eligible for the three appointed director positions: one from EMEA and two from the rest of global membership. The governance committee reviews appointed director candidates based on skills needed and makes a recommendation to the board, which will vote to approve the appointment. The process runs parallel with the election.

Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., said he doesn’t necessarily “disagree” with a proposal from Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., to break up big tech companies like Google, Facebook and Amazon (see 1904170046). During the first Democratic primary debate Wednesday, Booker said companies like Amazon “that pay nothing in taxes” should be singled out and policies changed. On antitrust, Booker said he would appoint judges who enforce and would enable a DOJ and an FTC that will “go through the processes necessary to check” corporate concentration: “We have too much of a problem with corporate power growing.” Corporate consolidation hurts small business and limits innovation, Warren said: The antitrust laws are in place but “missing is courage, courage in Washington to take on the giants.” Warren said returning the government to the people means "calling out the names of the monopolists and saying I have the courage to go after them.”

ProSource announced an exclusive agreement with lighting designer and educator David Warfel to be an adviser for the buying group's retail membership. Warfel will help guide development of ProSource training initiatives in lighting and evaluate product offerings, said ProSource CEO Dave Workman Wednesday. Lighting requires increased technical knowledge and “advanced digital integration,” said Warfel. The partnership with Warfel is ProSource’s next step to position members to be “a force within the lighting industry,” said Jonathan Wesco, chairman of the buying group's lighting and shading committee. He's president of Allegro Home Entertainment.