COVID-19 caused communication service providers to “pause” large-scale fiber installations, including fiber to the home, said Exfo CEO Philippe Morin on a Wednesday investor call. The Quebec City company supplies test equipment and services to wireless carriers. Sales declined 10.1% in fiscal Q3 ended May 31. “As economies are gradually reopening around the world, we are witnessing an increase in our funnel in our opportunities for optical and high-speed test solutions,” said Morin. Exfo’s “advanced optical test solutions” for its manufacturing and lab clients is delivering “healthy growth, mainly in China, where we've seen an acceleration of 5G investment,” he said. It “remains difficult” to forecast the pandemic’s impact on the global economy, he said. “long-term drivers,” including fiber and 5G deployments, “remain intact,” he said. Customers AT&T and Verizon “think it's so critical” to speed their 5G deployments in North America, he said. “In certain countries in Europe, you've seen a bit of delays.” Exfo’s factories are “up and running” and “fully operational,” said Morin. There remain bottlenecks in “the whole logistics side of things,” he said. “There's still some challenges in terms of flights and trucks.”
Charter Communications should expect public interest groups to oppose its ask that the FCC set a May sunset to the data caps and interconnection conditions from its purchase of Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks (see 2006180050). The cable ISP could face watered-down opposition compared with what it faced to get regulatory OK, with some groups telling us it's question of available resources. The commission might be hesitant to act on the petition before the November election, we were told.
CTA and others said the FCC should act quickly to make changes proposed in a Further NPRM on the 6 GHz band, approved 5-0 in April (see 2004230059). APCO and NAB were among those opposing the order, opposing further changes. CTIA urged caution. Comments were due Monday in docket 18-295 on proposals to permit very low-power devices to operate across the 6 GHz band and to increase the power at which low-power indoor access points may operate.
CTA and others said the FCC should act quickly to make changes proposed in a Further NPRM on the 6 GHz band, approved 5-0 in April (see 2004230059). APCO and NAB were among those opposing the order, opposing further changes. CTIA urged caution. Comments were due Monday in docket 18-295 on proposals to permit very low-power devices to operate across the 6 GHz band and to increase the power at which low-power indoor access points may operate.
Some 31 Apple stores were shown closed on the company’s website Thursday, including seven in Texas, where Gov. Greg Abbott (R) announced the state will pause further reopening phases amid the surge in COVID-19 cases. The Department of Health State Services estimated 50,774 active cases statewide. Apple showed all four Houston stores closed; the Texas Medical Center reported intensive care unit beds at 100% capacity Wednesday. Harris County, Houston's home, led with 25,786 confirmed cases Wednesday, said Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Seven states reported new highs for current coronavirus hospitalizations this week, said The Washington Post : Arizona, Arkansas, California, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas. All six Apple stores in Arizona were temporarily shuttered. The state had the biggest upward trend of new cases, said Johns Hopkins. In Florida, Apple stores in Estero and Naples were shown closed, while four of five stores in North Carolina -- and both South Carolina stores -- were shuttered. Two of four Tennessee stores -- Germantown and Nashville -- were closed. Apple began a gradual reopening of U.S. stores last month (see 2005180043) after it temporarily shut all U.S. storefronts in March. The company didn't comment.
Some 31 Apple stores were shown closed on the company’s website Thursday, including seven in Texas, where Gov. Greg Abbott (R) announced the state will pause further reopening phases amid the surge in COVID-19 cases. The Department of Health State Services estimated 50,774 active cases statewide. Apple showed all four Houston stores closed; the Texas Medical Center reported intensive care unit beds at 100% capacity Wednesday. Harris County, Houston's home, led with 25,786 confirmed cases Wednesday, said Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Seven states reported new highs for current coronavirus hospitalizations this week, said The Washington Post : Arizona, Arkansas, California, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas. All six Apple stores in Arizona were temporarily shuttered. The state had the biggest upward trend of new cases, said Johns Hopkins. In Florida, Apple stores in Estero and Naples were shown closed, while four of five stores in North Carolina -- and both South Carolina stores -- were shuttered. Two of four Tennessee stores -- Germantown and Nashville -- were closed. Apple began a gradual reopening of U.S. stores last month (see 2005180043) after it temporarily shut all U.S. storefronts in March. The company didn't comment.
Some 31 Apple stores were shown closed on the company’s website Thursday, including seven in Texas, where Gov. Greg Abbott (R) announced the state will pause further reopening phases amid the surge in COVID-19 cases. The Department of Health State Services estimated 50,774 active cases statewide. Apple showed all four Houston stores closed; the Texas Medical Center reported intensive care unit beds at 100% capacity Wednesday. Harris County, Houston's home, led with 25,786 confirmed cases Wednesday, said Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Seven states reported new highs for current coronavirus hospitalizations this week, said The Washington Post : Arizona, Arkansas, California, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas. All six Apple stores in Arizona were temporarily shuttered. The state had the biggest upward trend of new cases, said Johns Hopkins. In Florida, Apple stores in Estero and Naples were shown closed, while four of five stores in North Carolina -- and both South Carolina stores -- were shuttered. Two of four Tennessee stores -- Germantown and Nashville -- were closed. Apple began a gradual reopening of U.S. stores last month (see 2005180043) after it temporarily shut all U.S. storefronts in March. The company didn't comment.
The FCC faces a challenge to its June wireless infrastructure declaratory ruling, with Oregon and California cities filing a challenge in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The order was approved 3-2 over dissents by Commissioners Jessica Rosenworcel and Geoffrey Starks (see 2006090060). Others are expected to join the appeal. Local governments are also considering filing a petition for reconsideration at the FCC, lawyers said. The agency acted on requests by CTIA and the Wireless Infrastructure Association in approving the ruling, which took effect June 10.
Cincinnati Bell paused work for eight minutes and 46 seconds in solidarity with union workers and others seeking racial equality after the death of George Floyd, the telco said Thursday. Communications Workers of America employees asked for the pause.
Microsoft won’t sell facial recognition technology to U.S. police departments until a national law is in place, President Brad Smith said Thursday, following the lead of IBM and Amazon. IBM “no longer offers general purpose IBM facial recognition or analysis software,” CEO Arvind Krishna wrote Congress Monday, “outlining detailed policy proposals to advance racial equality.” Amazon implemented a “one-year moratorium on police use of Amazon’s facial recognition technology” Wednesday, though it will continue allowing use from organizations like Thorn, the International Center for Missing and Exploited Children and Marinus Analytics. “We hope this one-year moratorium might give Congress enough time to implement appropriate rules, and we stand ready to help if requested,” Amazon said. Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., welcomed a “pause” on police use of the technology: “What Amazon should really do is a complete about-face and get out of the business of dangerous surveillance altogether.” It took two years, but the American Civil Liberties Union is “glad the company is finally recognizing the dangers face recognition poses to Black and Brown communities and civil rights more broadly,” said ACLU Northern California Technology and Civil Liberties Director Nicole Ozer. The group's Civil Liberties Attorney Matt Cagle urged Microsoft to halt “its current efforts to advance legislation that would legitimize and expand the police use of facial recognition in multiple states.” Electronic Frontier Foundation Policy Analyst Matthew Guariglia called Microsoft’s decision a good step, saying it “must permanently end its sale of this dangerous technology to police departments.”