GTI Corp. and others sought FCC special temporary authority to deploy, connect and test U.S. parts of the Southeast Asia-U.S. undersea cable system, pending approval of their cable landing license application. They said an STA is needed for 180 days starting Oct. 1 to avoid a potential delay and added costs in building the system, which is also being reviewed by executive branch departments. Applicants said they believe they're nearing the end of the "Team Telecom" review, but can't be certain it will be completed by early October, "when the system -- which has already been manufactured in its entirety -- will be loaded on cable ships" to begin marine installation. "System loading sets in motion a series of interrelated processes the delay or rescheduling of which would impose substantial costs on the Applicants and raise concerns about continuing cable ship availability," said their STA request Wednesday in file No. SCL-LIC-20150626-00016. The system will connect Indonesia, the Philippines, Guam, Hawaii and California, adding competition and capacity, and avoiding the "disaster-prone Luzon Strait," it said.

Amlogic and Dolby are demonstrating Amlogic’s 4K HDR S912 series chipsets with Dolby Vision integration at IBC in Amsterdam. The SoC is targeted to set-top box makers that want to offer over-the-top streaming, and includes an AVE-10 video engine for video codec processing of Trusted Video Path, multiple HDR formats and video watermarking technologies for secured 4K digital rights management applications, they said.

The Computer and Communications Industry Association said it strongly supports final net neutrality guidelines released last week by the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications. BEREC guidelines clarify how national regulatory authorities should enforce net neutrality rules, but they don't cover services that aren't publicly available, IP interconnection services or virtual private networks (see 1608300002). In a news release Tuesday, CCIA said it supports an open platform that empowers consumers and fosters competition and growth, including building a digital single market. “BEREC is right to clarify that the regulations apply to providers of Internet access services and not to content and application providers or to websites," said CCIA Europe Vice President James Waterworth. He said "successful implementation" of the guidelines requires authorities to approach complaints on a case-by-case basis. "Whether conduct or particular programs constitute an infringement of the rules will depend on the specifics of the case and no assumptions should be made," he added.

Qualcomm, Nokia and Finnish broadcaster Yle planned to do the world's first demo of LTE supplemental downlink (SDL) technology in a TV band, they said Friday. The technology is expected to offer “new opportunities for broadcasters, which is also technically viable and does not harm Digital Terrestrial Television,” the companies said in a news release. The demo was slated for the Nokia Executive Experience Center in Espoo, Finland, Friday afternoon Finland time. “There has been a push in recent years by European countries to utilize the 700MHz band for mobile communications, which is supported by the European Commission in an overall EU strategy for the broadcast band,” the companies said. Roberto Viola, a European Commission official, said in the release that "this sends a clear signal to industry players and policy makers that there are many opportunities for broadcasters and their partners for using spectrum to foster a future-proof ecosystem in the UHF band.”

Governments around the world are disguising “techno-nationalist policies” as national security improvements, said a U.S. Chamber of Commerce report released Thursday. The policies artificially give competitive advantage to domestic companies, hurting the global economy, said the Chamber. It urged countries to embrace a globalized information and communications technology (ICT) sector and allow foreign competition. “A highly connected and global ICT sector is the backbone of innovation and has arguably been one the most powerful drivers of global economic welfare over decades,” said Executive Vice President Myron Brilliant in a statement. “Today’s digital economy demands a free flow of data and ideas to make modern commerce and trade possible. From banking to e-commerce to managing a global supply chain, nearly everything requires complex transactions cutting across hardware and software platforms, industries, and jurisdictions.” The report was written in consultation with Covington & Burling and the Rhodium Group, the Chamber said.

With IFA to open to the public beginning Friday, we observed crews placing signs Thursday at key entrances to the Messe Berlin fairgrounds warning visitors to the international consumer electronics show in Berlin to be aware of added security measures. “We ask for your understanding for our additional security checks,” read the signs we saw Thursday in German and English outside IFA’s North entrance. The signs urge visitors to use the smartphone app KATWARN for “fast and direct information” about the security restrictions and about any potential trouble. KATWARN bills itself as a free service developed by Fraunhofer that tells the user not only that “there is a dangerous situation, but also HOW you should behave,” said the service’s website. Airport-style metal detectors were visible at three entrances to the fairgrounds we visited since arriving Tuesday in Berlin when there never have been any at previous IFA shows. But we saw none in use for the Wednesday and Thursday IFA news-media days, nor were there any obvious added security measures put in place for reporters covering IFA, such as the type of restricted bag policies CES imposed in January after the November terrorist attacks in Paris (see 1512180053).

Sonos announced voice control integration with Amazon’s Alexa voice engine at a Tuesday news conference in New York, as expected, while Sonos will work with a variety of other companies on the connected home. Partners include Deutsche Telekom’s Qivicon. DT is private-labeling Sonos under the company’s Qivicon smart home platform and will make it available to other carriers including Dutch telecom KPN, said Brad Duea, Sonos managing director/general manager-Americas-Pacific, in an interview. Sonos also said it's integrating with Spotify Connect, enabling subscribers to control Sonos from within the Spotify app. Pandora will follow in 2017, said Sonos; its roster has 80 music streaming music services, said Chief Marketing Officer Joy Howard.

The International Trade Commission is seeking comment by Sept. 23 on a possible limited exclusion order and cease and desist orders banning import and sale by Fitbit and Flextronics of activity tracking devices that infringe patents held by BodyMedia and Jawbone, the ITC said in Tuesday's Federal Register. An ITC administrative law judge recently recommended the orders, which would last “no more than one month,” if the commission finds violations of Tariff Act Section 337. The ITC began the investigation in August 2015, based on allegations Fitbit is importing devices manufactured overseas by Flextronics that copy BodyMedia’s patented design for its UP line of fitness and activity trackers. Fitbit and Flextronics had no comment.

A week after Uber said it would begin testing autonomous vehicles in Pittsburgh this month (see 1608180059), autonomous driving software company nuTonomy launched what it called the first public trial of a “robo-taxi service.” The trial is in Singapore’s one-north business district, where nuTonomy has been doing daily autonomous vehicle testing since April, it said in a Thursday announcement. A nuTonomy engineer will ride in the vehicle to observe system performance and assume control if needed, said the company, with investors including Samsung and the Singapore Economic Development Board.

Customs and Border Protection will enforce copyright registrations beginning when an application is filed with the Copyright Office, said CBP's intellectual property rights website. "Temporary recordation of unregistered Copyrights is now available while your application for registration is pending" at the CO, said CBP. "Upon request (email to iprrquestions@cbp.dhs.gov), you will receive instructions for submitting an application for recordation of your copyright with CBP for border enforcement purposes." Proof of application to register is required, it said. This is the result of a customs reauthorization law that required CBP develop a process to enforce copyrights while an application is pending (see 1602240069); the agency is authorized to detain or seize imports of protected works.