CBS Studios' new Star Trek series will be beamed up to Netflix subscribers under an international licensing agreement the companies announced in a news release Monday. Each episode will be available on Netflix within 24 hours of its U.S. premiere, the companies said. Netflix also will have the entire library of the various Trek series by the end of the year, they said. The new Star Trek series will debut on CBS in January, with the premiere episode and all subsequent episodes being available in the U.S. exclusively on the CBS All Access subscription VOD service.
Toshiba and Western Digital commemorated Friday the completion of a 297,000-square-foot semiconductor plant in Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture, Japan, to mark the transition from 2D NAND to 3D flash memory production. Flash memory in smartphones, solid-state drives and other applications is driving growth of the global flash memory market due to higher densities and better device performance, said the companies. First-phase production at New Fab 2 began in March for 3D flash memory and the companies plan an additional $8 billion investment to expand operations depending on market conditions, they said. Yokkaichi operations will use big data processing to analyze over 1.6 billion data points each day to improve manufacturing efficiency, they said.
Sky promises the U.K.’s “most comprehensive Ultra HD service” on Sky Q Silver when it launches the service Aug. 13, the entertainment company said in a Thursday announcement. It requires a subscription and a Sky Q Silver set-top box, Sky said.
Asus released in Taiwan Thursday the 6.8-inch ZenFone 3 Ultra with DTS Headphone:X, the first smartphone with 7.1-channel surround sound, said DTS. The ZenFone 3 Ultra is one of 15 mobile devices expected to ship with Headphone:X in coming months, CEO Jon Kirchner has said.
Privacy Shield, the trans-Atlantic data transfer pact just approved by the European Commission, is "a good thing," wrote Michelle Dennedy, Cisco chief privacy officer, in a Tuesday blog post. She said the new self-certification agreement (see 1607120001), unlike its predecessor, safe harbor, provides checks and balances in U.S. government access to data and improves transparency and accountability of companies. Cisco intends to sign up for Privacy Shield, said Dennedy, but the company will continue to offer other mechanisms like model contractual clauses (see 1607060009). "As much as this may feel like a big compliance headache, one thing is certain," she said. "Both sides of the Atlantic take the need to address EU privacy concerns very seriously. Ultimately, it will drive trust in business and confidence with customers, regulators and citizens alike, and that is always a good thing."
The Wi-Fi Alliance named Alexander Roytblat, the longtime World Radiocommuncation Conference director at the FCC, senior director-worldwide regulatory affairs. “In this newly created role, Roytblat will lead Wi-Fi Alliance engagement with regulatory bodies around the world,” the alliance said in a Thursday news release. Roytblat was vice chairman of the U.S. delegation to the 2003, 2007 and 2012 WRCs.
Europe plans to launch large-scale testing of connected car and autonomous vehicle technologies next year, including use of various high-speed wireless networks, several major trade associations said Thursday in a news release. The initiative was outlined in a EU-hosted meeting in Brussels Wednesday, said the groups, including the European Association of Automotive Suppliers, European Automobile Manufacturers Association, European Telecommunications Network Operators' Association, European Competitive Telecommunications Association and GSMA. The initiative will test functionalities, including cooperative collision avoidance, high density platooning, local-hazard warnings, remote control parking and traffic flow optimization across several EU countries, the release said. The testing will be in two phases, with the first, from 2017 to 2019, using 4G technology, and the second, running until 2021, using both 4G and 5G technologies, it said. The groups said cybersecurity, network latency, personal data protection, safety and service quality will be prioritized and addressed. A consortium of European telecom and automotive companies, which will be established later this year, will define the project's scope and negotiate potential co-financing with the EU and member states, the release said. "Trials will focus on addressing cross-border challenges such as the lack of harmonised spectrum, seamless network handover of vehicles at borders and open road infrastructure data," it said. "The trials will build on existing national projects and use their infrastructure where possible."
The FCC issued guidance on the July 1 suspension of Form 740 filing requirements. The agency temporarily waived the Form 740 requirements until the end of the year for imported RF devices due to the transition to automated commercial environment for customs. "This suspension only eliminates the filing requirements; all other requirements related to importation and to compliance with equipment authorization rules for radio frequency equipment continue to apply," the FCC said Wednesday.
Volkswagen and LG signed an R&D memorandum for development of a connected car service platform, the companies said Wednesday. They will work together on Volkswagen's Cross-Over-Platform that will offer drivers access to smart home and location-based services. They will focus on integrating the connected car and smart home and developing a notification center that delivers message intuitively and safely to drivers, they said. The platform will allow "wide integration with smart home services and adoption of open IoT connectivity technologies," said Richard Choi, head of LG’s cloud center.
Intelsat will partner with AfricaOnline to provide a managed broadband service for sub-Saharan Africa, Intelsat said in a news release Monday. Intelsat said it will provide satellite services via Intelsat 28, and AfricaOnline -- a subsidiary of African telco Gondwana International Networks -- will provide ground support and network management services.