OneWeb and SatixFy, a British multibeam antenna and terminal design firm, will collaborate to develop an in-flight connectivity terminal that will work on OneWeb's low earth orbit constellation and on geostationary orbit satellite networks, they said Friday. They said SatixFy formed a joint venture with Singapore Technology Engineering to commercialize the terminal for commercial aviation markets.
Subscriptions to online video services grew 26% in 2020 to 1.1 billion globally, said MPA Thursday. They helped offset an overall revenue decline of 18% in theatrical and home/mobile entertainment, amid widespread theater closures due to COVID-19. The global box office market was $12 billion in 2020, including $2.2 billion in the U.S. and Canada. U.S. online video subscriptions grew 32% to 308.6 million, reaching $30 billion. The global home/mobile entertainment market grew 23% to $68.8 billion.
The global PC monitor market finished 2020 with the strongest year since IDC began tracking the category in 2008. Shipments increased 8.3% to 136.6 million. Q4 shipments grew 16.9% to 39.2 million, biggest since Q4 2011, reported the company Thursday: Demand for remote work and learning connectivity tools helped fuel growth. Though some geographies “have seen life move closer to pre-pandemic levels, ongoing restrictions of varying degrees continued to help funnel consumer budgets to furnish their homes for work or entertainment, even as low office occupancy inhibited commercial monitor spending,” it said. Semiconductor constraints, including display driver IC shortages, forced manufacturers “to amass stock ahead of component price hikes that could last through the middle of 2021,” it said. Dell, TPV, HP, Lenovo and Samsung finished as the top five brand share leaders. U.S. importers sourced 38.6 million PC monitors from all countries last year, down about 1.2% from 2019, according to Census Bureau data we accessed Thursday through the International Trade Commission's DataWeb tool. But January imports of 3.56 million PC monitors rose 92% from January 2019, it said.
DTS added Japanese simulcast streaming radio service radiko to its AutoStage platform, it said Wednesday. Radio stations and broadcaster metadata on the radiko platform -- station logos, program name, performer information and a live station guide -- will be integrated into the AutoStage ecosystem, it said. DTS parent Xperi rebranded Connected Radio as DTS AutoStage last month (see 2102090017). DTS also has partnerships with BBC, Bauer, Cox, Beasley, Commercial Radio Australia and Entercom.
The U.S. should form a strong global technology alliance and promote better interagency cooperation on technology policies to more effectively compete with China, former government officials said. They said this must start with the White House and Congress embracing industrial policy and pouring resources into protecting critical tech. “There are people in the tech world who understand that China is catching up,” said WestExec Advisors co-founder Michele Flournoy at a Center for a New American Security event Tuesday. “If we don't do something different, they're going to surpass us." CNAS national security expert Loren DeJonge Schulman said the Biden administration recognizes the importance of international standards setting bodies for critical tech, where the U.S. has ceded leadership roles to China. Although the U.S. tried to become more involved in those bodies, including issuing a rule last year that let companies more easily participate in bodies in which Huawei is a member, Schulman wants more action. Form a stronger technology partnership with like-minded allies, advised Sue Gordon, Pallas Advisors senior adviser. The Biden administration can learn from some mistakes made by the Trump administration, including its failure to form a strong coalition against Huawei, she said. “Huawei is a great example where it was really hard for our partners to catch up to where we wanted to go once they had already made a bunch of decisions on their own.” The White House and China's embassy didn’t comment Wednesday.
Administrative Law Judge Cameron Elliot of the International Trade Commission found Samsung committed no Tariff Act Section 337 violations by importing smartphones alleged to have infringed four patents asserted by flexible electronics manufacturer Dynamics, said an initial determination notice (login required) he signed Tuesday in docket 337-TA-1170. Dynamics alleged in June 2019 that Samsung smartphones infringed its patents for cards with emulators that transmit information to magnetic strip readers. Neither Dynamics nor Samsung commented.
FCC Public Safety Bureau publication of a list Friday banning gear from Huawei, ZTE, Hytera Communications, Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology and Dahua Technology on national security grounds (see 2103120058) had “no factual basis and makes no sense,” said a Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson Monday. “To maintain its monopoly and hegemony in science and technology, the U.S. government abused the concept of national security and state power, and went all out to suppress Chinese hi-tech companies,” he said. “This negates the market economy principles the U.S. side has claimed to champion and reveals its hypocrisy in touting so-called fair competition.” He said the U.S. should “stop groundless suppression of Chinese companies and create an open, fair, just and non-discriminatory environment for Chinese companies operating and making investment in the U.S.”
Walmart is investing $153 million for 0.9% of Rakuten, the Japanese e-commerce company announced Friday. It's “in line with other recent strategic equity investments the company has made that enable Walmart to benefit from future growth in a rapidly changing global retail environment,” said Walmart. Also planning to invest are Tencent (a 3.6% stake) and Japan Post Holdings (8.3%), it said. Citing evolving “new lifestyles,” Rakuten said businesses that operate retail stores such as supermarkets are now “required to provide services that are more convenient for users, not only providing services online, but also transcending the boundaries between online and offline (real stores) and driving a retail revolution in which consumption and marketing are changing dramatically.” Having stable logistics services has become a “pressing issue,” due to higher delivery volumes and labor shortages that have resulted in “multiple redeliveries,” it said. Rakuten is further collaborating with Japan Post. In 2018, the two companies launched a pickup service through post offices and via Japan Post’s home delivery lockers. They announced a plan to form a strategic logistics partnership for data sharing in December.
Samsung agreed to license Nokia’s video standards patents, said Nokia Thursday. Samsung will make royalty payments to Nokia, but the terms of the agreement are confidential. Nokia didn’t say which video standards are involved, but it’s on record as asserting ownership of H.264 standard-essential patents on HD video (see 2007180001).
New Honda and Acura vehicles in Canada come equipped with built-in Wi-Fi hot spots that enable drivers and their passengers to stay fully connected hands-free, Bell Canada and Honda announced Thursday. Targeted to mobile workers, commuters and families, this capability “will seamlessly support browsing, streaming and sharing” on up to seven devices, leveraging 4G LTE. Devices can stay connected up to 50 feet away from the vehicle, said the companies.