Next Century Cities supported calls to reconvene California's legislature to pass SB-1130 to increase the state internet speed standard to 25 Mbps symmetrical from 6/1 Mbps (see 2009290064). “Access to the internet in our rural and urban areas makes the difference between whether people got evacuation orders and are able to access critical information,” Next Century Cities quoted Santa Cruz County Third District Supervisor Ryan Coonerty saying, in a letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom (D). COVID-19 makes the digital divide more acute, says Second District Supervisor Zach Friend.

Fear during the pandemic has led to a spike in online security concerns, said Olli Bliss, F-Secure business development manager, on a Parks Associates webinar. If an employee receives an email with COVID-19 information from what appears to be her employer, "you’re probably going to open up that spreadsheet,” he said Thursday: Local authorities are mass-texting citizens, leading to opportunities for phishing scams. “People lower their guard a little bit because they’re overwhelmed with fear," the cybersecurity expert said. "They’re prone to click things.” Cybercriminals are taking advantage, impersonating personnel from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, sending phishing emails for charitable donations and making bogus test and vaccination offers, said Parks analyst Brad Russell. In the past year, about 5% of U.S. broadband households have experienced identity theft -- some 5.5 million households. ID theft tops the list of cybersecurity concerns among U.S. broadband households, said Russell.

COVID-19 is forcing Cineworld to temporarily shut all 536 U.S. Regal theaters Thursday, said the company Monday. It cited the “increasingly challenging theatrical landscape and sustained key market closures.” About 40,000 U.S. employees will be out of jobs, it said. “We did everything in our power to support a safe and sustainable reopening,” said CEO Mooky Greidinger. Major U.S. markets remain closed, “without guidance on reopening timing,” making studios reluctant to release new films, said the company. That means Cineworld can’t offer consumers “the breadth of strong commercial films necessary for them to consider coming back to theaters.” S&P Global downgraded AMC Entertainment Friday (see 2010020033 or 2010020049).

Senate floor proceedings are delayed until Oct. 19, complicating the timeline for consideration of Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett and FCC nominee Nathan Simington. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., was expected to have sought unanimous consent Monday for the chamber to meet pro forma through next week after GOP members Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, Mike Lee of Utah and Thom Tillis of North Carolina tested positive for COVID-19. Johnson and Lee are members of the Commerce Committee, which has jurisdiction over the Simington pick. Lee and Tillis are on the Judiciary Committee, which is handling the Barrett nomination. Lee and Tillis attended the event last month where President Donald Trump announced he was picking Barrett. Trump (see 2010020044) and other attendees also tested positive. Johnson attended Senate GOP caucus lunches with Lee and Tillis last week. McConnell said the delay in floor proceedings won’t preclude committees from holding hearings virtually, a practice that’s been in place since the spring (see 2005180042). Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., intends to begin hearings on Barrett next week. A committee vote to advance Barrett is planned for Oct. 22; it's unclear whether Lee and Tillis will recover by then. Republicans hold a 12-10 Judiciary majority, making Lee's and Tillis' presence crucial for advancing Barrett amid likely unanimous Democratic opposition. Commerce could hold a virtual hearing on Simington; there’s no chatter about one coming (see 2009300022). The committee has postponed Wednesday's railroads hearing and didn't comment on any further schedule changes.

Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts and Sen. Jerry Moran, both R-Kan., bowed the Remove Impediments for a Successful Economic Recovery (Riser) Act, drawing praise from broadband groups. The Riser Act would extend the deadline to draw on state-level funding from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (Cares) Act (see 2003270058), including for broadband construction, from Dec. 31 to the end of 2022. “We are ensuring local governments throughout Kansas and the country are able to utilize this critical funding in the best, most effective way possible and within a more reasonable timeframe,” Roberts said in a statement. Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., proposed extending the deadline to the end of 2021. “While we are optimistic that the [pandemic] will recede in the coming months, we know that America’s recovery will take much longer,” NCTA said. “That is why we support” the Riser Act, which will allow states “to expand access in a technology neutral manner to broadband and telemedicine services in unserved communities,” giving states “time to identify and focus funding on projects and areas most in need.” Congress’ passage of the Cares Act “enabled states to fund additional deployment, but the provision indicating that funds expire at the end of the year complicates planning for and completion of these projects,” said NTCA CEO Shirley Bloomfield in a statement.

Holiday 2020 sales will hinge on whether consumer spending “will be sustained amid wildcard puzzle pieces including policy surprises, the election and a resurgent virus,” said National Retail Federation Chief Economist Jack Kleinhenz Thursday. He’s “cautiously optimistic” about the holiday quarter, “but the outlook is clouded with uncertainty pivoting on COVID-19 infection rates,” he said. “The recession appears to be behind us and the re-opening of the economy over the past several months has created momentum that should carry through the fourth quarter.” There’s “solid evidence that signals a better-than-expected outcome” for the holiday selling season, said Kleinhenz. NPD expects “historic” 18% growth for the consumer tech sector in Q4, based on “healthy gains in categories associated with learning and working from home,” said the researcher last month (see 2009090033).

“The work-from-home trend drove strong demand for notebooks” in the quarter ended Sept. 3, “with pockets of non-memory component shortages in the supply chain,” said CEO Sanjay Mehrotra on a call. The unanticipated spike in consumer demand for laptops as telework and remote-learning connectivity tools crimps CPU and LCD display panels supply. “End-market component shortages” in the PC supply chain have “some impact on the demand” when OEMs aren't “able to procure all the components they need for their notebook and Chromebook builds,” Mehrotra said Tuesday. Desktop PC sales are weak “due to pandemic-driven changes to customer buying patterns,” said Mehrotra. “Laptop demand continues to be healthy, supported by the work-from-home and shop-from-home trends." Gaming PC demand is “robust,” he said. Micron’s “short-term outlook has weakened due to a combination of factors," he said. “The ongoing pandemic is taking a toll on certain segments of the economy,” including the physical workspace, he said. Enterprise demand has weakened due to lower tech spending and “somewhat higher inventories at certain customers,” he said. The stock closed down 7.4% Wednesday at $46.96. Executives also discussed Huawei (see 2009300035).

Increased focus on cost reductions and faster time to market are two top priorities video developers see in the streaming video space during the coronavirus pandemic, Bitmovin reported Wednesday. Streaming video viewing hours and business uncertainty rose, found the global survey of 792 such experts.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin voiced optimism Wednesday about the direction of restarted negotiations on compromise COVID-19 relief legislation, as they began in-person talks. House Democrats filed a revised version of the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (Heroes) Act (HR-8406) earlier in the week that includes more than $15 billion in broadband funding (see 2009290044). Mnuchin believed he and Pelosi can “reach a reasonable compromise” in coming days. “We’re both making a good faith effort to try to get this done,” he told a CNBC investor conference. “I think we want to figure out whether we can get it done, and if not, move on.” Pelosi told reporters she's awaiting White House response to HR-8406. House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Mike Doyle, D-Pa., noted the need for a compromise aid package during a prerecorded appearance at the National Cable Television Cooperative/ACA Connects Independent Show webcast Wednesday. He blamed the lack of a deal on the White House and Senate Republicans, who balked at advancing an earlier version of the Heroes Act (HR-6800) that the House passed in May (see 2005130059). It’s “much harder to predict” whether there will be any Hill progress on other telecom legislation during the post-election lame-duck session, Doyle said. It may depend whether there’s a clear-cut result in the contests for the Senate majority and the race between President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden. “Both sides might be willing to clear the decks and end some of the gridlock” if there’s a clear sense of who will control the White House and Senate in 2021 once Congress returns in November, Doyle said.

House Democrats bowed revised COVID-19 aid legislation Monday that retains many of the telecom provisions included in the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (Heroes) Act (HR-6800), which the chamber passed in May (see 2005130059). House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., told reporters Tuesday she’s “hopeful” a deal on pandemic aid is possible this week amid renewed talks with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows wasn't directly involved in a Tuesday phone conversation between Pelosi and Mnuchin but told reporters, “Hopefully, we’ll make some progress and find a solution.” Negotiations have gone on for months, leading some to believe broadband funding talk could make its way into election campaigns (see 2008210001). The revised Heroes Act allocates more than $15 billion for broadband, including $12 billion for an FCC-administered Emergency Connectivity Fund to provide “funding for Wi-fi hotspots, other equipment, connected devices, and advanced telecommunications and information services to schools and libraries.” An additional $3 billion would go to an Emergency Broadband Connectivity Fund to provide “an emergency benefit for broadband service,” with the national Lifeline verifier serving as one potential way of determining eligibility. The bill would temporarily increase minimum Lifeline service standards to include unlimited voice and data allowances. Like HR-6800, it would appropriate $24 million to the FCC for implementing the Broadband Deployment Accuracy and Technological Availability Act broadband mapping law (S-1822). It allocates $200 million to the FCC’s COVID-19 Telehealth Program and $175 million to CPB “to maintain programming and services and preserve small and rural stations threatened by declines in non-Federal revenues.” The measure mirrors HR-6800’s language barring ISPs and voice providers from terminating or otherwise altering service to individual customers and small businesses because of inability “to pay as a result of disruptions caused by the public health emergency.” It includes language from the Don’t Break Up the T-Band Act (HR-451) and Martha Wright Prison Phone Justice Act (HR-6389). It contains HR-6800’s language to address price gouging during COVID-19 and make local media eligible for PPP.