As fears about COVID-19 moderate as regional reopening began last month, U.S. consumers may spend more on telecom products, Cowen Washington Research emailed investors Monday. It said about 78% of respondents canvassed May 26-30 expect to spend the same or more in coming months vs. 66% in mid-April. It was the third straight survey period in which the number of U.S. consumers expecting to spend less the next month declined. Fifteen percent expect to spend more on cable/internet/phone services, 9% on home entertainment/media and 6% on electronics. The U.S. retail sector could take “years to recover from the impact of the coronavirus,” longer than that after the Great Recession, reported eMarketer Monday, saying total retail sales will drop by 10.5% this year vs. an 8.2% drop in 2009. E-commerce is the only “bright spot,” forecast to jump 18% this year, as Americans rely on Amazon and other e-commerce retailers for necessities. Brick-and-mortar sales will fall 14% to $4.18 trillion in 2020, said eMarketer, predicting it will take up to five years for offline sales to return to pre-pandemic levels. Amazon is expected to grow its e-commerce share to 38% and “extend its reign of dominance,” this year, said eMarketer's Andrew Lipsman. Curbside pickup will push Walmart (5.8%) into the No. 2 e-commerce position for the first time, said the analyst. Along with Target, Best Buy, Home Depot and Costco, Walmart is expected to grow e-commerce sales more than 35% this year.
Just under a fifth of U.S. broadband households have a home control system, reported Parks Associates Tuesday: Adoption rose 38% in 2019. “The conversion of legacy security subscribers to interactive security services that support smart home automation is driving the increase in home control systems,” said analyst Brad Russell, while adoption of do-it-yourself home control systems independent of security “has remained flat.” Parks surveyed 10,000 broadband households.
Chinese smartphone imports to the U.S. recovered somewhat in March after setting record lows in February, said Census Bureau data accessed Wednesday through the International Trade Commission. China’s supply chain was in lockdown for much of February during the COVID-19 outbreak. Factory production resumed in mid-February. U.S. importers sourced 7.16 million smartphones from China in March, up 23% from February, when the 5.81 million smartphones shipped to America was the lowest monthly Chinese volume since Customs and Border Protection began tracking the category in 2007. Chinese smartphone imports in March were 38% fewer than the 11.69 million handsets sent here in the same 2019 month. Q1 Chinese smartphone imports of 23.9 million were 37% below the volume in Q1 2019. Q1 smartphone imports from all countries declined 32% from a year earlier to 35.97 million handsets.
The Disaster Distress Helpline had a big jump in traffic attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic, though other emergency helplines haven't had increases, administrators told us. The pandemic could intensify a push for implementation of 988 as the nationwide three-digit suicide prevention and mental health crisis hotline because of the need for an easy-to-remember accessible service, said Vibrant Emotional Health President Kim Williams. Lawmakers are pushing for Capitol Hill leaders to include the National Suicide Hotline Designation Act (HR-4194/S-2661) in the next COVID-19 stimulus legislative package.
Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin of Illinois and Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota led a Tuesday push with 142 other congressional Democrats for the FCC to “work directly” with the departments of Agriculture and Health and Human Services to ensure millions of people who “are newly eligible” for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or Medicaid amid the COVID-19 pandemic “are informed of their eligibility” for Lifeline. SNAP and Medicaid had surges in applications because of “financial hardships” caused by the epidemic, and people are dependent on the internet “to access public benefits, search for employment, learn from home, or access telehealth services,” the lawmakers wrote FCC Chairman Ajit Pai. Before the pandemic, 7 million of the 38 million eligible for Lifeline services “were enrolled,” the Democrats said. “The FCC has traditionally issued guidelines for states and telecommunications providers to advertise the Lifeline program,” but direct coordination with USDA and HHS, plus states and stakeholders, is needed “to help ensure people in need are informed” about eligibility. Others who signed include Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, Senate Communications Subcommittee ranking member Brian Schatz of Hawaii, House Communications Subcommittee Vice Chair Doris Matsui of California and Rep. Anna Eshoo of California. The FCC didn’t comment.
MVPDs are reporting skyrocketing streaming usage and internet video consumption due to COVID-19 stay-at-home orders, said Leichtman Research Group Thursday. Comcast's peak traffic rose 32% at the end of March vs. the beginning of the month, with a 38% increase in online video consumption. Its linear video consumption grew four hours to 64 hours weekly, and VOD hit record highs, up 25%. AT&T reported core network traffic rose 25% April 2 vs. a similar day at the end of February. Snapchat reported that time spent on video and voice calling grew by more than 50% late February-late March.
TV viewing in the top 25 markets grew 13% from the week of March 9 to the week of March 16 and 33% from the week of March 18, 2019, said Comscore Tuesday. Much higher ratings for local stations during the COVID-19 pandemic are being driven by a broader demographic representation of viewers than is typically observed during news segments, said the research firm: Viewing for the 18-34 segment is up 38% year on year -- 35% for those 35-54 -- through March 22. Seattle and New York had lower than average week-over-week increases vs. the national average when comparing the week of March 16, 2020, with the previous week; the regions were hit “early and hardest” by the coronavirus, Comscore noted. During the week of March 16, viewing increases were most dramatic in San Francisco, Dallas and some Midwest metropolitan areas.
DOJ can investigate without weakening end-to-end encryption for messaging apps, representatives from BSA|The Software Alliance and Internet Society said in interviews, after Telegram told us the messaging app is under FBI investigation. Attorney General William Barr has repeatedly attacked end-to-end encryption (see 1910030058, 1910040035 and 2001220054), citing the dark web. The FBI is “obsessed” with breaking public encryption, said Cato Research Fellow Patrick Eddington. He cited bureau efforts since the 1990s and more recent interest in Facebook’s WhatsApp.
Global smartphone shipments plummeted 38% year on year in February, the biggest fall in category history, said Strategy Analytics Friday. Shipments fell to 61.8 million, from 99.2 million in February 2019, it said. Smartphone demand “collapsed in Asia last month,” due to the COVID-19 outbreak, as some Asian factories were unable to manufacture handsets and many consumers were unable or unwilling to buy new devices in retail stores, said analyst Neil Mawston. Despite “tentative signs of recovery in China,” SA expects worldwide smartphone shipments to remain weak in March, with “hundreds of millions” of affluent consumers sidelined, said analyst Yiwen Wu. The industry will likely turn to online flash sales, “generous discounts” or smartwatch bundles to lift sales, Wu said.
Wireless backhaul advocates asked the FCC to make a “discrete change” to the Part 101 microwave rules for antenna gain in the 70/80 GHz band. The FCC should reduce the minimum antenna gain for the band from 43 dBi to 38 dBi, and remove the co-polar discrimination requirement in footnote 14 applicable below 5 degrees, said Aviat, Comsearch, Ericsson and Nokia. Adjusting the standards would “allow for the use of smaller, lighter, lower cost, less susceptible to pole sway, and more visually attractive antennas for wireless backhaul, ideal for 5G network densification,” they said. The companies spoke with Wireless Bureau staff and aides to the five commissioners, said a filing posted Tuesday in docket 10-153.