FCC Chairman Ajit Pai is traveling to Louisiana and Texas to speak at conferences for the National Association of Tower Erectors and NTCA, said a release Monday: Pai will visit a telemedicine program in New Orleans and a 911 call center, meet with healthcare officials, and “meet with business leaders to discuss 5G technology.”

NTIA announced preliminary funding allocations for the 911 grant program with $110 million for states, territories, tribal organizations and the District of Columbia to upgrade to next-generation 911. Complete applications for the three-year program are due April 2, said a Friday revision to a notice of funding opportunity by the Commerce and Transportation departments. Top allocations are to California ($10.5 million), Texas ($10.1 million), Florida ($5.8 million), Illinois ($4.9 million) and Pennsylvania ($4.5 million).

Broadcom joined the Semiconductor Industry Association, SIA said Thursday. It expects Broadcom Chief Legal Officer Mark Brazeal to be elected to the SIA board at the association’s next directors' meeting April 4.

Industry Form 477 broadband and voice data filings are due March 8, said an FCC Wireline Bureau public notice Thursday in docket 11-10. Data is due on broadband and voice deployment and subscriptions as of Dec. 31 from providers of facilities-based broadband connection services to end users, wired and fixed-wireless local telephone exchange services, interconnected VoIP services, and facilities-based mobile voice services.

Silicon Labs shares closed down 14 percent to $76.85 Wednesday after revenue was $5 million short of low-end Q4 revenue guidance. Citing “macro uncertainty and volatility,” the company scaled back Q1 guidance to $183 million-$193 million, said Chief Financial Officer John Hollister on a call. IoT, infrastructure, broadcast and access are projected to be lower. CEO Tyson Tuttle attributed shortfalls to the macro environment and “not to share loss,” citing China’s “difficult environment” due to a slowdown in gross domestic product and factory activity as customers move production elsewhere on tariff concerns. Economic conditions are “decelerating in major markets,” leading to a semiconductor industry “down cycle,” Tuttle said. Noting it has been a decade since the last “macro correction,” Hollister said: “The question is, is this one going to be short-lived with a quick rebound, or is it going to be more protracted?” Some of that will be determined by the U.S.-China relationship and "Huawei, ZTE, in terms of the tariffs,” he said. Tuttle called geopolitical and trade factors “much more turbulent now." Wireless products now comprise more than 60 percent of total IoT revenue. Weakest sequential revenue performance was in the Americas, led by declines in wireless and other businesses.

Officials are studying how long the federal judiciary's funded operations could continue if there's another government shutdown after Feb. 15, said the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Tuesday. It cited an update from the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts Monday that said, "Similar to how courts operated from Oct. 1, 2018, through Dec. 21, 2018, courts have been advised to limit obligations to those necessary to carry out their mission and maintain current operations." Courts sustained funded operations during the partial shutdown that began Dec. 22 by deferring "non-critical operating costs" and using court filing fees and other available funds, said the office, noting the money was expected to run out this Friday (see 1901230014) before a continuing resolution was enacted last week.

The FCC could address concerns about reimbursement for relocated low-power TV stations that received funds from third parties by reimbursing those stations last, T-Mobile told Incentive Auction Task Force Chair Jean Kiddoo, recounted a filing posted Monday in docket 18-214. The agency proposed such stations not receive repacking reimbursement funds, but T-Mobile said the LPTV stations should be able to do so if they certify they aren’t being double reimbursed. Claims funds are insufficient to reimburse all displaced LPTV, translator and radio stations are unfounded, but reimbursing the third-party stations last could help allay concerns about the amount of funds, T-Mobile said. Former IATF Vice Chair Howard Symons, now with Jenner & Block, represented T-Mobile.

The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals shouldn’t let Hilton Grand Vacations evade Telephone Consumer Protection Act restrictions through a "trivial distinction" to make millions of automated telemarketing calls, said consumer groups Thursday. Telemarketers aren’t allowed to use automated dialers to call cellphones without prior express written consent, but Hilton used “human clicking agents” to try to avoid the TCPA prohibition, filed (in Pacer) the National Consumer Law Center, National Association of Consumer Advocates and Consumer Federation of America in an amicus brief supporting a consumer’s appeal of a lower court ruling in Melanie Glasser v. Hilton, No. 18-14499-J. These agents repeatedly click “a single computer button, which sends telephone numbers on an already created list to an automated dialer in another state. Each time the agent clicks, another number from the list is sent to the dialer.” The autodialer calls with no humans present and computers attempt to transfer the calls to Hilton agents to make sales pitches to consumers answering on cellphones, the groups said. The system "resulted in mass unwanted automated calls,” they wrote. Glasser said she received 13 calls. A district court sided with Hilton's summary judgment motion.

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."

Forty-three percent of U.S. broadband households say voice control is an important feature for their next smart TV or streaming media purchase, Parks Associates reported. In early 2018, the average broadband home hosted 10.4 connected devices, including 8.6 connected CE devices; 55 percent found voice control of connected entertainment devices appealing. “Consumers expect new connected entertainment products and services to offer voice as a control and search option,” said analyst Craig Leslie Tuesday, saying companies will increasingly use artificial intelligence as product differentiators.