The Bluetooth Special Interest Group is working on a specification to enable wearables to use smartphone-based exposure notification system (ENS) protocols, it said Tuesday. Public ENSs, deployed by government health agencies, have used Bluetooth technology embedded in smartphones to notify people when they have been in contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19. Smartphones alone aren’t a practical approach to cover all segments of the population, it said. “Several population groups critical to managing the spread" of COVID-19 have “relatively low smartphone penetration, presenting a coverage challenge" for ENSs, said Elisa Resconi, physics professor at the Technical University of Munich. She's researching non-pharmaceutical interventions against COVID-19. Wearables could be an effective way to extend the reach of an ENS, she said. More than 130 Bluetooth member companies joined the ENS working group to define a standard.

The Progressive Policy Institute touted support Monday from Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and Communications Subcommittee ranking member Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, for the group’s white paper with Americans for Prosperity urging Congress make permanent its temporary lifting of some telehealth restrictions during the pandemic. Lawmakers lifted some limits on telehealth eligibility for Medicare in March via the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act and other laws (see 2003250046). “In light of the experience of the past few months, and the benefit to patients, it would be exceedingly odd to go back to the pre-Covid status quo,” the paper said. “Consensus seems to be forming in favor of making those gains permanent.” AFP and PPI urged Congress to continue allowing Medicare recipients to use telehealth outside of rural areas and at home, and to allow providers to deliver such services to current and new Medicare patients. The groups also urged additional broadband funding to boost telehealth availability. “It is refreshing to see two groups with such different perspectives come together to support greater access to telehealth,” Wicker said in a PPI news release. When Schatz “and I started our telehealth working group years ago, we chose to work on bipartisan policy that would improve access to health care and save lives. We will continue to work together to ensure Americans can enjoy the benefits of telehealth for years to come.” Telehealth "is a rare area with strong bipartisan support and it’s here to stay,” Schatz said: “While we have made some progress in Congress on expanding access to telehealth during this pandemic, we have more work to do to make these changes permanent and allow more patients" to take part.

Smart appliance shipments will grow at a 48% compound annual growth rate through 2024 to 148.5 million units, Futuresource emailed Sunday, but supply chains and consumer demand across appliances will be “significantly impacted” in coming years due to COVID-19. Though more manufacturers are adding Wi-Fi connectivity, consumers are more likely to buy an older, more familiar model than a new, smart and expensive model when shopping online. More purchases will happen online because of self-isolation and quarantining measures as consumers typically prefer to "touch and feel" an appliance before making a purchase. “As a global recession moves from being a possibility to a probability, reduced disposable incomes as a result of massive unemployment, wage cuts and business failures, will likely lead to an increase in sales of low-to-medium priced products in developed markets, and a reduction in premium products, including smart devices,” it said.

Nearly three-quarters of U.S. consumers shopped more online during the pandemic, a healthinsurance.com survey found. The healthcare shopping website canvassed 1,600 online Aug. 6-7, finding 76% of millennials and 73% of Gen Xers used e-commerce more during lockdown. The prevalence of increased online shopping was lowest among baby boomers at 67%. The vast majority of consumers spend more time on their phones and computers. Increased tech use is higher among Gen Xers (75%) and millennials (74%) than boomers (65%). Americans 61%-39% say they need a “digital detox." The sentiment was strongest among boomers (78%), less so with millennials (51%). Gen Xers alone shunned the idea. Apple Watch is the wearable of choice among 25% of consumers, Fitbit at 23%. Consumers are evenly split between those who used telemedicine services during COVID-19 and those who didn’t. Americans by a 60% majority feel “more comfortable” about using telemedicine now than they were six months ago, and 54% plan to continue using it after the pandemic. Twenty-eight percent of consumers who binge-watch content prefer doing so on a nondescript smart TV over a Roku or Amazon Fire TV.

People who think students in their households “mostly or entirely” will attend classes remotely is 28%, and 27% think students will do so in-person this fall, reported the National Retail Federation Monday. The association canvassed 7,600 consumers Aug. 3-11, finding about a third expect an “equal mix” of in-person and e-learning, it said. The survey found 63% of consumers expect at least some school and college classes will take place online this year, up from 55% from early July. The proportion planning to buy laptops for remote learning was virtually unchanged at 37%; intentions to buy computing accessories increased to 26% from 21%. Twenty-three percent plan to buy desks or chairs to furnish home classrooms, up from 17% in July.

The FCC Wireline Bureau again extended waivers of Lifeline recertification, reverification, general de-enrollment, documentation and usage requirements for rural areas on tribal lands because of COVID-19, this time until Nov. 30, said an order in docket 11-42 Monday. After the previous extension, waivers were to expire Aug. 31 (see 2006010027). “We will continue to monitor the situation to determine whether any additional extension of these waivers is appropriate,” the new order said.

The “digital world” of telework and remote learning is more important during the pandemic, but 98% of websites have “critical accessibility barriers,” said AudioEye Executive Chairman Carr Bettis on a quarterly call Thursday. The company markets website accessibility tools for the vision-impaired. Though demand “remains very strong,” COVID-19 is impacting customers and prospects “across all our channels,” said Bettis. New business deals are being “delayed a little,” and AudioEye imposed “more flexible pricing and other options," he said. The “marginal” decrease in renewals is from factors “out of our control, such as bankruptcy proceedings or outright business closures,” he said. The pandemic is impacting businesses worldwide, “even more so” in Q2, Bettis said. “It's going to be reasonable to expect some impact on AudioEye's financial and operating performance.” The company also reshuffled management (see personals section, this issue).

COVID-19 hastened the trend away from pay TV, Needham analyst Laura Martin wrote Friday. Subscription-driven (SVOD) streaming services grew 20-50% faster than earlier estimates, said Martin, citing as drivers shelter-in-place, lack of live sports, shuttered cinemas and divisive news cycles. She cited a July Roku study saying 40% of cord-cutters say free or extended trials for streaming services encouraged them to cancel a traditional TV package. Because many streaming services drop entire new seasons on one day, they had more hours of nearly completed episodes ready. Needham estimates consumers signed up for two to four new SVOD streaming services, while free ad-driven (AVOD) users doubled. This era is driving more experimentation, including Universal’s multi-year 17-day theatrical window deal with AMC and Disney’s decision to release Mulan for $30 Sept. 4 (see report, Aug. 6 issue). The economic impact of widespread unemployment might negatively affect SVOD streaming services due to less disposable income; or, it could lead users to rotate sequentially among SVOD services rather than pay for multiple SVOD subscriptions simultaneously, Martin said.

Six gateway providers complied “within 48 hours” of receiving letters from the FCC and FTC in April and May demanding they cut traffic allowing COVID-19-related scam robocalls originating outside the country into the U.S. (see 2005200053), FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said in letters to Sens. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., and Tom Carper, D-Del., released Thursday. Hassan and Carper wrote in June urging the FCC, DOJ and IRS to “aggressively” crack down (see 2006260067). The USTelecom Industry Traceback Group confirms Connexum, IntelePeer Cloud Communications, PTGi International Carrier Services, RSCom, SipJoin and VoIP Terminator/BL “continue to be in compliance,” Pai said. “We will continue to monitor these and other gateway providers to stop illegal international robocalls before they reach consumers.” Those efforts “could be one reason that there has been a notable decrease in robocall complaints filed both at the FCC and FTC in recent months,” he said. He said the FTC reports robocall complaints decreased 68% in April 2020 from April 2019, with a 60% drop in complaints in May. Pai noted the senators’ concerns about DOJ’s recent inability to collect more than a token amount of FCC-levied fines against robocallers, saying the commission lacks "authority to force entities to pay the fines levied in a Forfeiture Order. When an entity does not pay, we must refer the case to the Justice Department for collection."

Privacy concerns are slowing smart speaker uptake, even as global headphone sales benefited from lockdowns and remote working, Futuresource reported Friday: Primary speaker concerns are how data is used and worries of “being listened to” by tech companies. Desire for high quality audio filtered through to streaming, said analyst Alexandre Jornod. More than 40% of service users say they want better audio quality; more than half are willing to pay up to $3 more monthly. Jornod cited Amazon HD as a catalyst. The rise in podcast consumption doesn’t appear to be cannibalizing music listening, said Jornod, as 80% of podcast listeners say they consume the same or more music due to listening to podcasts. Meanwhile, Q2 headphone sales are recovering. “Although March and April were hit hard, many brands came back fighting, with product promotions and multiple offers,” said analyst Adriana Blanco. Headphone unit sales were down 8% in Q2, but dollar sales rose on strength of true wireless models, which accounted for 40% of headphones shipped. Apple’s AirPods led the charge.