The FCC Wireline Bureau granted Alice's petition (see 2104270057) for limited waiver of emergency broadband benefit rules Tuesday. Altice asked to waive the requirement that it file reimbursement claims by the 15th of each month for new subscribers. It got a one-month delay. Others seek similar waivers (see 2105110047).

There’s “strong pent-up consumer demand” to return to movie theaters and “the unique social experience,” said National CineMedia CEO Tom Lesinski on a Q1 call Monday. “Some recent disappointing day-and-date streaming results have many content producers now considering the reestablishment of a new kind of exclusive theatrical window to help launch their films.” The “significant cabin fever” building for more than a year through COVID-19 stay-at-home mandates “will drive consumers back to the theaters,” said ex-Warner Home Entertainment executive Lesinski. “This will once again allow movie studios and even some of the new streaming companies to rely on theaters to launch their films and other content.” Recent studio announcements “reflect a recommitment to new types of theatrical windows for future films,” he said. “Film release delays caused by the epidemic created an unbelievable lineup of big movies from now to 2023.” NCM expects revenue from its in-theater ad platform will begin to “meaningfully increase” in June, since movie attendance won’t “begin to pick up until Memorial Day weekend,” said Chief Financial Officer Ted Watson. “Monthly revenue will still be below 2019 pre-pandemic levels until Q4.”

FCC commissioners voted unanimously on $7.17 billion emergency connectivity fund rules, said a news release Monday on the final day the agency had under the law to vote (see 2104300084). “Between this Emergency Connectivity Fund Program and the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program, we are investing more than $10 billion in American students and households," said acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. "These investments will help more Americans [have] access online." Rules included changes sought by Commissioner Geoffrey Starks to improve data collection, he said. "By adding a few basic questions to the emergency connectivity fund application, the commission will gain insight about where the homework gap is and how wide."

FCC Enforcement Bureau field agents continue to do most work remotely, Chief Rosemary Harold told an FCBA webinar Friday. “We’re only letting folks go out for public safety-related reasons”, which “puts a bit of a crimp in our style,” she said. As more get vaccinated, agents will return to the field but maybe not “any time soon,” she said. Harold said she has visited the new headquarters, and some employees who retired will have to return to pick up what they left behind. “The field has been under very stringent travel restrictions,” said Axel Rodriguez, EB field director. “We wanted to make sure we weren’t putting the agents in any undue risk,” he said: “We wanted to make sure if they were going to leave their homes, it was for something essential only.” Exceptions are for interference to FAA air traffic control, GPS, and Coast Guard channel 16, the international marine distress frequency, he said. Field agents were involved in the presidential inauguration and hurricane response efforts, Rodriguez said. Agents resolve complaints from home and without sending out a truck, using remote monitoring equipment, he said. “We have started to see some of the reins loosened up” as agents are vaccinated, he said. The pandemic has shown people can get work done without being in the office and “there will be negotiations to come about working from home,” Harold said: “We have proven that we can make it work, for the most part.” The bureau has been “quite busy” since acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel took the helm, Harris said. Rosenworcel “has been particularly interested … in going after robocalls,” the EB chief said: That includes investigative cases and “coming up with other ways to help carriers, or alert carriers, to what they can do. With the help of the industry we are watching some traffic flows and have questions.” Carriers bringing in large amounts of traffic from outside the U.S. “may want to look at what they’re doing, because we may have more questions for them,” she said.

The Wireless Infrastructure Association is moving its Connectivity Expo from Aug. 3-6 in Boston to Oct. 4-7 in Orlando, at the Hyatt Regency. President Jonathan Adelstein Tuesday cited a " commitment to deliver an exceptional and safe in-person event." For news on who is and isn't meeting in person, see here.

Women in Cable Telecommunications, National Association for Multi-ethnicity in Communications and Walter Kaitz Foundation Diversity Week events scheduled for October will be virtual, and the organizations said Wednesday that 2022 Diversity Week events will be in person in New York City. They said this year's virtual events will be WICT's leadership conference Oct. 4-5, followed by NAMIC's annual national conference Oct. 5-8. The foundation will put on an Oct. 6 virtual event in lieu of its annual fundraising dinner, they said.

Warner Music Group is looking past the pandemic at virtual opportunities, executives told investors Tuesday. Music is “broadening and deepening its relationship to people everywhere,” said CEO Steve Cooper, citing opportunities via a “snippet” on social media, soundtracks to an in-home workout, live performances in a metaverse and nun-fungible token (NFT) collectibles. The company announced an investment in virtual entertainment company Wave Monday. Three years ago, emerging forms of streaming had zero revenue, said Chief Financial Officer Eric Levin. A quarter ago, the revenue was about $150 million on an annualized basis; now it's $200 million. Emerging areas are "growing rapidly and growing more diverse." They expand monetization available via smartphones, Levin said. The total available market is the smartphone universe, said the CFO. “Here, your TAM is your smartphone universe, but you potentially have multiple touchpoints and therefore multiple opportunities to monetize this music within one smartphone.” One user could use social media, have livestreams, participate in games in metaverses with avatars and collect NFTs. WMG sales grew 17% in the quarter ended March 31 from a year earlier. Artist services and expanded-rights revenue grew 2.6%, reflecting COVID-19’s impact on live events. Other WMG units had bigger growth. Shares closed down 5.7% at $36.09.

The pandemic “permanently elevated consumer prioritization of convenience and flexibility” in healthcare, reported Kyruus Tuesday. The medical industry data management services provider hired Wakefield Research to canvass 1,000 U.S. adults in March, finding more than half “delayed some sort of care” during the pandemic and most “will seek a hybrid of virtual and in-person options” when they resume medical visits. Of those who deferred care, 48% say they did so because they didn’t feel safe visiting a doctor’s office. “Hybrid care delivery is here to stay,” it said, citing the 60% who say telehealth visits “will play a role in where they opt to get care in the future.” Sustained interest in virtual care is highest among patients with “routine and mental health needs,” it said.

It will take “years” for AMC to repay its debt burden, Wedbush's Michael Pachter wrote investors Monday, despite increasing optimism about the exhibition industry as it nears a post-pandemic environment. “Demand for theatrical content is high, and plenty of high-quality content is awaiting audiences,” said Pachter. While theaters have been closed or in limited use for over a year, AMC has “successfully expanded its liquidity, raising enough to last through midsummer without an incremental box office boost,” said the analyst.

The FCC should "adopt simple guard rails" for the Emergency Connectivity Fund, Verizon told FCC Wireline Bureau staff, per a posting Friday in docket 21-93 (see 2104260070). Rules should include per-school budgets based on the number of students eligible for free or reduced lunch "to support students who would not otherwise have broadband at home" and should limit the share of funds "for potentially costly connected devices," like laptops and tablets, Verizon said. CTIA also met with Wireline Bureau staff, asking for smartphones to be considered eligible. CTIA wanted ECF support to be limited to services and devices "not already being funded by other federal or state funding sources" to ensure money is "distributed efficiently and effectively." The agency is proposing to not include smartphones (see 2104300084).