Alphabet's Project Baseline by Verily reached capacity and can't schedule more coronavirus testing "at this time," said its website Wednesday. Appointments will continue to expand through this program as Verily scales capacity "in the near future," it said. It referred visitors to CDC guidelines. Google sister company Verily posted Monday that Project Baseline was working to deliver COVID-19 testing in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties in California to the "highest risk populations as defined by the California Department of Public Health." Residents in the San Francisco Bay Area interested in getting tested were directed to an online screener, which appeared to exclude people who showed symptoms of COVID-19. Last week, President Donald Trump hailed a screening website Google was building, receiving widespread criticism for exaggerating its readiness. Sunday Google blogged it was working with the U.S. government on developing a website dedicated to COVID-19 education, prevention and local resources nationwide. That website hadn't launched Wednesday.
Alphabet's Project Baseline by Verily reached capacity and can't schedule more coronavirus testing "at this time," said its website Wednesday. Appointments will continue to expand through this program as Verily scales capacity "in the near future," it said. It referred visitors to CDC guidelines. Google sister company Verily posted Monday that Project Baseline was working to deliver COVID-19 testing in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties in California to the "highest risk populations as defined by the California Department of Public Health." Residents in the San Francisco Bay Area interested in getting tested were directed to an online screener, which appeared to exclude people who showed symptoms of COVID-19. Last week, President Donald Trump hailed a screening website Google was building, receiving widespread criticism for exaggerating its readiness. Sunday Google blogged it was working with the U.S. government on developing a website dedicated to COVID-19 education, prevention and local resources nationwide. That website hadn't launched Wednesday.
Some communications stakeholders are on board with calls to halt retransmission consent blackouts for the next 60 days during the COVID-19 pandemic. Tuesday, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai made such a request, and ACA Connects quickly endorsed it. NAB CEO Gordon Smith in Q&A with us Wednesday made a similar request and supported broadcasters doing their part. After he spoke, some cable operators made similar comments.
After a broadcast tower company suspended work for two weeks because of the novel coronavirus, the FCC announced Tuesday it will allow stations that can’t meet the upcoming phase 9 deadline because of COVID-19-related delays to shift to the next phase (see 2003170023). Phase 10, which begins May 3, is scheduled to be the final phase of the repacking.
Sennheiser bowed $299 true wireless headphones with active noise cancellation Friday. The Momentum True Wireless 2 has seven-hour playback, which stretches to 28 hours using the supplied case, said the company. The earbuds incorporate Apple Siri and Google Assistant; a smart pause feature halts audio playback when the earbuds are removed and resumes when they're placed back in the ears. Availability is April.
Sennheiser bowed $299 true wireless headphones with active noise cancellation Friday. The Momentum True Wireless 2 has seven-hour playback, which stretches to 28 hours using the supplied case, said the company. The earbuds incorporate Apple Siri and Google Assistant; a smart pause feature halts audio playback when the earbuds are removed and resumes when they're placed back in the ears. Availability is April.
A spiraling number of federal, state and local courts are restricting access or pausing cases due to coronavirus concerns, with more expected. Caught between the public's constitutional right of access to court proceedings and health risks, courts are probably going to opt for a "Goldilocks response" of reduced use of in-person proceedings, replaced with technological alternatives and written filings, University of Utah law professor Paul Cassell, a former U.S. District Court judge, told us.
With the FCC expected in April to tackle order on the 6 GHz band, CTIA remains committed to licensed use of part of the band, Jen Oberhausen, director-regulatory affairs, said during a Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council teleconference Thursday. CTIA is fighting what some think is a losing battle to get the FCC to reconsider a plan to open all the spectrum for unlicensed use.
With the FCC expected in April to tackle order on the 6 GHz band, CTIA remains committed to licensed use of part of the band, Jen Oberhausen, director-regulatory affairs, said during a Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council teleconference Thursday. CTIA is fighting what some think is a losing battle to get the FCC to reconsider a plan to open all the spectrum for unlicensed use.
The American Petroleum Institute asked the FCC not to act on a proposal to reconfigure the 900 MHz band to allow for broadband until proponent Anterix “has undertaken the necessary work and conversations to understand the impact of its proposals on the critical narrowband communications of API members.” API and members met Commissioner Mike O’Rielly, an aide to Chairman Ajit Pai and Wireless Bureau staff, said a filing posted Thursday in docket 17-200. Members such as ExxonMobil and Phillips 66 use their 900 MHz narrowband channels around the clock “for emergency and safety communications,” the group said: “The amount of spectrum at stake is small, but critical to API members’ narrowband communications and to safety inside and outside of their facilities.” The proposal got mixed reviews in comments last year (see 1907030028).