SiriusXM CEO Jim Meyer sees “a lot I love about Pandora” but worries about the streaming service’s steady “decline in listening hours,” he said on a Q4 call Wednesday. Meyer expects SiriusXM’s $3.5 billion all-stock buyout to close Friday, after Pandora shareholders approved the transaction Tuesday (see 1901290056).
Amazon will recruit New York City public-housing tenants for at least 30 customer-service jobs and invest millions in a “pathway to employment” cloud-computing “certificate program" with LaGuardia Community College of the City University of New York, testified Vice President-Public Policy Brian Huseman Wednesday. It was the second in a series of City Council oversight hearings on impact of the planned HQ2 in Long Island City, Queens (see 1901280001).
China is “highly concerned” about DOJ’s 13-count indictment against Huawei and Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou on bank fraud, obstruction of justice and other allegations (see 1901280052), said a Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tuesday. Meanwhile, legislators ramped up scrutiny. The U.S. uses its “national power” to “tarnish and crack down on specific Chinese companies in an attempt to strangle their lawful and legitimate operations,” said China's spokesperson. “Behind such practices are deep political intentions and manipulations.” In detaining Meng in Vancouver in early December, the U.S. and Canada “abused their bilateral extradition agreement and took compulsory measures against a Chinese citizen for no reason,” the spokesperson said. The U.S. should “immediately withdraw” Meng’s arrest warrant, “refrain from making a formal extradition request, and stop going further down the wrong path,” he said. Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss., pressed national security officials during Tuesday's Senate Armed Services Committee hearing about Huawei and ZTE's national security threat. Wicker earlier praised the indictments. Commerce is “taking a hard look" at Huawei given its “activities and impact on developing technologies, such as 5G and autonomous vehicles, as well as network security and consumer data protection,” he said. Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr, R-N.C., welcomed the indictments, “which detail the company’s brazen efforts to steal corporate trade secrets, commit fraud, and obstruct justice.” Vice Chairman Mark Warner, D-Va., said it's a “reminder that we need to take seriously the risks of doing business with companies like Huawei and allowing them access to our markets, and I will continue to strongly urge our ally Canada to reconsider Huawei’s inclusion in any aspect of its 5G infrastructure.” Commerce Security Subcommittee Chairman Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, tweeted the indictments show "just one more example of Chinese businesses unwilling to play by the rules." The panel "will be conducting serious oversight of these Chinese threats to the U.S. economy," he said.
“The best things Amazon will deliver to Queens won’t come in a box,” says an Amazon flyer that appeared in Queens residential mailboxes this weekend trumpeting its new Long Island City headquarters. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D), a Queens native who spearheaded the bid to land Amazon, calls the deal a “lightning rod” for “rhetoric” on both political “extremes” (see 1811190012). Wednesday’s hearing is before the council’s Finance Committee. The council promises to give the public the chance to testify at a future hearing and encourages questions to the live hearings through social media. The theme of the first hearing Dec. 12, "Exposing the Closed-Door Process,” reflected council frustrations. The Queens development is one of the two HQ2s, with the other in Northern Virginia (see 1811130013).
Intel closed down 5.5 percent to $47.04 Friday on its announcement it missed its 2018 revenue target and is forecasting sluggish 2019 revenue growth. But 5G is a bright spot. Though 2018 revenue jumped 13 percent to $70.8 billion, that’s $400 million short of the $71.2 billion it forecast Oct. 25. The 2019 revenue outlook is for a 1 percent increase to $71.5 billion. Seven months ago, it ousted CEO Brian Krzanich for violating “non-fraternization policy” (see 1806210008). Interim CEO and Chief Financial Officer Bob Swan acknowledged the search was a “top-of-mind question” with many analysts. The board “continues to evaluate candidates for what I believe is the biggest and best open job on the planet,” said Swan. “They are proceeding with a sense of urgency while also ensuring that they make the right choice.” Meantime, 5G is a "big opportunity" for both its PC- and data-centric businesses, said Swan. At CES, Intel unveiled its new 10-nanometer-based network SoC developed "specifically for 5G wireless access and edge computing," he said. Codename "Snow Ridge will bring Intel architecture into wireless access base stations, and allow more computing functions to be distributed out at the edge of the network," he said. "We expect to be in production on Snow Ridge in the second half of this year."
Dozens of global tech groups want “rapid action” on the World Trade Organization’s “ambitious” trade-related e-commerce “framework,” they said in an open letter Friday to WTO trade ministers. Seventy-six ministers signed a statement Friday vowing to start WTO negotiations on trade-related aspects of e-commerce aimed at achieving “a high standard outcome that builds on existing WTO agreements,” with participation of as many members as possible. “The ability of businesses and individuals to participate effectively in the global economy today requires a modern e-commerce framework that facilitates customs clearance, digital transactions, transparency, trust, movement of information, and access to a variety of e-commerce platforms, payments technologies, communications, social media and marketing tools, productivity software, and shipping and logistics services,” said the letter, whose signers included BSA|The Software Alliance, CTA, CompTIA, the Information Technology Industry Council and Internet Association. “Improving the enabling environment for digital trade and global e-commerce is particularly critical for micro, small and early-stage businesses.”
A new British subsidiary of Vonage that supplies contact-center cloud services to Salesforce and others created a system and method to use Amazon Alexa devices and other virtual assistants to communicate with factory call centers and deliver enhanced, automated “consumer-facing” services through “end-to-end functionality,” said a patent application (20190028587) published Thursday at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. As virtual assistants “become more and more widespread, and particularly as they are applied to home control and home assistant functions,” they can become a “natural entry point for consumers to interact with enterprises,” filed NewVoiceMedia Jan. 22, naming Chief Scientist Ashley Unitt one of its two inventors along with Brian Galvin, a patent lawyer in suburban Seattle. Vonage bought NewVoiceMedia for $350 million cash in September. Virtual assistants can place phone calls on demand, but “they do not take advantage of information and capabilities available in contact centers widely in use in the art,” said the application. An “interface” lets devices communicate with one another “for services and functionality to be improved and automated,” it said. NewVoiceMedia didn’t comment Thursday.
Ford’s “confidence level” remains unchanged that it’s on track to deliver a “purpose-built” autonomous vehicle “at scale” by 2021, said President-Mobility Marcy Klevorn on an Q4 call Wednesday. It's “uniquely building the technology along with building a business,” so when Ford AVs become available, the automaker will have “figured out how we want to monetize them,” she said. Ford will be among the two or three “winners” when AVs are ready for large-scale commercialization, she said. The company's work on connected mobility also is “advancing quickly,” said CEO Jim Hackett. “We are connecting every new Ford vehicle in the U.S. to the cloud.” Those vehicles soon “will talk to the world around them through the technology known as C-V2X,” he said of cellular vehicle-to-vehicle connectivity. Through C-V2X, “we will help usher in a new transportation system that reduces traffic congestion, accidents and improves CO2.”
“Consumer lab” testing in the ATSC 3.0 Phoenix model market (see 1812060027) found “strong appeal” for next-generation TV features that could increase broadcast TV viewing and drive sales of new 3.0-capable TVs, said Pearl TV Tuesday. Pearl commissioned Magid to test consumer reaction to the new service and found 3.0 likely could induce viewers to start watching broadcast programming, even if they don't currently do so, said Pearl. The testing found the “combination” of 4K video, HDR and immersive audio has “the broadest appeal," said Pearl Managing Director Anne Schelle. Other findings: (1) 91 percent of consumers said they would be "interested" or "very interested" in using a service like 3.0; (2) Consumers said they find 3.0's “enhanced audio” features especially appealing, including the ability to “customize audio tracks”; (3) 80 percent of consumers said they would be “interested" or "very interested" in buying a 3.0 TV or add-on device.
A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson sidestepped questions Tuesday at a Beijing news conference about whether the U.S. risks endangering its trade talks with China if it follows through with threats to extradite Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou to the U.S. from Canada to stand trial on criminal charges. Meng was arrested Dec. 1 while changing planes in Vancouver on suspicion of violating U.S. sanctions against Iran (see 1812060042). In ordering Meng’s detention, “what the U.S. has done, with its egregious nature, severely infringes upon the legal and legitimate rights and interests of Chinese citizens,” said the spokesperson. China urges the U.S. to “take measures to correct its wrongdoings and withdraw its arrest order for the Chinese citizen,” she said, hinting at Chinese retaliation if the U.S. fails to do so. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative didn’t comment Tuesday.