Joining CableLabs are NBN, Stofa, Nowo Communications and Guangdong Cable, respectively in Australia, Denmark, Portugal and China, said DOJ in Thursday's Federal Register. CableLabs told us it now has 60 members in 35 countries.

IEEE published the 802.11ah-2016 standard amendment, providing for an extended range wireless local area network in the sub-1 GHz band, it announced Tuesday. IEEE 802.11ah-2016 is said to lower propagation loss through free space, walls and other obstructions, and offers a networking alternative to the congested 2.4 GHz and shorter-range 5 GHz bands. It defines a narrow-band orthogonal frequency division multiplexing physical layer operating in the license-exempt bands below 1 GHz, making it suitable for applications in IoT, smart appliances, wearables, smart grid and healthcare, said the standards group.

AT&T and the Communications Workers of America said they reached a tentative deal, with a federal mediator's help, covering about 17,000 workers. CWA members earlier this month voted down a proposed four-year contract that would have been the first for employees of DirecTV, which the telecom company bought in 2015, and reportedly included pay raises, increased job security, retirement benefits and healthcare measures (see 1706050026 and 1707070043). The union and company had agreed to mediation, a CWA spokeswoman said. Neither side released details. "The agreement was reached after extensive discussions between the Company, the CWA, and a federal mediator provided through the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service," AT&T said. Next, union members will vote on the deal, both sides said.

ISP privacy legislation countering President Donald Trump’s repeal of FCC broadband privacy rules was introduced Tuesday in the District of Columbia City Council. The bill by Councilmember Brandon Todd (D) would require carriers to get opt-in consent from customers about use and sharing of sensitive personal data and opt-out consent for nonsensitive private information, Todd’s office said in a Wednesday news release. The bill would prohibit carriers from making broadband service contingent on customers giving up privacy rights. It would require ISPs to clearly explain to customers in privacy notices what information is collected and how it will be used and shared. In a data breach, the bill would require carriers to notify the Public Service Commission and D.C. attorney general. “In light of the Federal Government’s lack of leadership on internet privacy -- an issue at the heart of life in a digitally-connected era -- it is time for bold action at the local level to protect the privacy rights of broadband consumers,” said Todd. “While internet carriers provide a critical service to District residents, basic rules of the road are required to ensure that consumers have more control over their personal information.” The District joins about 20 other jurisdictions seeking to revive ISP privacy rules killed by federal legislators (see 1707060052 and 1706190058).

ProSource added to its custom integrator (CI) and power member ranks in Q2, it said, bringing the number of 2017 additions to one Pro, 25 CI, and two Power members. Grand Appliance, Zion, Illinois, is the latest Power member. CI members added in Q2 are Armor Systems & Security, Venice, Florida; Infinite Home Theater, Meridian, Idaho; Audio Integrations, Las Vegas; Integration Excellence, Lebanon, Missouri; Mero Concepts, Cedar Park, Texas; CWB Smart Home Solutions, Deerfield Beach, Florida; PHC Toys, Ewing, New Jersey; Digital Home Creations, Webster, New York; Shore Castle Technology, Monmouth Beach, New Jersey; Dream Theaters, Pearland, Texas; Showtime Audio & Video, Sunny Isles Beach, Florida; Halcyon Technologies, Houston; and Vanden Berg Stereo, Holland, Michigan.

Nine of 26 tech and telecom companies earned credit for policies that defended users' privacy against government data requests and national security letter gag orders, said the annual Electronic Frontier Foundation's "Who Has Your Back" report released Monday. EFF said Credo, Lyft and Uber were among those that fulfilled all five categories, while Apple, Facebook, Google and Microsoft and Yahoo earned four stars. AT&T, Comcast, T-Mobile and Verizon were given one star for the category of following industry best practices such as having a policy requiring the government to get a warrant for data, publishing transparency reports and explaining how it responds to government demands for data. Those four companies didn't comment. The other four categories were providing notices to users when there's a government data request; ensuring such data isn't given to governments via third-party vendors; standing up to gag orders (see 1612010071); and committing to changes in Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act Amendments Act (see 1706270052). EFF said companies are becoming more transparent since the report was first issued seven years ago, in part due to more public attention.

CE Week and Living in Digital Times announced winners of five awards in the Young Innovators to Watch competition who will be honored during CE Week in New York on July 12. The competition honors New York City students using science, technology, engineering, arts and math skills to create “products of tomorrow." Winners included Sharon Lin, 18, Stuyvesant High School, for an app that identifies, based on a photo sample, bacteria and abiotic particles in water to help underdeveloped communities avoid diseases such as malaria, and Priya Mittal, 17, The Dalton School, whose app allows restaurants to buy imperfect produce directly from farms at a discount to reduce food waste. Michael Klamkin, 18, of Staten Island Technical High School, won for a new approach to monitoring the state of charge of lithium-ion batteries. Five Briarcliff Middle School students won for a wearable device that uses a Kinect sensor to alert the visually impaired to obstacles through audible or haptic feedback. Four students from the College of Staten Island were honored for a hi-fi speaker for a smartphone that allows users to customize their audio experience on the go. The winning projects will each receive $1,000 in scholarship money provided by CE Week and the Kay Family Foundation.

Registration is open for the fifth CES Unveiled Paris and the inaugural CES Unveiled Amsterdam, said CTA in a Friday announcement. The events bring together industry leaders, tech companies and media from across the region, CTA said. CES Unveiled Paris will be 2-7:30 p.m., Oct. 24, at the Palais Brongniart, former headquarters of the French Stock Market, and the Amsterdam event will be 1-5:30 p.m., Oct. 26, at the Beurs van Berlage, it said. Both events begin with a presentation of CTA research followed by a networking reception and tabletop exhibition.

Though pay-TV providers argued last year that FCC moves on set-top boxes are unnecessary because industry is correcting issues of competition and pricing, providers haven't followed through on those corrections since the threat of action went away, Public Knowledge said in a letter in docket 16-42 Tuesday. “In the absence of pressure from regulators the incumbent MVPD players have little motivation to unlock, ditch, or otherwise rid consumers of the unloved rented Box,” PK said. “This pattern is not unfamiliar, and should inform the FCC’s willingness to accept industry promises in lieu of regulation more generally.” NCTA didn’t comment.

Facebook has deleted about 66,000 posts reported as hate speech every week globally or about 288,000 posts per month, blogged Richard Allan, vice president-public policy for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Tuesday. "But it’s clear we’re not perfect when it comes to enforcing our policy. Often there are close calls -- and too often we get it wrong." Sometimes the posts are obvious but sometimes it isn't clear "because the words themselves are ambiguous, the intent behind them is unknown or the context around them is unclear," he said. Allan said the current definition of hate speech is "anything that directly attacks" people's "protected characteristics" such as ethnicity, gender, gender identity, national origin, race, religious affiliation, serious disability or disease, sex and sexual orientation. But there's "no universally accepted answer" when the line is crossed and national hate speech laws vary significantly, added Allan. Meanwhile, CEO Mark Zuckerberg posted that the social media site now has 2 billion users.